{"id":1971117,"date":"2023-07-12T17:32:02","date_gmt":"2023-07-12T21:32:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wray-repeatedly-denies-fbi-censorship-of-conservatives-as-republicans-point-to-suppressed-posts\/"},"modified":"2023-07-12T17:34:03","modified_gmt":"2023-07-12T21:34:03","slug":"wray-repeatedly-denies-fbi-censorship-of-conservatives-as-republicans-point-to-suppressed-posts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wray-repeatedly-denies-fbi-censorship-of-conservatives-as-republicans-point-to-suppressed-posts\/","title":{"rendered":"Wray denies FBI censorship of conservatives, GOP highlights suppressed posts."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwray-repeatedly-denies-fbi-censorship-of-conservatives-as-republicans-point-to-suppressed-posts%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1971117&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"post_content\">\n<div class=\"aplayer_app\" data-source=\"https:\/\/vs1.youmaker.com\/assets\/2023\/0712\/9e9398a2-f930-44ea-8ff1-1b97d3c548b4\/audio.mp3?length=4795821&#038;duration=400\"><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<h2>FBI Director Faces Intense Questioning Over Alleged Suppression of Free Speech<\/h2>\n<p>Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray had barely completed his opening statement to the House Judiciary Committee\u2019s FBI oversight hearing when Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) began a rapid-fire barrage of pointed questions that culminated in a clash of utterly opposed perspectives.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOn July 4th, we had this explosive, explosive 155-page <a href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.lawd.189520\/gov.uscourts.lawd.189520.294.0.pdf\">opinion<\/a> from a federal court in my home state of Louisiana that explains in detail that the FBI has been indirectly involved in what the court says, and I quote, \u2018what is arguably the most massive attack on free speech in United States history,\u201d Mr. Johnson told Mr. Wray.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe court ordered the White House, [Department of Justice], and the FBI, among others, to immediately cease colluding with and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/miranda-devine-the-medias-silence-on-the-twitter-files-is-shameful\/\" title=\"Miranda Devine: The Media\u2019s Silence on the \u201cTwitter Files\u201d Is Shameful\">coercing social media companies<\/a> to suppress Americans\u2019 speech, conservative speech in particular. Director Wray, I find it stunning you made no mention of this court opinion either in your opening statement or in this lengthy 14-page report that you prepared on July 12, which was eight days after the court ruling,\u201d the Louisiana Republican said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHave you read the ruling, Sir?\u201d Mr. Johnson asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am familiar with the ruling, and I have reviewed it with our Office of General Counsel,\u201d Mr. Wray replied.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAre you deeply disturbed by what they\u2019ve told you about the ruling if you haven\u2019t read it yourself,\u201d Mr. Johnson shot back.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cObviously, we are going to comply with the court\u2019s order, the court\u2019s injunction. We sent out guidance to the field and headquarters about how to do that. Needless to say, the injunction itself is the subject of ongoing litigation, and so I will decline to comment further,\u201d said Mr. Wray.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5256001\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2023\/05\/10\/id5256001-rep-mike-johnson-1200x800.jpg\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a><br \/>\n    Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) in Washington on June 14, 2022. (Anna Moneymaker\/Getty Images)<br \/>\n  <\/figure>\n<p>Mr. Johnson instantly responded, saying, \u201cLet me tell you what the court concluded because it should be the first thing you think about in the morning and the last thing you think about at night. The court wrote that \u201capparently the FBI engaged in a massive effort to suppress disfavored conservative speech and blatantly ignored the First Amendment right to free speech.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He continued reading from the court\u2019s opinion, which described in great detail how the FBI\u2019s actions had the effect \u201cof suppressing millions of free speech postings by Americans.\u201d As an example, the court pointed to the fact \u201cmillions of Americans did not hear about the Hunter Biden laptop story prior to the 2020 election,\u201d as well as a lengthy list of other controversial issues.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur emphasis is on malign foreign disinformation from hostile actors who engage in covert actions to subvert our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-new-acting-attorney-general-jeff-rosen-recently-wrote-an-essay-on-foreign-influence-in-us-elections-this-tells-us-a-little-about-his-knowledge-of-whats-going-on-today\/\" title=\"The New Acting Attorney General Jeff Rosen Recently Wrote an Essay on Foreign Influence in US Elections \u2013 This Tells Us A Little About His Knowledge of What\u2019s Going On Today\">social media platforms<\/a>, which is something that is not seriously in dispute,\u201d a grimacing Mr. Wray stated.<\/p>\n<p>At that point, an agitated Mr. Johnson insisted, \u201cThat is not accurate; you need to read this opinion because you are in charge of enforcing it \u2026\u201d He also pointed out that an FBI official in charge of the censorship program claimed a 50 percent success rate in getting targeted posts suppressed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWell, first off, I am not sure that is a correct characterization, but what I would say is the FBI is not in the business of moderating content or pressuring any social media to suppress or censor \u2026\u201d Mr. Wray said angrily.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is not what the court said,\u201d Mr. Johnson countered.<\/p>\n<p>And thus it went back and forth throughout the lengthy hearing, with Republicans pointing to the extremely detailed July 4 opinion by Judge Terry Doughty of the U.S. District Court for the Western District Louisiana and numerous similar findings by others on recent FBI actions against free speech, clashing with the embattled FBI director who flatly and repeatedly denied that his agency has done anything remotely like censorship.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5201192\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2023\/04\/17\/id5201192-Victims-of-Violent-Crime-field-hearing-8535-1200x800.jpg\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a><br \/>\n    Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, attends the committee\u2019s \u201cVictims of Violent Crime in Manhattan\u201d field hearing at Jacob K. Javits Federal Building in New York City on April 17, 2023. (Chung I Ho\/The Epoch Times)<br \/>\n  <\/figure>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wray-repeatedly-denies-fbi-censorship-of-conservatives-as-republicans-point-to-suppressed-posts\/\" title=\"Wray denies FBI censorship of conservatives, GOP highlights suppressed posts.\">similarly yawning gulf remained<\/a> throughout the hearing between the Republicans and Democrats on the judiciary panel. The top Democrat, Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York, devoted the bulk of his opening statement to accusing Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and his GOP colleagues of being interested only in \u201cperformance art, an elaborate show with only two purposes in mind: t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>FBI Director Christopher Wray faced intense questioning from Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) during a House Judiciary Committee hearing. Johnson&#8217;s rapid-fire inquiries led to a clash of opposing views, following the release of a significant 155-page federal opinion on July 4th.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1971118,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1971117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1971117","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1971117"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1971117\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1971118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1971117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1971117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1971117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}