FBI Director Chris Wray resigns after Trump nominates Patel

FBI Director Chris Wray  resigns after Trump  nominates Patel
Briefing
Wray, originally nominated by Trump,  to step down at end of  Biden term.
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Trump  picks Kash Patel as successor
Wray says  he made his decision  "after many weeks of careful  consideration."
WASHINGTON, Dec 11  - FBI Director Chris Wray will step down from his post early next year, he said on Wednesday, after Republican President-elect Donald Trump signaled his  intention to fire the veteran and replace him with Kash  Patel. His resignation makes him the second FBI director  in a row to be ousted by Trump, who during his first term fired  Wray's predecessor, James Comey, after  growing exasperated with the  FBI's investigation into alleged contacts between  Trump's 2016 campaign and  Russia.
Wray is leaving the post before the end of the 10-year term  to which Trump himself appointed him in  2017. "In my  opinion, this is the best way to avoid dragging the  FBI further into the  fray while reinforcing the values  and principles that are so important to  the way we do our  job," Wray told FBI employees  during a town hall  meeting. Trump and his  hard-line allies  have been targeting Wray and the FBI more  broadly after agents conducted a court-approved search of  Trump's Florida  residence in 2022 to  retrieve classified documents he had  kept after leaving  his job. This sparked one of two federal  cases Trump  has faced while out of  office that did not result in a trial. Trump  has denied  any wrongdoing and  has called all cases against him politically motivated. Federal prosecutors ended their efforts after his election, citing  the Justice Department's longstanding policy  of not  prosecuting a sitting  president. Trump's Republican allies  have joined him in  claiming that the FBI  is politicized,  although there is no evidence that Democratic President Joe Biden interfered  in its investigative processes.

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On his social media platform Truth Social, Trump called  Wray's resignation  "a great day for  America."
"This ends the  militarization of what has become known as the United States Department of  Justice. "I don't know what happened to  him," Trump  wrote. As he has  assembled his  cabinet list in recent weeks, Trump has assembled a team ready to carry out two of his biggest priorities:  cracking down on his political  opponents and a  complete overhaul of the U.S.  government.
Patel, who  must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate, has never worked  for the FBI and  spent only three years at the Justice Department  early in his career in the  terrorism section of the national security division. If confirmed, he has  vowed to  close the  FBI's Washington headquarters building and  fundamentally redefine the  bureau's intelligence-gathering role. In a statement to Reuters, Patel said,  "I will be ready to serve the American people  from day  one."
Trump's allies welcomed the  news. "The FBI needs reform," Republican Senator Charles Grassley wrote  in X, adding  that the American people deserve transparency and  accountability.
WRAY DENIED  ANY IMPLEMENTATION
During his  tenure, Wray said he  tried to carry out the  FBI's functions impartially. In a 2023 hearing before a House  panel, he  rejected the idea that he was pursuing a Democratic partisan agenda, noting that he had been a lifelong  Republican. "The idea that  I'm biased against conservatives seems  a little crazy to me, given my personal  background," Wray  said.
FBI directors are appointed  to 10-year terms, a measure  designed to  prevent the  emergence of partisanship after  the political  change in the White House every four  years. Wray's term was not due to expire until  2027. Democratic senators thanked Wray on Wednesday for his service, with some  expressing concern  about the future  of the FBI without  him. "The FBI is  essential to  the security of our  nation and  the safety of our  families," said Dick Durbin, chairman of the Senate Judiciary  Committee. "It will soon  enter a  dangerous new era with serious questions about its  future."
The FBI Agents Association  said in a statement  that the  agency's mission  "does not waver when there are changes in a presidential  administration."
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland also praised Wray,  stressing in a statement that the FBI director is  responsible for protecting the  bureau's independence from  "improper influence" in its criminal  investigations. "That independence is  essential to  upholding the rule of  law," Garland said.
FISA WARRANT, Jan. 6  INVESTIGATIONS
Over the years, the FBI has faced  growing criticism  from Trump supporters for its various roles in  the Trump  investigation. Some of  those concerns  predate Wray's tenure, including several damning reports  from the Justice  Department's inspector general  that criticized the  agency for errors in its applications  for warrants to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court during its  first investigation into  the Trump campaign  in 2016, known as  "Hurricane Crossfire." ."
During his tenure, Wray  oversaw reforms  to the FBI's processes for  obtaining FISA  warrants. The FBI, during Wray's  tenure, also played a major role in helping to investigate and arrest  several Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol on  January 6, 2021, in a failed  attempt to  prevent Congress from certifying Biden's election  victory. More than 1,500 people  have been accused in the  attack. Trump promised to grant clemency to some of the  defendants on January 6, but did not  elaborate. Throughout his  tenure as FBI director, Wray  was known for his  aggressive stance toward China and  often warned that China  posed the  greatest threat to the national and economic security  of the United  States. Wray began his career at the  Department of Justice in 1997 as a federal prosecutor in  Atlanta. In 2003, Republican President George W. Bush  named him head of the department's  criminal division, where he oversaw  various investigations, including post-9/11  counterterrorism efforts and the Enron Task  Force. Wray also practiced law for about 17 years with the firm  of King and  Spalding and clerked for former Judge J. Michael Luttig  on the  United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit after  graduating from Yale Law School.