House Republicans are demanding the FBI cease stonewalling lawmakers seeking information about its January 6 pipe bomb investigation.
The group, led by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH), wrote to FBI Director Christopher Wray on Wednesday, saying he has “failed” to adequately comply with requests for a briefing and must make amends.
A suspect, seen in surveillance video only as a hooded figure carrying a backpack, has yet to be publicly identified more than two years after federal authorities say a pair of pipe bombs were planted outside the Republican National Committee’s and Democratic National Committee’s offices in Washington, D.C., on the evening of January 5, 2021, the night before the Capitol riot on January 6.
The FBI told The Daily Wire on Thursday that its investigation is “continuing and it’s one we take very seriously.” A reward for information was increased to $500,000 in January, and the bureau continues to encourage members of the public who may have information to reach out.
“Although these bombs did not detonate, it is important to remember the suspect walked along residential and commercial areas in Capitol Hill just blocks from the U.S. Capitol with viable pipe bombs that could have seriously injured or killed innocent bystanders,” the FBI says in its online bulletin. “Moreover, the suspect may still pose a danger to the public or themselves.”
Jordan, who was joined by Reps. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) and Bill Posey (R-FL) in co-signing the letter, explained that the unfulfilled congressional requests stem from a whistleblower disclosure about a D.C.-based effort to get FBI field offices around the country to canvass all confidential human sources for information about the suspect.
They raised concerns stemming from a Washington Times report which cited a former FBI official who claimed technicians determined the found devices were inoperable and the bureau was able to link the suspected bomber to a D.C. MetroRail SmarTrip card and the license plate of a car the individual entered, as seen in security camera footage from a Northern Virginia Metro stop.
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“The slow progression of the FBI’s investigation into the January 6 pipe bombs raises significant concerns about the FBI’s prioritization of that case in relation to other January 6 investigations,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter. “Accordingly, we reiterate our outstanding requests for a briefing on the status of the pipe bomb investigation and request that you provide this briefing as soon as possible, but no later than June 7, 2023.”
An FBI spokesperson told The Daily Wire that the bureau received the congressional letter but did not further comment on its contents.