The FBI’s $60 million Gulfstream G550 is maintained at a remote airfield, but a source who spoke on the condition of anonymity told The Daily Wire that when Director Christopher Wray has to utilize the plane, he regularly has it brought to Reagan National Airport.
The Daily Wire reports that the plane has flown the 15-minute route between Manassas Regional Airport in Virginia and airports in the Washington, D.C., area 140 times. Vicinity since the year 2020. An ex-FBI agent who spoke to The Daily Wire on the condition of anonymity stated that Wray and other agency heavy hitters took advantage of the local visits to avoid the 45-minute drive to and from Manassas on both ends of their flights.
After being on administrative leave from the FBI in December 2017, former employee Kyle Seraphin told The Daily Wire, “The FBI plane is being utilized, in my perspective, in a highly inappropriate way.” Chris Wray avoids the traffic on I-95 by flying private from Manassas, Virginia, to Washington, D.C.’s Reagan National Airport.
The FBI agents on Wray’s security detail informed Seraphin that the Gulfstream jet had picked him up from Reagan National for years, probably since he was authorized as bureau head by Congress in 2017. While in the nation’s capital, Wray is often accompanied by a motorcade of three black Chevrolet Suburbans.
Since the Bureau’s main office is on Pennsylvania Avenue, not far from Reagan National, it is not unexpected that most of the 140 flights between Manassas and bigger regional airports were to and from Reagan National. Dulles International Airport, located roughly 26 miles from downtown Washington, was implicated in nine cases, while the Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport was involved in five. Two more planes made it down to the capital without incident.
Seraphin remarked, “[Wray] does not want to be inconvenienced by traffic on I-66.”
The data collected by The Daily Wire between April 2020 and the present day shows that the trip from Manassas to Reagan National Airport takes only six minutes. To determine how much it would cost taxpayers to fly Wray instead of having him driven back and forth, The Daily Wire spoke with an aviation expert who requested anonymity due to the delicate nature of the subject and asked about the cost of running a Gulfstream G550. The FBI has not disclosed how much money is spent on the short travels.
According to the report, the private sector must pay between $7,000 and $11,000 per hour to operate the jet. According to the report, the Gulfstream G550 jet uses 500 gallons of gasoline every hour during takeoff and landing, although its fuel tanks can contain 6,000 gallons. The pilot warned that you would have to pay more if you wanted a shorter trip.
According to the source, a 15-minute flight in a Gulfstream 550 would need 223 gallons of gasoline. This is because shorter excursions (those lasting half an hour or less) may use up to 70% more fuel per hour than longer ones. Jet fuel prices are very unpredictable, ranging from 61 cents per gallon in April 2020 to $4.12 per gallon in June 2022. If you drive from Manassas to Reagan at today’s average gas price of $3.50 per gallon, you will spend a whopping $780 on fuel.
In contrast, there are major out-of-pocket expenses to consider. Signature Flight Support, a company that provides general aviation services, recently shared information with The Daily Wire, revealing that the standard landing fee at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport varies with the kind of aircraft. However, agents claim that the average landing cost for government employees who participate in a waiver program is $2,500. How much the FBI spends on landing fees at Reagan National and other D.C. airports remains classified. Airports while transporting Wray or other government officials to and from the airport.
The insider claims that these projections do not account for essential expenses and factors.
Officials at Manassas Regional Airport alleged the FBI did not pay landing fees, which drove the price of transporting Wray to and from the FBI’s headquarters.
How many short flights were done to get Wray where he wanted to go still needed to be estimated. The FBI responded to The Daily Wire and refuted Wray’s allegation that he took the plane due to traffic congestion.
According to a statement issued by the FBI, agency representatives could not comment on the precise locations of the planes for “operational and security considerations.” The “well-established and continuing” practice of “the FBI Director’s usage of FBI aircraft” is justified by the Bureau’s ongoing operational needs and safety concerns, which necessitate the Director’s use of Bureau aircraft.
Wray owns a home in Atlanta’s affluent Buckhead neighborhood, so the New York Post investigated his usage of the FBI plane last year and discovered the Gulfstream made eight trips there in four months.
Wray claimed he had to rush out of an oversight meeting on August 4 due to “business” and head to his Adirondacks cabin.
After the hearing, Republican members of the House questioned Wray on his “illegal misuse of taxpayer resources” in utilizing government planes for personal trips.
FBI officials wrote to legislators to reassure them that Wray’s appearance “complied with the established structure and timeframe.” The FBI routinely prearranges hearing arrangements with relevant congressional committees.
According to the statement, the Bureau has a “national security duty,” making it necessary for the Director to use government aircraft for all flights. Director Wray has followed the federal government’s criteria for claiming compensation for his plane utilization based on “unique communications capabilities and security considerations.” Transporting agents and evidence in national security and law enforcement investigations have been and will continue to be the primary duty of all FBI flights.
Seraphin, a six-year veteran and counterterrorism/counterintelligence expert, was officially suspended permanently and without pay in June 2022 after she reported suspicious bureau conduct and refused to procure the COVID vaccination the agency requested of all staff.
As long as Seraphin is on the bench, he can only accept a job offer with the approval of the Bureau, which he will only get if he resigns.
Rep. Jim Jordan, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, and his fellow Republicans voted earlier this month to create a new select subcommittee (R-OH). This panel will discuss whether or not the FBI and other governmental agencies have been weaponized.
After the GOP resolution was passed in Congress, Jordan announced last week on Sean Hannity’s show that over a dozen agency whistleblowers had come forward.
If Jordan is correct, Seraphin will be among the first to discuss the government agency he formerly worked for.