FBI Director Chris Wray defends agents, bureau in hearing before House GOP critics
CBSN
Washington — House Republicans clashed with FBI Director Chris Wray on Wednesday as the head of the bureau faced sharp questions from lawmakers who in recent years have ratcheted up accusations that the agency has been weaponized for political purposes.
Wray's appearance before the House Judiciary Committee — for a hearing the panel billed as focusing on "the politicization" of the FBI under Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland — was his first since Republicans took control of the lower chamber and came as the FBI, and Justice Department more broadly, has emerged as a frequent target of Republicans. Former President Donald Trump nominated Wray to lead the FBI in 2017 after firing then-director Jim Comey.
The committee's Republican and Democratic members took their places along familiar battle lines throughout the hearing, offering competing views of the FBI.
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden were honored at a state dinner in Paris at the Presidential Elysee Palace on Saturday, hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron and first lady Brigitte Macron marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day two days prior and the strength of the countries' long alliance.
President Joe Biden said France was America's "first friend" at its founding and is one of its closest allies more than two centuries later as he was honored with a state visit Saturday by French President Emmanuel Macron aimed at showing off their partnership on global security issues and easing past trade tensions.
The Consumer Federal Protection Bureau last week launched an inquiry into what the agency is calling "junk fees in mortgage closing costs." These additional fees, involving home appraisal, title insurance and other services, have spiked in recent years and can add thousands of dollars to the final cost of buying a home.
Retired Maj. Gen. William Anders, the former Apollo 8 astronaut who took the iconic "Earthrise" photo showing the planet as a shadowed blue marble from space in 1968, was killed Friday when the plane he was piloting alone plummeted into the waters off the San Juan Islands in Washington state. He was 90.