The House Republican says the recently released report on the attack that left House Rep. Steve Scalise, a Louisiana Republican, and three others injured is the latest example of the public's loss of confidence in the FBI.
The shooting occurred near the midway point of Donald Trump's first term as president, and the investigation carried into Joe Biden's term.
The committee found that the FBI, under former Director Andrew McCabe, failed to substantively interview victims and witnesses, failed to develop a comprehensive timeline of events, and that the FBI case file was improperly classified, "which may have assisted in obfuscating substandard investigative efforts and analysis."
The report concludes that the FBI relied on false statements, manipulation of facts, and biased analysis to support a narrative that the shooting was not politically motivated.
Other key takeaways:
The FBI "predetermined" that shooter James Hodgkinson, a left-wing activist who was killed when law enforcement returned fire, had set out on a "suicide by cop" mission.
The FBI withheld evidence that would have undermined the suicide by cop narrative, and when it could not get the narrative to stick, the bureau changed its determination to "domestic violence extremism" in 2021.
ABC News reported bizarre behavior from Hodgkinson during the early 2000s, when his home inspection business was faltering.
During that time, Hodgkinson became increasingly politically active -- venting on social media, in letters to the editor of a local newspaper near his Bellville, Illinois home, and phone calls to politicians.
In 2015, he posted online a political cartoon portraying Scalise in a negative light.
The committee calls the shooting a "predetermined assassination attempt on a Republican congressman."
Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia said on "Washington Watch" Wednesday that the committee is "spot on." He and other Republicans have said "domestic terrorism" is the only possible conclusion.
"The shooting at the baseball field in 2017 was an act of domestic terrorism," Clyde told show host Tony Perkins. "It was a Democrat trying to take out Republicans, and for the FBI not to call it what it is and literally hold that information and obstruct a congressional hearing for four years was totally unacceptable."
"It has led to the FBI's reputation being tarnished with the American people," Rep. Clyde said.
What's next for FBI?
Committee Chairman Rick Crawford, an Arkansas Republican, has praised Trump's new FBI director, Kash Patel, for providing a 3,000-page case file that served as the primary source for the committee's report.
Clyde said that kind of transparency could lead to a turnaround in trust of the FBI.
"Kash Patel, him being the new director is the best thing that has happened to the FBI in the last decade, maybe two decades," the Georgia Republican submitted. "I think he's going to do a lot to restore the confidence of the American people in the FBI."
Patel, an attorney and former federal prosecutor, was seen as a controversial Trump pick to lead the FBI. He has been an outspoken critic of the FBI's handling, of the Jan. 6, 2021 demonstration at the Capitol in the wake of Biden's disputed election.
In his 2023 book, "Government Gangsters: The Deep State, the Truth and the Battle for Our Democracy," a New York Times bestseller, Patel reveals who he says are major players within government bureaucracy and how they undermine elected leaders.
Yet in his new role, Patel has drawn criticism from some who were jailed for their participation on Jan. 6 for his promotion of FBI veteran Steven Jensen to assistant director.
Trust but verify
"I love Kash Patel because he was actually a victim of the weaponization of the government against him," Clyde noted. "He has even more reason to ensure that the FBI upholds the rule of law and upholds those four words that you see above the Supreme Court, 'Equal Justice Under Law,' for all of us."
While he praised Patel for the FBI's transparency in helping the House Intelligence Committee complete its report, Clyde recognized that Patel is still very new in the job.
He thinks Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino will do good work, but at the same time, they need to be held accountable.
"I want to give him a little bit of room. He's only been on board for a couple of months as director. I'm excited that he's there and by the fact that he's got Dan Bongino there with him. We'll be watching Kash Patel and seeing what he actually does," Clyde said.
