‘Are You protecting the Bidens’

Sparks flew Wednesday as Rep. Matt Gaetz asked FBI Director Christopher Wray about whether the bureau is running interference for the first family.

Gaetz (R-Fla.) opened his questioning by reading WhatsApp messages from July and August 2017 in which Hunter Biden demanded money from a Chinese business associate.

“Sounds like a shakedown, doesn’t it, director?” Gaetz asked.

When Wray declined to opine on the matter, Gaetz lit into him.

“You seem deeply uncurious about it, don’t you? Almost suspiciously uncurious. Are you protecting the Bidens?” the Republican shot back without missing a beat.

“Absolutely not,” Wray countered.

“You won’t answer the question about whether or not that’s a shakedown, and everybody knows why you won’t answer it. Because to the millions of people who will see this, they know it is, and your inability to acknowledge that is deeply revealing about you,” Gaetz rebutted, cutting Wray off.

The message Gaetz highlighted was released last month by Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee

“I am sitting here with my father and we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled,” Hunter Biden wrote to CEFC China Energy translator Raymond Zhao.

“Tell the director that I would like to resolve this now before it gets out of hand. And now means tonight,” the now-first son continued. “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. I am sitting here waiting for the call with my father.”

Following the clash about Hunter Biden, Gaetz peppered Wray with questions about alleged abuses with the FISA surveillance system, particularly how many violations there had been.

“The Inspector General said that in the 3.4 million of these queries, more than a million were in error. Do you have any basis to disagree with that assessment?” Gaetz asked.

Wray argued that he wasn’t sure that was a correct characterization of the inspector general’s findings. He then reiterated that he wasn’t sure about the exact number.

“Isn’t that a number you should know, how many times the FBI is breaking the law under your watch. Especially [when] it’s like over a million, to not know that number and I’m worried about your veracity on the subject as well,” Gaetz replied.

Gaetz then played a clip of Wray’s testimony before a Senate panel in which he told Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) that he didn’t believe FISA was implicated in the bureau Jan. 6 investigation.

The congressman then read a court document suggesting FISA had been used and grilled Wray about whether he perjured himself.

“I certainly didn’t perjure myself. At the time that I testified in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I didn’t have that piece of information,” Wray shot back.

“The answer is, the FBI is broken so bad that people can go and engage in queries that when you come before the Congress to answer questions, you’re like blissfully ignorant. You’re blissfully ignorant as to the unlawful queries, you’re blissfully ignorant as to the Biden shakedown regime,” Gaetz chided.

Gaetz contended that Wray’s lack of clarity had eroded public faith in the bureau.

“Respectfully congressman, in your home state of Florida, the number of people applying to come work for us and devote their lives working for us, It’s over up over 100%,” Wray said.

“We’re deeply proud of them,” Gaetz quipped, “and they deserve better than you.”