Trump appointed Christopher Wray as FBI director based on the recommendation of Chris Christie and the Democrats. Now the FBI is being weaponized against normal, decent Americans. Ron DeSantis will change this.
https://twitter.com/DanBenNoah7/status/1661947209808502784With Ron DeSantis officially in the 2024 race comes real questions about how heāll handle some of the more contentious issues facing any possible Republican president. Chief among them is what heād do to combat the administrative overreach being practiced by the bureaucracy, with the behavior of the FBI being front and center in that discussion.
For example, on Wednesday, Rep. James Comer revealed that current FBI Director Christopher Wray has ignored a subpoena for an unclassified FD-1023 form. That form allegedly provides evidence of a bribery scheme involving Joe Biden while he was vice president. Instead of cooperating with Congress, the FBI is once again acting as the presidentās personal protection force.
On the front, DeSantis wasted no time and pulled no punches. When asked by Trey Gowdy on Fox News following his kickoff with Elon Musk, the Florida man said he would fire Wray on day one. That clocks in as the most definitive pledge by any candidate so far in how theyāll deal with the controversial FBI director.
Iām sure that answer surprised Gowdy, as he is the type that has defended Wray as a misunderstood soul. How anyone could still believe that after everything that has happened, especially since Biden took office, is beyond me, though. Wray is as obstructionist and corrupt as James Comey was. Heās just more diplomatic about it.
Under Wrayās leadership, the FBI has targeted pro-lifers, targeted Catholics, ignored and obstructed investigations into the Biden Family, made false statements about left-wing radicalism, and misused surveillance provisions (again) to illegally spy on Americans. That is not an exhaustive list, but Iād be here all day if I kept going.
Itās simply a no-brainer to fire Wray with prejudice the moment any Republican takes off, which is why itās so perplexing that other candidates havenāt taken that stand. The closest has been Vivek Ramaswamy, who said heād shut down the FBI. Iād like to hear how he actually plans to accomplish that, but Iād assume it would require firing Wray even if Ramaswamy hasnāt said that. As to the other third-tier candidates in Nikki Haley, Asa Hutchinson, and Tim Scott, they are obviously not the type to say anything negative about Wray.
Meanwhile, in his most recent commentary on the issue, Donald Trump took the most non-committal position possible, blaming Chris Christie for Wrayās nomination while saying ātime will tellā on whether it was a mistake to put him in as FBI director. To be frank, as I documented above, time has already told the story several times over.
TRUMP: I put Chris Wray in because I wanted to have somebody in there that everybody including the other side really wanted. It may not have been the right move. Letās see, time will tell, okay? But I wanted to have somebody in the FBI, because Iām an honorable guy, Iām an honest guy. I may have made a mistake. But I put somebody in that the other sideāeverybody agreed to. You know who recommended him to me? Chris Christie. Okay? He recommended him. And thatās okay. I donāt mind that. Iāve taken Chris Christieās recommendations before. And other people wanted Christopher Wray, and people from the other side wanted Christopher Wray.
The question isnāt who recommended Wray. Itās not even who supported Wray five years ago when he was elevated to lead the FBI (with Trump obviously being chief among them). The question is what all of the 2024 candidates are willing to do about it now. Trump doesnāt want to admit he made a mistake, but thatās not an excuse to continue beating around the bush on a figure as insidious as Wray. He needs to take a position and stick to it because the stakes are too high.
Hopefully, every candidate will follow DeSantisā lead and vow to fire Wray on day one. Iād love to know that no matter who ends up as the nominee, such a serious issue will be dealt with.