Christopher Wray and the Politicization of the FBI By Victoria Toensing

https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2023/03/christopher_wray_and_the_politicization_of_the_fbi.html

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has shocked many Americans by becoming a politicized law enforcement arm of the Democrat party. As the target of one of the FBI and Department of Justice political attacks — solely because I had been talking to Ukrainian whistleblowers about Biden family corruption in that country — I want to discuss the problem.  It starts with the most political Director of the FBI, Christopher Wray.

How exactly did Wray become Director? The saga of who headed the most prestigious and respected (previous to Wray) law enforcement agency under Donald Trump includes political naiveite as well as sophistication, depending on the actor.

 

The naiveite begins with the Trump transition team.  My husband (and law partner) Joe diGenova and I sent message after message to the team to have President-elect Trump fire then-Director James Comey immediately. We were well aware of his many instances of harassing conservatives with baseless federal investigations.

We were informed that “New Yorkers” on Trump’s team thought it would look “unseemly.” They were unaware that cleaning house in a new administration is regular order in D.C.  How did it look months later when Trump fired Comey in the midst of the Russia, Russia, Russia! investigation?

Having limited knowledge of both Washington politics (one must know who the alligators are to drain the swamp) and federal law enforcement, Trump turned to a person who should have such knowledge to propose a Comey replacement: former U.S. Attorney (Eastern District of New Jersey) and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.  Christie had been a political opponent, then avid supporter of Trump.  What better background for a person asked to suggest a new FBI Director.  Christie’s choice: Chris Wray.

The Christie/Wray relationship was cemented when Wray represented Christie in the “Bridgegate” debacle, which occurred while Christie was governor. The scandal began on September 9, 2013, when two of three toll lanes on the George Washington Bridge were closed during rush hour, creating traffic jams in Ft. Lee, NJ.  There were reports that paramedics were delayed getting to victims, further exacerbating the political uproar.

It was later claimed that the lanes had been intentionally closed to punish Ft. Lee’s Democrat Mayor Mark Sokolich, who had not supported Christie for Governor.

Three aides for Christie were indicted on fraud charges, which were later overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. Although the aides testified that they had discussed the lane closing with Christie, he was not indicted.  Significantly, his cell phone, which would have revealed all his conversations and texts regarding the bridge closure, went “missing.”

At some point Christie admitted it was in the possession of Wray although he had previously claimed the government had it.  Curiously, federal prosecutors never pursued Wray to obtain it.  Could it be because Wray knew the key federal prosecutors from the days he directed all U.S. Attorney offices as Assistant Attorney General (AAG), Criminal Division of DOJ, under George W. Bush?

As Christie describes Wray, whom he had met when Wray was AAG and Christie was U.S Attorney, “When I was at the absolute lowest point of my professional life, he’s who I called.”  What a debt.  And what a sophisticated payback.

Recently, Trump admitted on Hannity he chose Wray because Christie recommended him and people on “the other side” (Democrats) agreed.

Joe and I met Wray at the same time Christie did … as AAG.   We reported to him misconduct by a U.S. Attorney who, while investigating his political opponent, was threatening witnesses with exposing their sexual infidelities unless they testified as he wanted before a Grand Jury.  The investigation was based on converting a county misdemeanor election law violation into a RICO offense, an unethical prosecutorial overreach.  Wray refused to rein in the U.S. Attorney or even look into the allegations. None of the victims were interviewed.  It mattered not that the prosecutor was violating the law and professional ethics.

So, it is no surprise that during his tenure at the FBI, overreach is the order of the day.  Wray sent more than a dozen agents with automatic weapons to rouse Roger Stone and his wife before dawn, with firearms drawn and an alerted CNN recording it all.  Wray sent FBI agents to Reagan Airport to shackle Peter Navarro publicly for a misdemeanor and subsequently imprison him.

Then there is the August 2022 FBI armed raid of Mar-a-Lago searching for presidential records/classified documents, a dispute usually settled civilly without federal law enforcement, as it was handled when President Joe Biden possessed classified information.

Last fall, Wray sent 20-plus FBI agents with long guns, wearing armored vests and helmets and carrying a battering ram, to arrest pro-life protester Mark Houck in front of his wife and seven children.  The crime? A shoving incident in front of an abortion clinic. The state prosecutor had declined to bring charges. Houck, who was acquitted in January, had offered to turn himself in if charges were brought.

These are tactics I utilized when I prosecuted terrorists and dangerous drug dealers, never for white collar crimes. Never for a misdemeanor.

At least the FBI agents Wray sent to my house in April 2021with a search warrant seeking documents I never had and specifying a crime that never occurred, were professional.  They repeatedly apologized for being there and said that although they had the authority to search the entire house, they would not do so, only taking my cell phone (with all my clients’ privileged information).

Wray is teaching FBI agents that politicizing law enforcement is acceptable.  If the target is of a certain political persuasion any technique may be used.   If Wray remains Director, the overreaching will continue.  He needs to leave while there are still some professionals left in the FBI rank and file.

Wray’s politicized raid cost us over $500,000 in legal fees.  We had to protect our clients’ privileged information, which Wray authorized seizing even though the search of a lawyer’s client information violates DOJ rules. Yet, because of it we have even greater resolve to champion justice against the weaponization of federal law enforcement and hold those responsible accountable.  Friends have started a GiveSendGo called the Joe diGenova /Victoria Toensing Litigation Fund at to help us with our mission.

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