Ranking Member Raskin’s Statement on Announcement to Hold Contempt Proceedings Against FBI Director

Washington, D.C. (May 30, 2023)—Today, Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, issued the following statement after Chairman Comer announced he will initiate proceedings to hold FBI Director Christopher Wray in contempt of Congress:

"Chairman Comer's announcement confirms that Committee Republicans are determined, above all else, to create a spectacle by holding the FBI Director in contempt of Congress for the first time in American history. That is why they have issued a subpoena for a single document which the Committee Chairman has already seen, according to his own public statements. This subpoenaed document, by definition, reveals nothing more than an unverified and unsubstantiated tip made to Donald Trump's Justice Department, which presumably led to no evidence of criminal wrongdoing.

"While the FBI has worked in good faith to accommodate Committee Republicans by providing two briefings, offering responsive information, and scheduling a telephone call with Director Wray to discuss how this information would be made available to the Committee, all while protecting the integrity of the FBI's most sensitive programs, Chairman Comer has crafted a hyper-partisan narrative that depicts the FBI as obstructionist. This is a radical distortion of the situation. The FBI has been extremely cooperative with this investigation, but Oversight Republicans are on a quest to bolster Donald Trump's reelection efforts by any means necessary, even if it means attacking and ‘dismantling' the FBI and vilifying public servants simply for doing their jobs and defending the rule of law in our country."

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