Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee are demanding answers from FBI Director Christopher Wray regarding recent revelations that FBI officials discussed getting former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn to lie and to “get him fired.”
At the end of April, unsealed court records revealed that FBI agents considered using their January 24, 2017 interview with Flynn to get him fired by getting “him to lie.”
“What is our goal? Truth/Admission or to get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired?” an FBI agent wrote on the day of the interview.
On May 4, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), ranking member on the House Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to Wray requesting answers relating to the latest revelations regarding Flynn. Jordan noted in his letter that the FBI had determined Flynn was not a Russian agents and decided to drop the investigation into the former lieutenant general until FBI special agent Peter Strzok intervened to keep the case going.
“The FBI’s mission is to do justice dispassionately. But these documents suggest that the FBI ignored protocol to confront LTG Flynn about a potential violation of an obscure and rarely charged offense, with the real goal of forcing LTG Flynn’s resignation or prosecution. The FBI pursued LTG Flynn despite knowing that he was not a Russian agent and even after the FBI became aware that a central piece of evidence of alleged Russia collusion—the so-called Steele dossier—was based on Russian disinformation. Placing these events in context reveals the extent to which the FBI facilitated an incorrect public impression of alleged Trump campaign collusion with Russia,” Jordan wrote.
In light of the revelations, Jordan has asked Wray to respond to a series of questions regarding the investigation into Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI but is now fighting to rescind that plea:
- Produce all documents and communications referring or relating to Crossfire Razor, the FBI code name for its investigation into LTG Flynn.
- Produce all documents and communications between or among the FBI and other executive branch agencies, including but not limited to the Executive Office of the President, for the period December 1, 2016 to January 20, 2017, referring or relating to LTG Michael Flynn’s December 30, 2016, conversation with [Russian Ambassador] Sergey Kislyak.
- Explain when you personally first learned of the FBI’s misconduct with respect to LTG Flynn. 4. Explain why the Committee and the American public are learning of the FBI’s misconduct with respect to LTG Flynn from court filings rather than from you.
- Explain whether you or any other member of the FBI’s senior leadership prevented or delayed the disclosure of additional exculpatory information to LTG Flynn and his legal team.
- Certify that the FBI has produced all responsive documents as part of the review ordered by Attorney General Barr into LTG Flynn’s case.
On Wednesday, Jordan revealed he had also sent a letter to Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz, requesting an update to the status of the FBI’s fixes for the FISA warrant process that resulted in Flynn and other Trump administration officials getting unfairly surveilled by the FBI.
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