The House Judiciary Committee is currently conducting an investigation into the FBI’s subpoena of emails belonging to prominent Republican congressional staff members. During his recent testimony before Congress, FBI Director Christopher Wray did not provide any new information on various scandals, but instead tried to blame his predecessor, James Comey, for past abuses. However, the dates on the subpoenas do not support Wray’s attempt to shift blame. Wray’s portrayal of himself as unaware of many scandals while claiming to be a hands-on administrator contradicts his own actions.
Despite the left’s admiration for Comey, it has been established that he committed serious constitutional violations during his tenure, including unconstitutional surveillance practices, false statements to courts, and personal violations such as stealing and leaking FBI material. I recently testified about the abuse of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act under Comey’s leadership and called for Congress to either terminate or reform Section 702 of the act.
The House Judiciary Committee is now examining why the FBI seized emails from Google belonging to Kash Patel, the chief investigator for then-House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes. Patel and other staff members were making progress in their investigation of the Russian collusion allegations, including uncovering political bias and false statements by FBI officials. Wray tried to blame Comey for these actions during the Russian collusion investigation.
Committee Chairman Jim Jordan sent a letter to Wray regarding news reports of the FBI seizing Patel’s emails from Google in late 2017, just before the release of a report exposing failures in the Russia collusion scandal. Another staff member was also targeted. The letter references subpoenas issued to Google in 2017 for emails and cellphone data, which seems reminiscent of Comey’s approach.
Former FBI Director James Comey has been known for his questionable approach to “ethical leadership,” often violating constitutional provisions and agency rules. He even openly admitted to breaking department rules to incriminate Trump’s national security adviser, Michael Flynn. However, subpoenas obtained by Just the News show that they were dated November 20, 2017, with the materials to be sent to the Department of Justice by December 5, 2017. Comey was fired in May 2017, and Wray took over in August 2017. It is unclear if the targeting of congressional staffers began under Comey, but it would be hard to believe that such a significant move was taken without his knowledge. Wray is either turning a blind eye or failing to control his own department.
There was a time when members of both political parties would be outraged and united in response to such tactics by a federal agency. All members should be concerned about the reasoning behind these intrusive measures taken by the FBI while their aides were investigating the same agency. James Madison designed a constitutional system, acknowledging the factional and petty nature of politicians but relying on the checks and balances to protect their powers under Article I. Unfortunately, the 118th Congress seems to prioritize politics over institutional and constitutional values. The ambitions of politicians rarely align with protecting constitutional rights and privileges.
While Democrats may disagree with Republicans on the Russian collusion investigation and may not support Patel or Nunes, the larger issue at stake is the direct challenge to the oversight and legislative functions granted to Congress by Article I of the Constitution. The FBI knew that Google would withhold notice of the subpoenas for five years, and Wray cannot simply blame Comey for this situation. More must be done to address this issue. Jonathan Turley is a professor at George Washington University Law School and an attorney.
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