Remarks, as delivered

Good morning, Chairman Jordan, Ranking Member Nadler, and members of the committee. 

I want to begin by offering my condolences on the passing of Representative Jackson Lee, who served the people of Texas in this body—and on this committee—for so long. 

Thank you all for your support of our efforts to protect the American people and uphold the Constitution. I am proud to be here today representing the 38,000 special agents, intelligence analysts, and professional staff who make up the FBI. Men and women who, every day, work relentlessly to counter the most complex threat environment I’ve seen in my tenure as FBI Director, maybe in my entire career in law enforcement.

Before I go any further, I also want to acknowledge and offer my deepest condolences to the victims of the horrific assassination attempt in Butler County. To the friends and family of Corey Comperatore, who by all accounts lost his life protecting others from danger—to the other victims, two of whom were critically wounded—and, of course, of course, to former President Trump and his family. 

As I’ve said from the beginning, the attempted assassination of the former President was an attack on our democracy and our democratic process. We will not and do not tolerate political violence of any kind, especially a despicable [attack] of this magnitude. And I want to assure you—and the American people—that the men and women of the FBI will continue to work tirelessly to get to the bottom of what happened. 

We are bringing all the resources of the FBI to bear, both criminal and national security. There’s a whole lot of work underway and still a lot of work to do. And our understanding of what happened—and why—will continue to evolve, but we're going to leave no stone unturned. The shooter may be deceased, but the FBI’s investigation is very much ongoing. 

To that point, I also want to acknowledge that I recognize both the Congressional and the public interest in this case and the importance of this investigation to the American people. And I understand there are a lot of open questions. So while the investigation is very much ongoing and our assessments of the shooter and his actions continue to evolve, my hope here today is to do my best to provide you with all the information I can, given where we are at this point.

I have been saying for some time now that we are living in an elevated threat environment. And tragically, the Butler County assassination attempt is another example, a particularly heinous and very public one, of what I’ve been talking about. But it also reinforces our need at the FBI—and our ongoing commitment—to stay focused on the threats, on the mission, and on the people we do the work with and the people we do the work for. 

Every day, all across this country and, indeed, around the world, the men and women of the FBI are doing just that: working around the clock to counter the threats we face. Just in the last year, for example, in California, the FBI and our partners targeted an organized crime syndicate responsible for trafficking fentanyl, meth, and cocaine all across North America. We charged the Mexican-based suppliers who brought the drugs into the United States, a network of Canada-based truck drivers who delivered the drugs, and the distributors in the United States who spread the poison into our communities.

Staying on threats emanating from the border, I have warned for some time now about the threat that foreign terrorists may seek to exploit our southwest border or some other port of entry to advance a plot against Americans. Just last month, for instance, the Bureau and our joint terrorism task forces worked with ICE in multiple cities across the country as several individuals with suspected international terrorist ties were arrested using ICE’s immigration authorities.

Leading up to those arrests, hundreds of FBI employees dedicated countless hours to understand the threat and identify additional individuals of concern. Now, the physical security of the border is, of course, not in the FBI’s lane. But as the threat has escalated, we’re working with our partners in law enforcement and the Intelligence Community to find and stop foreign terrorists who would harm Americans and our interests.

As concerning as the known or suspected terrorists encountered at the border are, perhaps even more concerning are those we do not yet know about because they provided fake documents or because we didn’t have information connecting them to terrorism at the time they arrived in the United States.

Staying ahead of today’s threats demands that we work together. For the FBI, that means doubling down on our partnerships, especially with state and local law enforcement, whether it’s working through our hundreds of joint terrorism task forces to build out source networks to identify those who slipped through the cracks—or targeting the worst of the worst responsible for the violence that still plagues far too many communities, through our Safe Streets Task Forces—or taking the fight to the cartels responsible for trafficking the dangerous drugs like fentanyl pouring into our country and claiming countless American lives.

Staying ahead of the threat also means continuing to disrupt the cybercriminals ravaging businesses large and small—and confronting nation states, like China, targeting our innovation and our critical infrastructure. At the Bureau, we’re proud to work side by side with our brothers and sisters in federal, state, and local law enforcement, our partners in the Intelligence Community, and others around the world to fulfill our commitment to keep Americans safe.

Now on Friday, the FBI will celebrate its 116th anniversary. 116 years of protecting the American people and upholding the Constitution. 116 years of working with our partners to safeguard the communities we serve. 116 years of innovating to stay ahead of the complex, evolving, and very real threats out there. I am proud of the legacy the men and women of the FBI have built and all they have accomplished for the American people. So, if I may, as we approach this week’s anniversary, I would just like to say to all those who are part of the FBI family—from our current employees to our formers, and to our partners across law enforcement and the Intelligence Community: Thank you. Thank you for dedicating your lives to this country and to its people. It is both humbling and an honor to serve alongside you, and I look forward to the work we’re going to continue to do together.

And with that, thank you again for having me, and I look forward to our discussion.

Resources:

• Testimony: Oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation