WASHINGTON – FBI Director Christopher Wray told agency officials Wednesday that he plans to resign in January, when President Joe Biden’s term ends. The announcement came a week and a half after President-elect Donald Trump announced that he would nominate loyalist Kash Patel to be the next president. work.
What you need to know
FBI Director Christopher Wray has said he plans to resign in January, when President Joe Biden’s term ends.
Wednesday’s announcement came a week and a half after President-elect Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate ally Kash Patel to the post.
Ray said in a town hall meeting with department officials that he was resigning “after several weeks of careful consideration.”
Wray was previously nominated by President Trump for a 10-year term after Trump fired then-FBI Director James Comey in 2017, a length designed to protect the agency from the political fallout of a change in administration. ) was appointed.
Wray said at a City Hall meeting that he would resign “after several weeks of careful consideration” with three years left until the end of his 10-year term following a politically high-profile investigation that has led to two separate indictments. said. President Trump last year.
Wray’s intention to resign is not unexpected, given that Trump has appointed Patel as director and has repeatedly expressed anger at Wray, including in a television interview that aired on Sunday. Wray is trying to avoid conflict with the new Trump administration by resigning rather than waiting to be fired, which he said could draw the FBI “deeper into the fray.”
“My goal is to stay focused on our mission: the essential work we do every day for the American people,” Wray told agency employees. “In my view, this is the best way to avoid dragging the office further into the fray while reinforcing the values and principles that are so important to the way we work.”
Mr. Wray was appointed to the position by President Trump for a 10-year term after President Trump fired then-FBI Director James Comey in 2017 amid an investigation into his ties to Russia (due to political fallout from the change in administration). He was appointed to a position intended to protect the FBI from the FBI. and the Republican presidential campaign.
Trump repeatedly sent angry telegrams to Wray.
President Trump said on the Truth social platform Wednesday that Wray’s resignation marks “a great day for America because it brings an end to the weaponization of the organization known as the United States Department of Fraud.”
“The FBI, under the leadership of Christopher Wray, illegally searched my home for no reason, worked diligently to illegally impeach and indict me, and did everything else to sabotage America’s success and future. ,” the president-elect wrote. “They have used their great power to intimidate and destroy many innocent Americans, some of whom will never recover from what was done to them.”
But the soft-spoken Mr. Wray rarely seemed to go out of his way to confront the Trump White House in public.
In fact, Mr. Wray quickly distanced himself and his leadership team from the FBI’s Russia investigation.
On the same day that the highly critical inspector general’s report on the investigation was released, Mr. Wray announced more than 40 corrective actions to the FBI’s process for applying for warrants for national security covert surveillance. He called the mistakes made during the Russia investigation unacceptable and said he helped strengthen control over investigations into federal candidates.
FBI officials actively promoted these changes to make it clear that Mr. Wray’s leadership ushered in a different era for the agency.
But even then, Mr. Wray’s criticism of the investigation was occasionally appreciated, such as when he disagreed with President Trump’s labeling of the investigation as a “witch hunt,” but he also offered other comments, particularly in response to certain questions. There were instances where he made some memorable remarks. Parted ways with the White House.
In December, he said there was “no indication” that Ukraine interfered in the 2016 election, contradicting a topic often talked about by President Trump at the time. Wray made his displeasure clear when President Trump celebrated the declassification of materials related to the surveillance of former Trump campaign aides.
Wray slammed President Trump, saying that Antifa is a movement and an ideology, but not an organization. President Trump has said he wants to designate the group as a terrorist organization.
Wray said that even though Trump and senior administration officials, including the attorney general and national security adviser, had argued that China was the more robust threat, He detailed Russia’s attempts to interfere in the 2020 election, which he lost. Wray also said the FBI has seen no evidence of widespread voter fraud, a claim President Trump has repeatedly asserted.
Before being appointed FBI Director, Mr. Wray worked at the prestigious law firm King & Spalding, where he represented former Governor Chris Christie (R.N.J.) during the Bridgegate scandal. He led the Justice Department’s criminal division for a time during President George W. Bush’s administration.
