Rep. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., grilled FBI Director Christopher Wray during a congressional hearing this week about the federal law enforcement community’s “double standard” in the way it prosecuted Capitol rioters versus the leftist rioters in Portland.
“Under the Biden administration, there appears to be a wave of leniency being granted to individuals arrested for federal crimes in Portland,” Mullin said during the House Intelligence Committee hearing, referring to the violent riots that have taken place outside the federal courthouse and Immigration and Customs Enforcement buildings in Portland this past month.
“Federal prosecutors are apparently approving deferred resolution agreements in a number of cases and allowing perpetrators to do community service and avoid jail time and criminal records. Why are we seeing such a disparity between the individuals charged on Jan. 6 and those that are charged in Portland?” Mullin asked.
.@RepMullin grills @FBI Director Christopher Wray:
“Why are we seeing such a disparity between the individuals charged in January 6th and those that are charged in Portland?” pic.twitter.com/4JGxNjVQ3r
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) April 15, 2021
Wray argued it was local prosecutors’ fault for releasing arrested rioter.
“I believe we, the FBI, are taking a consistent approach in both situations,” Wray responded, according to the Washington Examiner.
“I don’t buy that,” Mullin replied.
Mullin pointed out that the FBI has the authority to make recommendations to local jurisdictions about the prosecution of arrested criminals.
In Portland, however, the FBI has refused to act, whereas it quickly mounted a national effort — including a billboard campaign — to find the men and women who breached the Capitol building on Jan. 6.
“You have 140-plus federal officers that have been injured in Portland alone. You have federal buildings that have been attacked, been burned, been stormed. And you’re not treating it the same as you are with Jan. 6,” Mullin said.
Several Republican senators have also demanded answers from the FBI and Justice Department on what efforts the Biden administration has made to investigate, arrest, and prosecute the radical leftists who continue to attack Portland.
“This is a textbook example of domestic terrorism, but neither the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, nor the Federal Bureau of Investigation appear to be doing anything to stop these attacks or bring to justice the left-wing extremists responsible for this violence and destruction,” GOP Sens. Rick Scott of Florida, Mike Lee of Utah, Ted Cruz of Texas, and Tom Cotton of Arkansas wrote in a recent letter.
