[inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] come to order we appreciate you coming over director ray we will try to get out of here by 1 00 oclock you have an agency to run and if there is any cleanup we will try to accommodate. Very briefly the oversight hearing comes at an important time even though there is no evidence the russians change the tally of the 2016 election they exceeded their wildest expectations or interfere with the 2016 elections. All of us are very interested in what we can do to make sure this doesnt happen again in 2020 and after what china is doing section 2015 authorities are about to expire to hear from the director what that means to the country with a pfizer warrant investigation we that is coming also media leaks at the fbi. Having said all that it is difficult time for the fbi but lets not let a few bad actors taint a Great Organization so before we start me tell you and those that work under your charge we appreciate what they do without their service day in and day out in the country would be a much dangerous place to live and we will do everything we can to get this budget deal through because sequestration would be a slap in the face senator feinstein. Thank you very much mister chairman and welcome it is great to see you slightly more gray than when we saw you last time there is good reason for that. Welcome. It has been nearly two years since you were confirmed to run the fbi so we have a lot of important topics to cover and during this time democracy and the rule of law have come under attack. Foreign governments have interfered in the United States elections and continue to conduct influence campaigns designed to divide americans along racial, religious and political lines the president has declared he has an absolute right to control the Justice Department and the executive branch is removed from congressional oversight and americans who disagree can go back to where they came from. Over the past two years the president has attacked the fbi describing in tweets as corrupt and full of dirty cops. Also that the fbi is part of the deep state and politically biased against him. It is my view that the claims are false and harmful with the fbis ability to enforce the law and survey show that while morale was high in 2016 it has declined in 2017 after the president fire the director and began publicly attacking the bureau. While the president has claimed the fbi investigation of his campaign possible coordination with russia was started illegally, the Mueller Report confirms there was a legitimate and lawful reason to open the investigation. The Mueller Report explains the fbi started investigating possible coordination between the Trump Campaign and russia. In response to information provided by a Foreign Government shortly after wikileaks started to release documents stolen by russia from the dnc. The Mueller Report further explains in late july 2016 shortly after wikileaks started to release information stolen by russia from the dnc Computers Australia told the fbi months earlier the Trump Campaign advisor George Papadopoulos had told australias top diplomat in britain that russia had dirt on Hillary Clinton in the form of thousands of emails and as russia had indicated it could help the Trump Campaign by releasing the stolen and meals on emails to damage candidate clinton and the Mueller Report concluded welcomed, encouraged and expected to benefit electorally from russias efforts. We should be grateful for the work that Law Enforcement does to stop Foreign Governments from interfering in the United States elections. This is especially true now with another president ial election ahead. We know russias efforts are ongoing and other foreign powers will not hesitate to exploit opportunities to interfere in our elections and democracy. You have warned us, director wray that russia is adapting and upping their game and to describe their efforts to meddle in the 2018 midterm elections as quote mac address rehearsal for the big show in 2020. You have also stated quote mac enormous strideshave been made since 2016 to protect our elections. So i ask you to give us a frank assessment today of how prepared we are and in particular at a state and local level to identify and address foreign interference in the 2020 election. Moreover what more needs to be done flex threats to the nation from terrorists, criminals, and Foreign Governments seeking to steal our secrets and undermine our elections and democracy i believe are very real. 37000 men and women of the fbi are on the front lines every day addressing these threats and helping americans be safe. The fbi is not a corrupt institution or a deep state are acting against the president for political purposes so we need to come to gather in a bipartisan fashion to support you and this Institution Even as we conduct important oversight. I am very proud to be supportive of your organization and its mission. Thank you for your leadership and we look forward to hearing your testimony. Before i turn it over to the director just a comment on ms. Feinsteins Opening Statement. The committee will be looking at the counterintelligence investigation on the Trump Campaign and we will call papadopoulos and find out what happened. Even with a pfizer award to abuse with the surveillance by the fbi to make sure we know what we are doing if there are protocols in place to ensure we dont play politics with the la law. Thank you mister chairman and Ranking Member and members of the committee. Cigar the testimony about to give