Tag: Christopher Wray

Trump lashes out at FBI director in wake of Justice Department inspector general’s report

Washington Post logoPresident Trump on Tuesday blasted the FBI as “badly broken,” and suggested Director Christopher A. Wray may not have the right attitude to fix it, alarming current and former law enforcement officials who want to safeguard the bureau’s independence.

Trump took aim at Wray’s reaction to a Justice Department inspector general’s report that found serious failures in the FBI’s investigation of the Trump campaign in 2016, but no politically motivated conspiracy to harm the president.

“I don’t know what report current Director of the FBI Christopher Wray was reading, but it sure wasn’t the one given to me,” Trump tweeted. “With that kind of attitude, he will never be able to fix the FBI, which is badly broken despite having some of the greatest men & women working there!”

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FBI’s Wray says most domestic terrorism arrests this year involve white supremacy

The Hill logoFBI Director Christopher Wray said Tuesday that the agency has made about 100 domestic terrorism-related arrests since October, and the majority were tied to white supremacy.

”I will say that a majority of the domestic terrorism cases that we’ve investigated are motivated by some version of what you might call white supremacist violence, but it does include other things as well,” Wray said at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, referring to cases in fiscal 2019, which began Oct. 1.

The FBI is “aggressively” investigating domestic terrorism and hate crimes, Wray said, noting that the bureau is focused on investigating the violence, not the ideology motivating the attacks.

View the complete July 23 article by Morgan Chalfant on The Hill website here.

FBI Director Raises Concerns about Chinese Tech Giant Trump Wants to Help

The following article by Todd Ruger was posted on the Roll Call website May 16, 2018:

Wray defends agency, responding to political attacks from Congress and White House

FBI Director Christopher Wray testifies during a Senate Appropriations Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Subcommittee hearing in Dirksen Building on the bureau’s FY2019 budget Wednesday. Credit: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call

FBI Director Christopher Wray on Wednesday reaffirmed concerns about Chinese telecommunications company ZTE that President Donald Trump wants to help — and defended the agency from political attacks coming from the White House and Congress.

At a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing about the FBI’s fiscal 2019 budget request, Wray used a question about the agency’s responsiveness to congressional oversight to highlight the importance of protecting people who provide agents information.

Republican Reps. Devin Nunes and Mark Meadows last week threatened to impeach Wray and other Justice Department officials if they didn’t produce an unredacted version of a document that started the investigation into possible connections between Trump’s campaign and Russian operatives in the 2016 election. Continue reading “FBI Director Raises Concerns about Chinese Tech Giant Trump Wants to Help”

FBI director contradicts White House account on background investigation of aide accused of spousal abuse

The following article by Ellen Nakashima and Shane Harris was posted on the Washington Post website February 13, 2018:

FBI Director Christopher A. Wray said Feb. 13 the FBI submitted a partial report on former White House aide Rob Porter’s background check in March 2017. (Reuters)

FBI Director Christopher A. Wray on Tuesday contradicted the White House’s account of when the bureau informed officials about the status of a senior aide’s security-clearance investigation.

White House officials said that they were first contacted in the summer by the FBI about senior aide Rob Porter’s clearance. They also said that the investigation was never completed and that they did not know the extent of the allegations against Porter. He stepped down last week after accusations of spousal abuse by his two ex-wives. Continue reading “FBI director contradicts White House account on background investigation of aide accused of spousal abuse”

Inside the FBI: Anger, worry, work — and fears of lasting damage

The following article by Devlin Barrett and Matt Zapotosky was posted on the Washington Post website February 3, 2018:

On Friday, FBI Director Wray sent a video message to those he leads, urging them to “keep calm and tackle hard.” (Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)

In the 109 years of the FBI’s existence, it has repeatedly come under fire for abuses of power, privacy or civil rights. From Red Scares to recording and threatening to expose the private conduct of Martin Luther King Jr. to benefiting from bulk surveillance in the digital age, the FBI is accustomed to intense criticism.

What is so unusual about the current moment, say current and former law enforcement officials, is the source of the attacks.

