‘We’ve Got To Have An FBI’: Sen. Grassley Slams Calls For Shutting Down FBI
Harold Hutchison on September 15, 2023
Republican Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa ripped calls from some Republicans to shut down the Federal Bureau of Investigation over allegations of politicization.
The FBI has faced accusations that the agency has become politicized in cases involving pro-life advocates and parents protesting at school board meetings and was involved in censorship following reports based on documents released to journalist Matt Taibbi by Elon Musk, the owner of Twitter, now known as X. Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy expressed support for shutting down the FBI following the release of a report by Special Counsel John Durham on the origins of the FBI investigation of allegations that former President Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign colluded with Russia in May.
WATCH:
“Anybody that takes that position is stupid for saying it,” Grassley said during an appearance on an Iowa Public Broadcasting Service program. “We’ve got to have an FBI. And secondly, as Republicans, because you made a good point about Republicans saying this, for the last three or four years, we’ve been making fun of the Democrats wanting to defund the police. It’s the same thing. You can’t defund. We don’t want to defund the police. You can’t defund the FBI.”
Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida and former Vice President Mike Pence both vowed to fire FBI Director Christopher Wray, citing the allegations of abuse.
“I want to follow up and say that obviously, things aren’t right with the FBI, from my point of view,” Grassley added later. “But you don’t defund the FBI to make that point, you reform the FBI.”
“Vivek has offered a detailed and pragmatic plan for shutting down the FBI and re-allocating 15,000 personnel for essential roles without politicization or corruption,” Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for Ramaswamy, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “He would be glad to engage with those who question the wisdom of his plan, but complacent and empty handwringing is not an option for an institution that has failed its mission for decades.”
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to include comment from Vivek Ramaswamy.
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