the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you god . Thank you mister chairman Ranking Member and member of the committee for the chance to appear today program originally intended to start with a few comments from my statement from the record with the extraordinary work done by the men and women of the fbi but i want to do something a little different talking what is near and dear to me before i tie it to the many important questions of the committee. As you say senator feinstein i have been on the job just under two years and one of the toughest things of the job is the loss of a Law Enforcement officer. Certainly at the fbi we have experienced our share of loss but the success also depends greatly on the support of our dedicated local Law Enforcement partners who control our neighborhoods, protect our streets all across america and they see that much more clearly now after having visited all 56 of the fifties fbi field offices and also the head from every one of your states. State and local partners serve on the joint Terrorism Task force with force multipliers in the fight against drug trafficking, taking down gang gangs, saving kids who have been kidnapped and exploited to help keep americans safe. This gives the fbi a much clearer understanding of the threats across the different communities in the ideas how we can combat them together. Every time i attend and fbi graduation at quantico a significant number are former state and local officers perk i have the privilege to shake their hand and present them with their credentials so that line of duty death is personal to the fbi and me as director. I have a feeling it is personal to a number of you. Since i became director , shortly thereafter i asked my team to let me know if every time an officer is shot and killed in the line of duty in this country and every time it happens i ask for a picture of the officer and read about his or her family and how long they served and then i pick up the phone and call the chief or the sheriff or commissioner and on behalf of the entire fbi extend my support and our condolences. We have made an awful lot of those calls to heart broken in just last month for example i was overseas meeting with foreign counterparts making five of those calls in nine days back to the United States five lost protectors of communities and grieving families and colleagues all in a matter of days. One of the calls i made was to a Sacramento Police department the home of you senator feinstein and senator harris a few weeks ago on june 19 an officer was killed while responding to a domestic disturbance. Twentysix years old, she was only on the job for six months. Another call i made literally only one day later to the home state of senator cornyn and senator cruise from the mission Police Department was killed while trying to catch a guy who threatened his family with a gun and then fled on foot and was 44 years old and had a wife and two kids. These calls never get any easier and just under two years as director i artie had to make condolence calls like that do more than half of the states represented on this committee and i have had to speak some chiefs and stare on the sheriffs more than once per will never forget last september when i called the Mississippi Police force after two of their men were killed. To put that in context a tire force of 30 people but unfortunately we already had two more officers killed just this month what was as an officer from this past thursday. With only a few specific tragic incidents but i cannot express enough this is a powerful to express towns big and small over the country it can happen anywhere, anytime and the level of violence against Law Enforcement doesnt get a lot of National Coverage and i worry often americans dont realize the extent of the problem. Maybe that is understandable because they dont see what i see in my job with a devastating loss in each instance of those left behind in the loss to the fbi and communities, partner communities, partners, who are so critical to our mission. Finally want folks to remember the dangers of this work go beyond dead the criminals. Line of duty death in the instance that we see now from 9 11 First Responders and those that died as a result of their work and countless other examples. And they know our country faces a daunting list of challenges and well be discussing them at this hearing but i want to make sure folks are not forgetting the good work of the people who put everything on the line. It takes an incredibly special person to be willing to put his or her life on the line for a complete stranger. And to get up every morning day after day to do that is extraordinary. We owe it to them into the fallen comrades to do whatever we can to make their work safer and promote understanding and respect for their roles and all americans owe them a profound debt of gratitude. I appreciate the committee extending me the privilege and honor is fbi director to honor their sacrifice with this job and im happy to answer questions. A very good sobering reminder you dont know if you will come home if your spouse or significant other and every time somebody falls in battle we give them appropriate honor a lot of people follow the line of duty. Well done. So lets talk about foreign and domestic threats so thats what we are about at the fbi. Do you have agents. We do. From your point of view is the terrorist threat in afghanistan extinguished to the homeland or those threats alive and well quick. We are dessert about threats in afghanistan and the potential ramifications around the world and here. There