House Republicans spent hours on Wednesday grilling the FBI director, Christopher Wray, for what they say are clear demonstrations of political bias and violations of Americans’ civil liberties by the storied agency. They also lambasted the director for what one lawmaker called his “suspiciously incurious” reaction to the various allegations against President Biden’s troubled son, Hunter.

The House Judiciary Committee, which hosted the event and is led by a combative congressman, Jim Jordan, has spent months attacking the FBI and other federal agencies for “interference” that allegedly affected the investigation of alleged financial misconduct and self-dealing by Hunter Biden and the Biden family. Mr. Jordan’s committee, as well as his subcommittee on the “weaponization” of the federal government, has also gone after what it calls broader abuses of power and persecution of conservatives by the FBI.

“This is no time to mince words,” Congressman Mike Johnson, the first questioner of the day, said. “The American people have lost faith in the FBI.” 

The lack of trust in the agency, Mr. Johnson claims, is due to the American people having seen “evidence of being used as a political tool by the Biden administration. They’ve seen counterterrorism resources being used against school parents, the homes of conservative political opponents being raided, they’ve seen conservative states being targeted over their election integrity laws, and conservative Catholics and pro-life citizens being characterized as violent extremists.”

One of the main points of inquiry for committee Republicans was the allegation that the first son, Hunter Biden, received favorable treatment from federal investigators during inquiries into his finances and taxes, his purchase of a firearm, and the allegation that he and his father each received a $5 million bribe from a foreign national in exchange for changes to American foreign policy. 

“You seem deeply incurious about it, don’t you?” Congressman Matt Gaetz asked after dramatically reading out loud a WhatsApp exchange in which Hunter Biden invoked his father’s name while demanding money from a Chinese business associate, something Mr. Gaetz called “a shakedown.”

Mr. Wray is “almost suspiciously incurious,” Mr. Gaetz continued. “Are you protecting the Bidens?” 

Mr. Wray then strenuously denied that he was protecting the Bidens.

Previously, members of the House Oversight Committee, led by Congressman James Comer, had spent weeks trying to obtain a secret whistleblower form, known as an FD-1023, that was in the FBI’s custody. After missing several deadlines for handing over the document, Mr. Wray eventually relented, providing a brief to the committee staff and allowing members to review the document on Capitol Hill. 

During that saga, Mr. Comer grew increasingly agitated, so much so that he drafted a resolution of contempt against the director. That motion was later dropped. 

On the question of whether he himself or his organization is “biased” against conservatives, Mr. Wray called the accusation “insane.” Mr. Wray is a registered Republican and led the Department of Justice’s criminal division during President George W. Bush’s administration. 

Another issue at hand was the execution of a search warrant at President Trump’s Florida residence, Mar-a-Lago, in August 2022, which many Republicans have described as a “raid.” Mr. Wray disagreed with that characterization, saying it was the result of a lawful subpoena that was pursued after months of trying to get the former president to turn over documents he had allegedly taken improperly from the White House — a charge over which he is now being prosecuted. 

One Democrat on the committee, Congressman Steve Cohen, raised the specter of looming violence should Republicans continue discrediting the FBI and federal agencies going forward, as they did after the search of Mar-a-Lago. 

Messrs. Cohen and Wray detailed the significant increase in threats against FBI agents in the wake of the August 2022 search. “A few days after Mar-a-Lago, there was an individual who went after the Cincinnati headquarters of the FBI. Can you tell us a little about that and how you think that came about?” the congressman asked. 

“The incident you’re asking about was obviously deeply disturbing,” the director responded. “We had an individual wearing a tactical vest armed with an AR-style rifle and a nail gun who attempted to forcibly enter and attack our Cincinnati field office … it’s unfortunately part of a broader phenomenon not just against the FBI, but against law enforcement all across the country.”

Mr. Cohen blamed some of his Republican colleagues for “putting out” inaccurate information that accused the FBI of bias, which the congressman claimed is partly a cause of the increase in threats to the FBI. 

Mr. Wray himself has become a flashpoint in the ongoing 2024 Republican presidential primary. Governor DeSantis has said he would fire the director should he be elected president. Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy has proposed abolishing the FBI entirely in response, in part, to Mr. Wray’s leadership and alleged “weaponization” of the organization he leads.