Republicans are “eating their own” in attacking Christopher Wray: Kirschner

Republicans are “eating their own” by relentlessly attacking FBI Director Christopher Wray, according to legal analyst Glenn Kirschner.

Wray, a lifelong Republican who was appointed by former President Donald Trump, on Wednesday faced an onslaught of allegations that he has shown bias against conservatives, during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on the supposed “weaponization” of the federal government.

Kirschner, a former federal prosecutor, said during the latest episode of his Justice Matters podcast on Thursday that House Republicans may have attacked Wray because they are “scared” that the FBI will discover that they played a criminal role in the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

The legal analyst said that Republican lawmakers were also attempting to help Trump escape “accountability” and acting as the ex-president’s “lap dogs” as part of a cynical effort to retain favor with the MAGA voter base.

“They have decided that they will forever be Donald Trump’s lap dogs trying to protect him against accountability,” Kirschner said. “They’ve decided that they will serve as accessories after the fact to Donald Trump’s crimes, because they don’t want to lose the votes of Donald Trump’s supporters.”

Kirschner argued that attacks on Wray were linked to a GOP effort to “defund” the FBI. Republican calls to pull funding from the bureau have grown louder since the FBI raid of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence last year and the ex-president’s subsequent indictment on federal felony charges.

“They tear down lifelong Republican FBI Director Christopher Wray, in hopes of tearing down, tearing apart, dismantling the FBI,” he continued. “That is the Republicans eating their own. And that can’t taste good. But friends, let me assure you: It won’t work.”

Kirschner went on to say that the Justice Department would eventually set its sights on GOP lawmakers who “committed crimes on and around January 6” by “trying to overthrow the results of a presidential election, trying to overthrow our democracy.”

Special Counsel Jack Smith is continuing to investigate Trump in the failed efforts to overturn the 2020 election and over his activities surrounding the January 6 attack, prompting speculation that the former president could soon be facing related criminal charges.

Newsweek reached out for comment to the Republican National Committee via email on Thursday.

During the House hearing on Wednesday, Republicans repeatedly accused Wray of weaponizing the bureau against Trump, while allegedly protecting President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden.

One particularly tense moment saw GOP Congresswoman Harriet Hageman accuse Wray of having “personally worked to weaponize the FBI against conservatives.”

The FBI director responded by saying, “The idea that I’m biased against conservatives seems somewhat insane to me, given my own personal background.”

Wray was also accused of running a “tyrannical” law enforcement agency by Republican Representative Chip Roy and was told that FBI agents “deserve better” by GOP Representative Matt Gaetz.