Washington: FBI director Christopher Wray on Wednesday told agency employees that he intends to resign at the end of President Joe Biden’s tenure. This would clear the way for a smooth transition to Kashyap “Kash” Patel, should he be confirmed as President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to head the investigating agency.
“I’ve decided the right thing for the bureau is for me to serve until the end of the current administration in January and then step down,” Wray said at a town hall with employees of the FBI, adding, “This is the best way to avoid dragging the bureau deeper into the fray while reinforcing the values and principles that are so important to how we do our work.”
Three years remain of Wray’s 10-year tenure, but his position at the agency became untenable after Trump signalled his desire for him to leave by naming Patel his nominee.
The president-elect has not asked Wray to resign and did not say if he will fire him after taking the oath of office on January 20.He had made it amply clear, though, that he was not happy with Wray.
“The resignation of Christopher Wray is a great day for America as it will end the Weaponization of what has become known as the United States Department of Injustice,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, his social media platform. “I just don’t know what happened to him. We will now restore the Rule of Law for all Americans. Under the leadership of Christopher Wray, the FBI illegally raided my home, without cause, worked diligently on illegally impeaching and indicted me, and has done everything else to interfere with the success and future of America.
They have used their vast powers to threaten and destroy many innocent Americans, some of which will never be able to recover from what has been done to them.”
In an interview to NBC News that aired on Sunday Trump said of Wary, “He invaded Mar-a-Lago. “I’m very unhappy with the things he’s done.”
Wray was appointed FBI director by Trump in his first term taking over the agency from Jim Comey. Under Wray’s leadership, the FBI launched several investigations against Trump and raided his Florida residence in connection with classified documents that he should have handed over for archiving instead of carrying them with him.
The agency also investigated Trump in connection with widespread efforts to overturn the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
Wray’s FBI also investigated President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden for violation of gun laws and tax evasion.
–IANS