Christopher Wray's Congress Testimony—Five Key Moments

FBI Director Christopher Wray faced a grilling on Wednesday as he took questions from members of the House Judiciary Committee.

Wray was subjected to accusations from Republican members on the committee that the federal agency has become politically weaponized against Donald Trump and other GOP figures, while it has been failing to sufficiently investigate President Joe Biden and his family.

In a statement ahead of Wednesday's hearing, the White House accused "extreme House Republicans" of believing that the FBI that should exist in the country would be one that "suits their own partisan political agenda."

Newsweek has compiled some of the key moments from the hearing involving Wray.

'Are You Protecting the Bidens?'

During a particularly fiery exchange, rep. Matt Gaetz [R-FL] asked Wray directly whether the FBI was purposely not investigating Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, over allegations related to foreign business deals.

During the hearing, Gaetz read out a 2017 message from Hunter Biden to his Chinese business partner, Henry Zhao, which the Florida congressman suggested amounted to a threatening "shakedown."

"I am sitting here with my father and we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled," Hunter Biden wrote. "And, Z, if I get a call or text from anyone involved in this other than you, Zhang, or the chairman, I will make certain that between the man sitting next to me and every person he knows and my ability to forever hold a grudge that you will regret not following my direction."

The messages were obtained by the House Ways and Means Committee in June, which Republicans allege suggest the president was aware of, and played a part in, his son's business dealings. The claims have been denied by both the White House and Hunter Biden's lawyers.

After reciting the message, Gaetz asked Wray: "Sounds like a shakedown, doesn't it, director?"

"I'm not going to get into commenting on that," Wray replied.

"You seem deeply uncurious about it, don't you?" Gaetz said. "Almost suspiciously uncurious. Are you protecting the Bidens?"

"Absolutely not," Wray responded. "The FBI has no interest in protecting anyone politically."

'Trump Handpicked You to Be the FBI director'

Wray also denied any suggestion that the FBI is biased against Trump, by noting that the former president selected him to lead the federal agency, and then received unanimous backing from Republican senators.

While answering questions from rep. Hank Johnson [D-GA], Wray said he became FBI director after Trump fired his predecessor, James Comey, in May 2017.

"And did you contact the Trump administration to offer yourself for this job, or did the administration recruit you for the job?" Johnson asked.

"They contacted me and asked me if I would be willing to consider taking on the role," Wray replied.

Johnson asked: "So Trump handpicked you to be the FBI director?" to which Wray replied: "Yes."

Wray also noted that there were no objections from GOP Senators when they voted to confirm him to the role of FBI director in August 2017.

"I think there were only five votes against me and they were all from Democrats," Wray said, while answering questions from rep. Ken Buck [R-CO].

The GOP congressman added: "According to Wikipedia, you're still a registered Republican, and I hope you don't change your party affiliation after this hearing is over. But I want to thank you."

'Insane' Bias Accusations

Wray gave a more direct response to claims that the FBI is politically motivated while taking questions from rep. Harriet Hageman [R-WY].

During Wednesday's hearing, Hageman suggested that the FBI purposely persecutes people "based in their political beliefs" and that Wray himself personally worked to "weaponize the FBI against conservatives."

"I would disagree with your characterization of the FBI and certainly your description of my own approach," said Wray. "The idea that I'm biased against conservatives seems somewhat insane to me, given my own personal background."

Defund the FBI Warning

Wray also condemned Republican figures who have called for the FBI and other law enforcement agencies to be defunded, including Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan [R-OH], while offering a warning about the potential consequences.

"We would have hundreds more violent criminals out on the street," Wray said.

"Dozens more violent gangs terrorizing communities, hundreds more child predators on the loose, hundreds more kids left at those predators' mercy instead of being rescued, scores of threats from the Chinese Communist Party being left unaddressed, hundreds of ransomware attacks left unmitigated, and terrorist attacks, both jihadist-inspired and domestic violent extremists, not prevented that would succeed against Americans."

Wray also noted that the FBI does crucial work in taking drugs off the street, claiming that it is "not uncommon" for a single FBI office in one single operation to "seize enough fentanyl to wipe out an entire state."

"We have close to 400, I think it is somewhere between 300 and 400 investigations into the leadership of the cartels trafficking that fentanyl," Wray added. "So you would have a significantly greater threat from the southwest border, from the cartels. So those are just a few things that would happen."

'Quite Rich' Jim Jordan Complained About Lawlessness

It was not just Wray who faced criticism during Wednesday's hearing, with Ohio congressman Jim Jordan also being scorned by Democratic members of the panel.

Jordan questioned Wray over allegations that an FBI office in Richmond, Virginia, had warned that some "radical traditionalist" Catholics in the area could pose an extremist threat.

The allegations came from a leaked but redacted memo in February. Jordan later used the letter for his probe into the FBI's alleged misuse of domestic violent extremism resources.

During the hearing, Wray said he was "aghast" at the claims from the Richmond office and removed the memo from the FBI systems.

Jordan then called for Wray to release an unredacted version of the memo, demanding the names of those responsible for drafting it.

"I will find out if there's more of the document that can be shared with you," Wray said. "We've tried to be very careful in what we redact and there's always a basis for it."

After finishing his questioning, Jordan recognized rep. Eric Swalwell [D-CA], who noted that the Republican congressman was previously under House investigation for refusing to comply with a congressional subpoena issued to him by the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 attack.

"Director, I think it's quite rich that the guy that has accused you of lawlessness and weaponization is 400 days into violation of his own congressional subpoena over Jan. 6," Swalwell said. "Quite rich to me that you're hearing all of these allegations from somebody who won't even respond to a lawful subpoena."

In a statement ahead of Wednesday's hearing, Ian Sams, the White House spokesperson for oversight and investigations, said: "Extreme House Republicans have decided that the only law enforcement they like is law enforcement that suits their own partisan political agenda.

"Instead of backing the blue, they're attacking the blue - going after the FBI, federal prosecutors, and other law enforcement professionals with political stunts to try to get themselves attention on the far right."

The House Judiciary Committee has been contacted for comment via email.