is more than before 9 11 like isys. They are in afghanistan as a speak. Is sequestration if that goes back into effect how does that affect your ability to operate . I would use the word devastating and i dont tend to use hyperbole. We at the fbi in a way thats different than other agencies around the government a lot of money goes straight to personnel cost. Our ability to keep people safe would be hampered. So devastating is an accurate description. Section 215 authority is about to expire. Under usa freedom act there are three provisions that are relevant to the fbi set to expire if we dont collectively act. The first, perhaps the most widely used is the Business Records used routinely almost every day under Court Supervision to collect Business Records that which would not be available under National Security. So that is something we use all the time. Also how does that hamper your ability to operate . Counterterrorism and profoundly, counterterrorism and increasingly the cybermission and profoundly. And there are a couple of other authorities. You are hoping with reauthorization. Certainly these are indispensable tools and we look forward to working with congress to make sure we have the ability to keep america safe. Theyre all Court Supervised is subject to extensive oversight. In the 2020 election do you have what you need to provide Election Security from your lane with a Statutory Authority that you need . Our primary focus is the maligned influence peace with that infrastructure piece dhs deals with we feel we have significant resources devoted in the president s budget that is before the Congress Asking for Additional Resources to do that. Any law change that you need to help you . We can always use more tools in the toolbox but i cant think of any of the foreign influence peace right now. What are the chinese up to with Counter Intelligence . Mister chairman there is no country that poses more severe counterintelligence threat to this country right now than china. That is saying a lot. I dont say it lightly second is russia. Whats the difference . China is fighting the generational fight. When i see china, want to be clear but what it is about a country in a variety of ways through the Chinese Government the Chinese Communist party with private sector entities to spill their way up up the economic ladder and as we speak 1000 plus investigations all across the country with attempted theft of intellectual property counter proliferation, almost all leading back to china. It is deep and diverse and wide and vexing with those actors with those techniques and targets so we are working extremely hard to combat but this is a high priority for all of us. Are the russian still trying to interfere in elections . They are intent on to interfere with the elections through foreign influence. Everything we have done against russia has not deterred them enough. But until they stop that they are still doing it. Yes. Some of us are concerned about the 2016 election and the bias and to be fair to the country as a whole with the fisa warrant process. Mister chairman and all my experience with respect to mister horowitz although he is hardhitting he is independent and objective and thorough and professional ive no reason to doubt the integrity or the quality of the investigation he has underway. So is anybody giving a deep dive . Is that part of the charter quick. He could speak for himself but as you know the attorney general is doing a review, and thats part of his job and part of mine to get those questions answered. Director wray, may 16 filed a classaction lawsuit against the department of justice. And with that gender Discrimination Program and then accuses the fbi to allow the Good Old Boy Network from the fbi academy that directly lead to subjective training standards. Is this true . What has been done to recruitment of agencies have they refuse the Academy Training program quick. Because the matter that you refer to is pending litigation i cannot comment directly but what i will tell you is we are firmly committed to diversity and i will also tell you to make significant strides to improve the diversity of our workforce. And those new agent classes has significantly higher female representation in the current workforce. With gender diversity with every field office and those are on par with the targets. We received some of that information in writing spirit of specifics. That is extremely important and the diversity is about the ability to make better decisions for we are all more effective when it is important with the credibility to the public in the matter of respect. Has the fbi reviewed its Training Programs quick. We are taking a look at how things are working at the academy. No changes that i can describe right now but i can get back to your office with more information. I would appreciate it if you would get back to us. With any Training Programs that assure equal treatment of female candidates and strategies. I went through this as mayor of San Francisco is painful but i also know that its right. So i appreciate knowing what is happening. According to the special counsel Mueller Report the fbi embedded personnel with mothers team the purpose was to review the investigation and to send, in writing the intelligence and counterintelligence information to fbi headquarters and field offices the Mueller Report says these summaries contain information that is not included in the Mueller Report itself. Have you reviewed these summaries . I want to be careful not to be discussing the special counsel if he will be test