The bureau is under fire not from those on the left but rather conservatives who have long been the agency’s biggest supporters, as well as the president who handpicked the FBI’s leader. Continue reading “Inside the FBI: Anger, worry, work — and fears of lasting damage”

White House worried FBI director could quit over Nunes memo release

The following article by Dana Bash, Jeff Zeleny and Evan Perez was posted on the CNN website February 1, 2018:

Washington (CNN) — Top White House aides are worried FBI Director Christopher Wray could quit if the highly controversial Republican memo alleging the FBI abused its surveillance tools is released, multiple sources with knowledge of the situation tell CNN.

Wray has made clear he is frustrated that President Donald Trump picked him to lead the FBI after he fired FBI Director James Comey in May, yet his advice on the Nunes memo is being disregarded and cast as part of the purported partisan leadership of the FBI, according to a senior law enforcement official. Continue reading “White House worried FBI director could quit over Nunes memo release”

F.B.I. Condemns Push to Release Secret Republican Memo

The following article by Adam Goldman and Nicholas Fandos was posted on the New York Times website January 31, 2018:

Christopher A. Wray, the F.B.I. director, last year. He has lobbied the administration to prevent a House committee from releasing a confidential memo. Credit Zach Gibson for The New York Times

WASHINGTON — The F.B.I. clashed publicly with President Trump for the first time on Wednesday, condemning a push by House Republicans to release a secret memo that purports to show how the bureau and the Justice Department abused their authority to obtain a warrant to spy on a former Trump campaign adviser.

“The F.B.I. was provided a limited opportunity to review this memo the day before the committee voted to release it,” the bureau said in a statement, referring to the House Intelligence Committee. “As expressed during our initial review, we have grave concerns about material omissions of fact that fundamentally impact the memo’s accuracy.” Continue reading “F.B.I. Condemns Push to Release Secret Republican Memo”

Justice Dept. officials appealed to White House to halt release of memo alleging FBI abuses related to author of Trump dossier

The following article by Josh Dawsey and Devlin Barrett was posted on the Washington Post website January 30, 2018:

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein warned White House Chief of Staff John Kelly Monday about the risks of releasing the document. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Top Justice Department officials made a last-ditch plea Monday to White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly about the dangers of publicly releasing a memo alleging abuses by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, according to people briefed on the meeting.

Shortly before the House Intelligence Committee voted to make the document public, Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein warned Kelly that the four-page memo prepared by House Republicans could jeopardize classified information and implored the president to reconsider his support for making it public, those people said. Rosenstein was joined in the meeting at the White House by FBI Director Christopher A. Wray. Continue reading “Justice Dept. officials appealed to White House to halt release of memo alleging FBI abuses related to author of Trump dossier”

Comey praises McCabe: He ‘stood tall’ while ‘small people’ tried to tear down the FBI

The following article by Jacqueline Thomsen was posted on the Hill website January 29, 2018:

© Victoria Sarno Jordan

Former FBI Director James Comey gave his support to departing Deputy Director Andrew McCabe on Monday, saying McCabe “stood tall over the last 8 months, when small people were trying to tear down an institution we all depend on.”

“He served with distinction for two decades. I wish Andy well,” Comey tweeted.

Comey’s message comes after it was reported that McCabe would be stepping down from his position amid pressure from Republicans and President Trump. Continue reading “Comey praises McCabe: He ‘stood tall’ while ‘small people’ tried to tear down the FBI”

Republicans vote to release memo alleging FBI missteps in surveillance of Trump campaign operative

The following article by Karoun Demirjian and Devlin Barrett was posted on the Washington Post website January 29, 2018:

Created by Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), the four-page memo is critical of the Justice Department and the FBI’s handling of the Russia investigation. (Victoria Walker/The Washington Post)

The House Intelligence Committee voted Monday to release a memo detailing alleged surveillance abuses by the FBI and the Justice Department, escalating a political fight between conservatives and the nation’s intelligence agencies.

The vote, which proceeded along party lines in the Republican-controlled committee, means that President Trump now has up to five days to review the material and decide whether to keep it secret, though he could agree to the release anytime before that deadline. If he does nothing, the committee can release the memo publicly. Continue reading “Republicans vote to release memo alleging FBI missteps in surveillance of Trump campaign operative”