Some of the most pertinent questions Wray is supposed to field involve accusations that high-up officials in the FBI meddled in the 2020 election, from covering up incriminating information regarding President Joe Biden’s family to overemphasizing the threat of domestic terrorism. Whistleblower accounts made public in recent weeks propose the accusations have weight.
Wray took over as head of the FBI in August 2017 after firing former Director James Comey, whose legacy was marred by the FBI’s handling of investigations of both major candidates in the 2016 presidential election.
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As FBI head, Wray announced that institutional reform is a priority. The FBI is committed to cleaning out internal bad actors and erecting safeguards to prevent a repeat of the failings of 2016, he explained to the Department of Justice inspector general (DOJ). Accounts from whistleblowers and others suggest Wray has fallen short on his pledge to protect the FBI’s credibility.
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Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-IA) addressed a letter to Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland last month detailing whistleblower accusations that the FBI wrongly, and duplicitously classified potentially damning information regarding Hunter Biden, the president’s son, as disinformation.
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“The information provided to my office involves concerns about the FBI’s receipt and use of derogatory information relating to Hunter Biden, and the FBI’s false portrayal of acquired evidence as disinformation. The volume and consistency of these allegations substantiate their credibility and necessitate this letter,” Grassley wrote.
Whistleblowers explained to Grassley that the FBI obtained information in 2020 — just months before the November election — proposing the younger Biden may have committed financial fraud and different crimes. In August 2020, FBI Supervisory Intelligence Analyst Brian Auten falsely assessed the information on Biden as fake.
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Before reviewing the Biden information, Auten seemingly went under official review for his part in the botched 2016 Crossfire Hurricane investigation. According to an inspector general report of Crossfire Hurricane failings, Auten “failed to advise” others at the FBI of inconsistencies and false information in the notorious Steele Dossier. Wray explained to the DOJ inspector general that the bureau would “review the performance and conduct” of all agents who played a part in the failings identified in the inspector general’s report.
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“FBI Headquarters” used Auten’s report to “improperly discredit negative Hunter Biden information as disinformation and caused investigative activity to cease,” Grassley wrote. “[T]he allegations provided to my office appear to indicate that there was a scheme in place among certain FBI officials to undermine derogatory information connected to Hunter Biden by falsely suggesting it was disinformation.”
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