U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz and a trio of other GOP lawmakers want the FBI to explain a cryptic tweet about maintaining election security.
The tweet, posted on Feb. 21, indicated the agency was ready to work with “private sector partners” to ensure election integrity.
Gaetz last Monday sent a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray asking him to elaborate on what that meant. Joining the Florida Republican in that request were GOP Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Paul Gosar and Andy Biggs, both of Arizona.
The FBI’s tweet said in full, “Fair elections are the foundation of U.S. democracy. Foreign influence in our elections won’t be tolerated, and the #FBI will continue to work with local government and private sector partners to disrupt and expose any attempts to erode confidence in the U.S. electoral system.”
Gaetz and the others acknowledged that all Americans want assurances that elections are above board. But the reference to unnamed “private sector partners” was “particularly alarming,” they noted.
“Protecting the sanctity of the United States electoral system is essential. However, the FBI partnering with unidentified private sector entities is disturbing for many Americans who understand the implicit biases of non-state actors, as well as the lack of transparency in how they are selected, when interacting with America’s electoral process,” the letter stated.
“As we saw in the aftermath of the 2016 election,” the letter continued, “the U.S. government colluded with the private sector to illegally spy on U.S. persons.”
“The government-sanctioned investigation of President [Donald] Trump’s campaign and administration was proven to be based on fraudulent information. Once this came to light, democracy and the rule of law had already been undermined and the reputation of law-abiding U.S. citizens had already been tarnished,” the lawmakers added.
“Considering the problematic history of ‘private sector partners’ involvement in U.S. elections, I request the Bureau to provide ample transparency of how it partners with outside entities,” they wrote.
They requested that Wray, by March 16, supply the names of all “private sector entities” that are intertwined with the FBI, “in any capacity,” regarding elections. They also want to know what specific role these entities play “in protecting the U.S. electoral system.”
Gaetz’s reference about Trump is rooted in recent court filings by Special Counsel John Durham, who has indicated Hillary Clinton’s campaign in 2016 used a third party to hire a cybersecurity expert to spy on Trump’s campaign office, apartment, and the White House after he was elected.
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