Christopher Wray, the director of the FBI, said on Thursday that he used the FBI plane to travel to the Adirondacks on a business trip rather than staying for the entire Senate oversight hearing in August.
At a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) ripped into Wray for his “indefensible” behavior and brought up the fact that Wray had suggested to Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) that he had to leave because of his official responsibilities.
Republicans missed the opportunity to question Wray on whistleblower claims of a cover-up in the FBI’s probe into first son Hunter Biden’s international business dealings after he hurriedly left on August 4 despite Grassley’s complaints.
Hawley pointed out that The Post’s Miranda Devine reported three days after Wray left the hearing that the hearing had to be shortened because he was on a personal trip to the Adirondacks on a Gulfstream jet.
“Please tell me that’s not accurate,” Hawley pleaded with Wray.
Wray stated that the hearing wasn’t shortened because the time and duration had been previously agreed upon before adding, “As to how I fly — I am required, not only permitted but required, to fly on an FBI plane wherever I go.”
“So you were going on vacation?” Hawley pressed.
“I was, yes,” Wray admitted.
“So you’ve left a statutorily required oversight hearing in order to go on a personal vacation in the Adirondacks?” Hawley further asked.
“I took a flight to go visit my family, as had been previously arranged in conjunction with the leadership of the committee,” Wray answered.
Hawley continued, “‘We only just heard half an hour ago that now you have to leave. We were going to have a seven-minute round [of questioning], followed by a three-minute round. I’ve got seven people on my side of the aisle [Republicans] … who are waiting for this additional round. Is there any reason we can’t accommodate them for 21 minutes?’ And you said you had a plane to catch, you had somewhere to go, and now we find out it was for vacation?”
“The reference to other business was not a reference to that day. It was a reference to the following week where Sen. Grassley and I were going to see each other in Iowa when I had other business in Iowa and I did in fact see him then,” Wray continued to argue.
“You had to leave a hearing early because you’re gonna see him later in Iowa?”Hawley inquired in disbelief.
The FBI director was excused after Chairman of the Judiciary Committee Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) intervened and pointed out that this was Wray’s third appearance before this committee in the previous two years.
