Wray pushes back through spokesman as GOP criticism of FBI intensifies

Christopher Wray's FBI on Tuesday defended its leader against rising GOP criticism, saying the problems discovered about the Russia investigation occurred during an earlier era and he is fully cooperating with federal prosecutors investigating his agency's conduct.

While lawmakers clamored to hear from him directly, Wray instead chose to offer his defense through an agency spokesman.

"Director Wray remains firmly committed to addressing the failures under prior FBI leadership while maintaining the foundational principles of rigor, objectivity, accountability, and ownership in fulfilling the Bureau’s mission to protect the American people and defend the Constitution," FBI spokesman Brian Hale said in a statement sent to Just the News and other news outlets.

Lawmakers led by Rep. Jim Jordan, the ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, blasted Wray earlier this week, suggesting he had failed to show leadership by allowing documents detailing FBI misconduct in the Russia case to be withheld from the courts, Congress and defendants for years. Specifically Republicans have been angered by the belated production of evidence of innocence against former National Security Adviser Mike Flynn. 

"It is well past time that you show the leadership necessary to bring the FBI past the abuses of the Obama-Biden era," Jordan wrote in a blistering letter Monday.

Hale, an assistant director for public affairs, said the FBI director, now in the third year of his tenure, had been providing full cooperation to two special prosecutors looking at the FBI's conduct in the Russia case as well as the Justice Department's chief watchdog.

“Under Director Wray’s leadership, the FBI has fully cooperated and been transparent with the review being conducted by U.S. Attorney Jeff Jensen, just as it has been with U.S. Attorney John Durham and was with Inspector General Michael Horowitz," the spokesman said. 

"With regard to certain documents in the Michael Flynn matter from the 2016-2017 time period that are now the subject of reporting by the press, the FBI previously produced those materials to the Inspector General and U.S. Attorney Durham," he added. "The Flynn investigation was initiated and conducted during this time period, under prior FBI leadership. Since taking office, Director Wray has stressed the importance of strictly abiding by established processes, without exception."