Outgoing FBI Director Christopher Wray on Sunday defended an FBI investigation into the 45th president's Florida mansion in 2022, saying he wants to avoid getting the FBI “deeper into the fray” of President-elect Donald Trump. He announced that he would resign following his appointment.
FBI director talks about impending resignation, controversial search of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago and how China is the 'defining threat of our generation' in wide-ranging interview with CBS . “60 Minutes'' on Sunday night.
Ray, 58, said the decision to step down before the end of his 10-year term was “one of the most difficult decisions” he had ever faced. He announced his resignation last month.
“I care very much about the FBI, about our mission, and especially about our employees. But as you know, the president-elect has made it clear that he intends to make changes. And the law allows changes to be made for any reason or no reason at all,” Wray told Scott Pelley.
“My conclusion was that the best thing for the bureau was to not push the FBI deeper into the fray and try to do this in an orderly manner.”
President Trump appointed Wray to head the FBI during his first term, but in 2022 federal agents searched Mar-a-Lago for classified documents that accused the former president and the president-elect of mishandling them. Republicans were furious about the search.
Wray, who served as director for more than seven years, was also furious that the FBI was investigating allegations that he tried to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Trump faced federal charges by a special counsel until both cases were dropped after winning the November election.
Mr. Wray defended his agents in both cases, saying, “It's the bureau's job to pursue the facts, regardless of who likes it.”
He insisted that searching Trump's vast estate was a last option.
“And when we learn that information that is confidential is not being properly stored, we have a duty to act. I can tell you it wasn't a choice,” he said on CBS.
Wray said he has not had any discussions with the Biden administration about the investigation into President Trump and believes no one else at the FBI has had any contact with the current White House.
Wray also defended the FBI in its investigation of President Biden's son Hunter, who was convicted on gun and tax charges before his father pardoned him last month. Biden accused prosecutors of being the result of “raw politics.”
“This is hard work,” he told Perry. “It inevitably ends up angering a variety of people, often very powerful people.”
Wray also warned that the United States faces a growing threat from the Chinese government with cyber programs that steal personal and corporate data from Americans and target critical U.S. infrastructure.
“It's like a water treatment plant. We're talking about a transportation system,” he said. “We're talking about targeting the energy sector, the power grid, natural gas pipelines, and more recently we've seen communications systems being targeted.”
Challenges from China and other adversaries could fall to Kash Patel, a former lawyer in the U.S. Justice Department's national security division, whom President Trump nominated to head the FBI, but he must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. It will be.
