Senator Chuck Grassley says he’s seen political bias in the U.S. justice system over the past eight years, but Grassley is rejecting proposals from fellow Republicans who’ve called for shutting down the FBI.
“Anybody that takes that position is stupid for saying it,” Grassley said this morning during taping of “Iowa Press” which airs tonight on Iowa PBS. “We’ve got to have a FBI.”
GOP candidate Vivek Ramaswamy this week said as president he’d fire two-thirds of F-B-I employees and shift the rest to other federal agencies, like the U.S. Marshals Service and the Drug Enforcement Agency. Last year, Republicans in the House Freedom Caucus began calling for defunding the FBI. Earlier this year, former President Trump said “Republicans in congress should defund the DOJ and FBI until they come to their senses.”
Grassley said: “As Republicans, for the last three or four years, we’ve been making fun of the Democrats wanting to defund the police…We don’t want to defund the police. You can’t defund the FBI.”
Grassley has previously accused the agency “of a consistent disregard for congressional oversight” and he’s clashed with the FBI over documents related to an investigation into Hunter Biden.
“Obviously things aren’t right with the FBI from my point of view,” Grassley said, “but you don’t defund the FBI to make that point. You reform the FBI.”
Grassley is suggesting the House impeachment inquiry into President Biden will show why F-B-I reform is necessary.
“Because we…when I say we I mean the House of Representatives have not talked to the individual FBI agents that should be following up on these reports that you get and the suspicions you get…When we interview about 15 or 20 of those (FBI agents), I think you’ll find more political bias,” Grassley said. “That’s an assumption on my part.”
Last year, President Biden called attacks on the FBI “sickening” and Biden’s chief staff has said defunding the FBI is a reckless idea.