During a House Judiciary Committee hearing last week, Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA) questioned FBI Director Christopher Wray about diversity in the agency and responding to election-related violence.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Gentleman yields back, gentleman from Pennsylvania is recognized.
00:03Thank you so much, and thank you, Director Wray, for being here and for the work that
00:08your team does, as well as for sharing the information that you've been able to today.
00:12You just got a couple questions about, that seem to imply that there was some problem
00:18with the FBI's diversity efforts, and certainly the 1950s version of the FBI was singularly
00:27Caucasian male agents, et cetera.
00:32Is the FBI a better force for having a diverse range of employees and agents?
00:41I think diversity makes us better, but like everything else, it has to be done the right
00:45way.
00:46I think we can have a more diverse workforce and do it without lowering our standards,
00:51and that's, in my view, what we've done.
00:54And you haven't lowered standards at the FBI.
00:56We have not.
00:57I repeatedly come across people who are confused about different parts of that, and I appreciate
01:02the opportunity to set that straight.
01:05Yeah, I think we're all concerned here, as we've seen the rollout of this Project 2025
01:10that purports to try to eliminate any reference to diversity efforts across the entire federal
01:16government.
01:17So it is sort of a top-of-mind concern as it's threatening to become reality.
01:22So what I did want to talk about today is something some of my colleagues have mentioned,
01:27which is the normalization of threats and violence against public servants at all levels,
01:31whether it's election workers or school officials, elected officials and their families, judges,
01:38federal law enforcement agents, and others.
01:40To be clear, I think it's very clear that the majority of Americans wholeheartedly condemn
01:46any sort of political violence and understand that it's not legitimate discourse and that
01:52it has no place in our civic life.
01:54But words do matter, and they have consequences, particularly when uttered by people in positions
01:59of leadership.
02:00So that's why I remain very concerned by the willingness of some members of Congress to
02:05repeat disinformation and conspiracy theories that undermine trust in our public institutions
02:11which serve all Americans.
02:13And when elected officials embrace overheated or fact-free rhetoric, it becomes dangerous.
02:18I have been heartened, as many national leaders have unequivocally condemned calls to violence,
02:25and I would urge all members of this body to do so and continue to do so, regardless
02:29of the party affiliation of the perpetrators or the targets of such threats.
02:35You and our other national security officials have repeatedly warned us that foreign actors
02:40are actively working to spread disinformation to influence our elections and discredit our
02:45public institutions, and we shouldn't be aiding and abetting them.
02:50So to live in a country that we aspire to, where our most valued democratic processes
02:57like free and fair elections can be carried out unimpeded, and people can run for office,
03:03serve their communities, and exercise their right to vote without fear of violence, we've
03:07had some concerns about violence around our elections.
03:11In 2020, the endorsement and promulgation of falsehoods about the election results by
03:16the former president and his campaign led to threats and attacks against election officials
03:22and poll workers in Pennsylvania.
03:24And those falsehoods also wasted millions of taxpayer dollars on frivolous lawsuits
03:30and extraordinary security costs.
03:33So as we're again approaching November, we want to ensure that those who implement and
03:37defend our elections, our neighbors and our nonpartisan civil servants, can do that important
03:44work free from conspiracy theories and threats.
03:48So we know our local law enforcement across Pennsylvania are preparing for some disruption
03:54and threats, because while Pennsylvania may be a battleground state in the upcoming election,
04:00that battle should obviously be a war of words over policy and the vision we're charting
04:05for our country's future, not an actual civil war.
04:09So how is the FBI working with state and local law enforcement to prevent and respond to
04:16election related violence, particularly against election workers?
04:22So in a variety of ways, we're partnering with state and local law enforcement, obviously,
04:26the physical security in the first instance, in most of the respects you're talking about
04:32is in the is in the ordinary course, the responsibility of state and local law enforcement.
04:37But we play an important role in a number of ways.
04:40So we share, you know, threat bulletins, information like that about things to be on the lookout
04:45for things we're seeing.
04:47If we ever have specific threat information, then we work to get it to the right people.
04:52We have election crime coordinators, which we've had for decades, and all 56 field offices
04:58who have existing relationship with not just state and local law enforcement, but election
05:02officials, especially focus on on security and threat related issues.
05:09And then of course, we're participating in the election threats task force that DOJ set
05:15up, which is focused on threats of violence, or actual violence against election workers
05:22specifically.
05:23And we've had a number of arrests and even some convictions already on that.
05:27Thank you for your input.
05:28I yield back.
05:29The gentlelady yields back, Director.
05:31It's my intention to go approximately another half an hour, then we will break for the Prime
05:36Minister of Israel's address to the Congress on the floor, give you a chance for lunch
05:40and then resume after that.
05:42But we'll keep pushing through for the next half hour if we can.
05:44The gentlelady from Indiana is recognized.