'Insane': Christopher Wray strikes back at Liz Cheney's replacement who alleges he hates conservatives
FBI Director Christopher Wray was faced with a number of hostile Republican lawmakers in the Judiciary Committee Wednesday who accused him of being a liberal who was going after conservatives.
Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-WY), who took Liz Cheney's place in Congress when her membership of the party was revoked for serving on the Jan. 6 select committee, was among them.
Toward the end of the hearing Hageman attacked the FBI for ongoing dialogue with social media companies that the GOP has viewed as pressuring the tech companies to regulate political speech.
Wray attempted to disabuse Hageman of the conspiracies she may have heard, explaining that the only conversations with tech companies were about those who may have violated terms of service. One example was those who posted nude photos of Hunter Biden on Twitter, which is referred to as "revenge porn" and is illegal in several states.
"That is what we found," Hageman said. "Director Wray, you and I both know that the federal government is forbidden in doing indirectly what it cannot do directly. In other words, neither you nor the FBI have any legal authority to circumvent the First Amendment by using a surrogate to do your dirty work."
Wray attempted to correct her, but she talked over him.
"Yeah, that is exactly what you have been doing. The Bureau, under your watch, has been using proxies to violate the First Amendment," she alleged.
The First Amendment doesn't guarantee speech on social media platforms. Those platforms determine their own terms of service and rules. The First Amendment applies to the government restricting speech.
Hageman and Wray continued with the back and forth until Hageman proclaimed the weaponization of government against conservatives who, she said, have been persecuted for their political beliefs.
Wray struck back.
"First off, I would disagree with your characterization of the FBI. Certainly your description of my own approach," he said.
"The idea that I am biased against conservatives seems somewhat insane to me, given my own personal background."
The longtime Republican has served in both the George W. Bush administration and was appointed by Donald Trump.
See the full commentary in the video below or at the link here.
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