Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and FBI Director Christopher Wray jointly told the Senate Homeland Security Committee to take a long walk off a short pier. Statements issued by DHS and the FBI made it clear that they have said all they will say in a public setting.
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A DHS spokesman released a statement saying:
DHS and the FBI have offered to the Committee a classified briefing to discuss the threats to the Homeland in detail, providing the Committee with the information it needs to conduct its work in the months ahead. DHS and the FBI have already shared with the Committee and other Committees, and with the American public, extensive unclassified information about the current threat environment, including the recently published Homeland Threat Assessment. DHS takes seriously its obligation to respond to Congressional requests for testimony; in fact, Secretary Mayorkas has testified 30 times during his tenure.
The FBI chimed in, too:
The FBI has repeatedly demonstrated our commitment to responding to Congressional oversight and being transparent with the American people. We remain committed to sharing information about the continuously evolving threat environment facing our nation and the extraordinary work the men and women of the FBI are doing — here at home and around the world — to protect the American people and uphold the Constitution of the United States. FBI leaders have testified extensively in public settings about the current threat environment and believe the Committee would benefit most from further substantive discussions and additional information that can only be provided in a classified setting.
Committee chairman, Michigan Democrat Gary Peters, was not pleased.
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In a shocking departure from the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee’s longstanding tradition of transparency and oversight of the threats facing our nation, for the first time in more than 15 years, the Homeland Security Secretary and the FBI Director have refused to appear before the Committee to provide public testimony at our annual hearing on Threats to the Homeland.
Their choice to not provide public testimony about their departments’ efforts to address wide-ranging national security threats robs the American people of critical information and the opportunity for public accountability of what the federal government is doing to keep Americans safe.
Americans deserve transparent, public answers about the threats we face. Secretary Mayorkas and Director Wray’s refusal to speak publicly about their department’s work will only increase the concerns that many Americans have about our nation’s security at a challenging time, flout the Committee’s efforts to conduct responsible oversight, and will deal a serious blow to trust in our government. Their claims that they can only relay such information and respond to questions in a classified setting are entirely without merit.
It cannot be the practice of the Executive Branch to deny the public critical information and disregard Congress’ constitutionally recognized right to conduct oversight. I urge Secretary Mayorkas and Director Wray to honor the commitments they made to appear publicly at this hearing, and to ensure that both Congress and the American people have the opportunity to hear directly about how their agencies are working to protect our national security in an increasingly dangerous world.
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On one level, I don’t blame the Dynamic Duo for not wanting to show up. The trial of Laken Riley’s murderer just wound up (Laken Riley’s Family and Friends Give Heartbreaking Impact Statements; Judge Sentences Jose Ibarra), and I can understand why they don’t want to talk about immigration. I can also understand that both of these guys know they are leaving office in the next couple of months, and they don’t see any use in taking the public beating this hearing would entail.
Paradoxically, this move could boost Trump’s upcoming showdown with the Department of Justice, DHS, and the FBI. They are showing themselves to be a pampered, privileged group that doesn’t think they have to answer to even a senior senator in the ruling party. I predict this will not work out well when the hammer falls, and they come running to guys like Peters to make the pain go away.
