G-Men Under Subpoena Christopher Wray promises Congress a more cooperative FBI.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/g-men-under-subpoena-1522278053
Director Christopher Wray said Tuesday that he is doubling to 54 the number of FBI agents working to respond to documents subpoenaed by House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte, and it’s about time.
Mr. Goodlatte is looking into the FBI’s investigation of Hillary Clinton’s private server and its use of the Steele dossier to spy on former Trump campaign associate Carter Page, among other things. The FBI has been notably uncooperative, and news reports say Mr. Wray’s latest cooperation came only after Attorney General Jeff Sessions told him no more slow-walking information.
What matters now is whether the FBI provides Congress the records in a timely way—and without the sneaky redactions that have been used to keep the American people in the dark. One example: the text messages between FBI paramours Peter Strzok and Lisa Page regarding Rudolph Contreras. Federal Judge Contreras presided over the case against former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. He and Mr. Strzok knew each other, so Mr. Strzok and Ms. Page were excited when Judge Contreras was appointed to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court in 2016.
Mr. Strzok and Ms. Page went on to scheme about how they might arrange to talk with the judge without “placing him into a situation where he’d have to recuse himself.” When Justice originally sent the Strzok-Page text messages to Congress, this content was blacked out. Members only learned about the Strzok-Contreras relationship when Congressional investigators went to Justice and were able to view the unredacted texts. Meantime, Judge Contreras in December had recused himself from the Flynn case.
Mr. Wray’s statement pledges the FBI will be “transparent and responsive to legitimate congressional requests.” If not, Mr. Goodlatte and the House leadership must be willing to use their powers of contempt and impeachment to impose consequences.
Comments are closed.
