Wray Declines to Confirm FBI's Use of Geolocation Data to Track Capitol Rioters But Says It ‘Would Not Surprise Me'

FBI Director Christopher Wray told a Senate hearing Tuesday that while he could not confirm that the agency was using geolocation data to track Capitol rioters, he said the nature of the investigation is such that it "Would not surprise me."

Mike Lee and Josh Hawley, who pressed the FBI director about the methods federal law enforcement officials have been using to track people who took part in the Jan. 6 Capitol breach.

Lee pressed Wray on the legal basis for the FBI to use geolocation data, specifying whether FISA courts were involved, which the FBI director denied.

The Utah senator continued to press Wray on the issue, asking if there were "Instances in which you're interviewing people based solely on information derived from a telecommunications provider, providing geolocation information, indicating that they were on or near the national monument mall on January 6th?". Citing a "Massive nationwide investigation involving thousands and thousands of interviews," Wray declined to confirm whether any of the probes were predicated on geolocation data.

Later in the hearing, Hawley pressed Wray on what he knows about the FBI's use of geolocation data in its probes of the Capitol breach.

Wray said he does not "Know for a fact that we were using geolocation data under any situation in connection with investigation into the 6th," but added that he would "Not be surprised to learn" that the FBI has been resorting to such methods.

"Again, we do use geolocation data under specific authorities and specific instances," Wray said.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/wray-declines-to-confirm-fbis-use-of-geolocation-data-to-track-capitol-rioters-but-says-it-would-not-surprise-me_3718815.html