The director of the FBI, Christopher Wray, announced he was stepping down on Wednesday, after Donald Trump said he would fire him and install the firebrand loyalist Kash Patel in his place.
Wray, who the president-elect himself appointed as director during his first presidency after firing Wray’s predecessor James Comey in 2017, announced his decision to staff at the bureau’s Washington headquarters.
“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,” he said. “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.”
In the emotional remarks, Wray added: “This is not easy for me. I love this place, I love our mission and I love our people.”
Wray also took an implied swipe at anyone who might try and unduly influence the FBI in its work in the future – as many fear Trump will do in his second term.
“We’re not on any one side. We’re on the American people’s side – the constitution’s side. And no matter what’s happening out there, in here we’ve got to stay committed to doing our work the right way every time – with rigor and integrity,” Wray said.
“That means following the facts wherever they lead, no matter who likes it, or doesn’t – because there’s always someone who doesn’t like it. It means conducting investigations without fear or favor.”
The news was greeted with elation by Trump, who called it “a great day for America” and said Wray’s departure would end what he has characterised as the “weaponisation” of the US justice system.
Trump used a post on his Truth Social network to celebrate Wray’s demise while elaborating on his grievances against a public official he had once extolled.
“It will end the Weaponization of what has become known as the United States Department of Injustice,” Trump wrote.
“I just don’t know what happened to him. We will now restore the Rule of Law for all Americans.”
He added that, under Wray’s leadership, “the FBI illegally raided my home, without cause, and worked diligently on illegally impeaching and indicting me”.
“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.”
Wray’s decision means he will depart more than two and a half years before the end of the 10-year term that directors of the bureau are customarily appointed to.
By leaving early, Wray may reduce the chances of his name being dragged into what are likely to be highly contentious Senate confirmation hearings surrounding the nomination of Patel. Patel has branded the FBI as part of a “deep state” and pledged to shut its Washington headquarters, dispersing its agents across the US.
The attorney general, Merrick Garland, issued a statement, praising Wray’s service.
“Under Director Wray’s principled leadership, the FBI has worked to fulfill the Justice Department’s mission to keep our country safe, protect civil rights, and uphold the rule of law,” Garland said. “He has led the FBI’s efforts to aggressively confront the broad range of threats facing our country – from nation-state adversaries and foreign and domestic terrorism to violent crime, cybercrime, and financial crime.”
Garland also used the moment to restate what he sees as the FBI’s mission at a moment when there are widespread fears of how Patel and Trump may seek to use the bureau.
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“The Director of the FBI is responsible for protecting the independence of the FBI from inappropriate influence in its criminal investigations. That independence is central to preserving the rule of law and to protecting the freedoms we as Americans hold dear,” he said.
Wray originally fell foul of Trump and his supporters after declining to investigate the then president’s baseless claims that the 2020 presidential election – won by Joe Biden – had been stolen and riddled with voter fraud.
He further earned Trump’s ire after, as previously mentioned by Trump himself in an aforementioned post, FBI agents raided his home in Mar-a-Lago in 2022 to retrieve classified documents that he had retained from his time in the White House.
Trump claimed that FBI agents had been “locked and loaded” and ready to kill him, even though the raid had been agreed upon with his lawyers in advance and there was time to ensure he would not be present.
The president-elect made his displeasure with Wray plain in an interview with NBC last weekend.
“He invaded Mar-a-Lago. I’m very unhappy with the things he has done,” Trump said.
It was a far cry from his words of praise at the time of Wray’s appointment, calling him “a man of impeccable credentials”.
Trump was also unhappy that the bureau would not confirm that he had been shot in the ear with a bullet after a failed assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, last July. Agents cited the need to examine fragments as part of its investigation before saying what had caused Trump’s wound.
Wray’s tenure also coincided with FBI investigations into Biden after he, too, was alleged to have improperly kept classified documents at his home in Delaware, as well as into his son Hunter who was subsequently convicted of gun and tax evasion charges.
Biden granted his son an unconditional pardon last weekend days before he was due to be sentenced.