Here’s why FBI Director Wray’s grilling failed and what should be done now

This week’s congressional hearings of FBI Director Christopher Wray’s “interrogation” about the politicization of the agency provided viewers with no surprises, no new information, and no reflection. The witness argued that the FBI would “never” defend the Bidens and lawmakers with a politically charged question.

It wasn’t always like this.

When U.S. Senator Estes Kefauver opened an organized crime investigation in 1950, televised hearings of the Kefauver Commission shook the nation. Long before “The Godfather” and “The Sopranos,” many Americans didn’t know that gangs and mafias were encouraged to control politicians at the local level.

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Some witnesses tried to wring out their wits, but Kefauver’s cross-examination was devastating. According to one report, Americans witnessed violent mobster Frank Costello “twirling and clenching.” [his] The commission even imprisoned Costello for contempt because he became belligerent and refused to answer questions.

“May the stone not move, the hold unlimited, the chip fall anywhere in the middle of the road.” It was the beginning of the end of unlimited power.

Wray’s House hearings this week focused on obscuring the truth rather than clarifying it.

That’s what today’s congressional hearings lack: a ruthless pursuit of truth. Strong cross-examination is required. But what we receive is a political speech.

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FBI Director Wray has tried to defend the agency’s blatant politicization, selective enforcement actions, and unequal treatment of defendants.

But it wasn’t that hard. Republicans highlighted agency failures, including targeting loyal Catholics and concerned parents, and misleading the public with Hunter Biden’s laptop, among others. Ray didn’t move.

“Today’s FBI leadership reflects the best of our organization,” he declared. “That’s the real FBI.”

Even if the question was simple, I didn’t see a serious response from Ray. And Ray’s supporters supported Ray. Time and time again, Democrats sidestepped the facts and acquitted Wray, such as the downright alarming hearings with former FBI agent Peter Strzok grinning.

But frankly, a lack of courtroom skills hampered Republican efforts to get to the truth.

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Of course, this is nothing new. The Senate hearings on Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination were like tennis matches, held on two different tennis courts. Democrats lashed out at Mr. Kavanaugh and spoiled his accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, while Republicans walked a tightrope to poke holes in the accusers’ testimony and not appear to be bullying the witnesses. tried to

Even Vox argued at the time that the hearings were not about “finding the truth.” Instead, Box called the commission’s treatment of Ford a “cross-examination.”

As a former U.S. attorney, very little happened in what I would call a competent cross-examination hearing. None of the committee votes changed.

Wray’s House hearings this week focused on obscuring the truth rather than clarifying it. Few answers came from Ray, the rest trampled by political stance.

There is clear evidence that the Justice Department is violating its own policies in the Hunter Biden investigation. There is also whistleblower evidence that the FBI leadership is “rotten to the core” by an “organizational culture of accountability,” according to a report from the House Judiciary Committee.

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The credibility and legal prowess of the Kefauver congressional hearings of the last century have identified criminals and criminal acts, and paved the way for convictions and meaningful policy change.

The real purpose of these hearings is the pursuit of truth, and it is time for lawmakers to rethink their roles and hone their legal wisdom.

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