Posted on 02/01/2018 11:07:18 AM PST by Red Badger
As Trump prepares to release a GOP document accusing the FBI of abuses, bureau alums hope Director Chris Wray holds the line—but has to be ready to walk.
Former FBI agents are warning that FBI Director Christopher Wray has to be prepared to quit, should President Donald Trump assent over bureau objections to the release of a memo calling the FBI’s integrity into question.
The release of the memo, considered imminent, shows no signs of stopping, even as the leader of Democrats in the House called on its Republican author, Devin Nunes, to be removed from his chairmanship of the House intelligence committee. It was the latest move in an extraordinary episode that appears set to spark a crisis over the criminal investigation into Trump’s potential ties to Russia.
At the center of the storm is Wray, Trump’s hand-picked FBI director. Wray got his job after Trump fired James Comey last year for what Comey described as insufficient personal “loyalty” over the Russia investigation.
On Wednesday, Wray’s FBI publicly attacked Nunes’ memo for “material omissions of fact that fundamentally impact the memo’s accuracy.” Trump overriding Wray will immediately call Wray’s future in the Trump administration into question six month into his tenure.
Former FBI agents say that they hope Wray can remain in office, and pull Trump and House Republicans back from the precipice of what may be a pivotal moment in the bureau’s history. But they also say Wray needs to show his willingness to walk.
“Given the climate and the recent activities, going as far back as Director Comey’s departure, Wray definitely must be prepared to resign,” said Erroll Southers, a retired FBI special agent now at the University of Southern California.
“I don’t think the director has to resign. He should be prepared to publicly discredit this cherry-picked, fake memo and expose Nunes,” added former FBI counterterrorism special agent Ali Soufan. Soufan cited the bad blood between Director Louis Freeh and President Bill Clinton in the 1990s as a sign that the FBI can continue investigating a president despite their relationship collapsing.
Former FBI agents are warning that FBI Director Christopher Wray has to be prepared to quit, should President Donald Trump assent over bureau objections to the release of a memo calling the FBI’s integrity into question.
The release of the memo, considered imminent, shows no signs of stopping, even as the leader of Democrats in the House called on its Republican author, Devin Nunes, to be removed from his chairmanship of the House intelligence committee. It was the latest move in an extraordinary episode that appears set to spark a crisis over the criminal investigation into Trump’s potential ties to Russia.
At the center of the storm is Wray, Trump’s hand-picked FBI director. Wray got his job after Trump fired James Comey last year for what Comey described as insufficient personal “loyalty” over the Russia investigation.
On Wednesday, Wray’s FBI publicly attacked Nunes’ memo for “material omissions of fact that fundamentally impact the memo’s accuracy.” Trump overriding Wray will immediately call Wray’s future in the Trump administration into question six month into his tenure.
Former FBI agents say that they hope Wray can remain in office, and pull Trump and House Republicans back from the precipice of what may be a pivotal moment in the bureau’s history. But they also say Wray needs to show his willingness to walk.
“Given the climate and the recent activities, going as far back as Director Comey’s departure, Wray definitely must be prepared to resign,” said Erroll Southers, a retired FBI special agent now at the University of Southern California.
“I don’t think the director has to resign. He should be prepared to publicly discredit this cherry-picked, fake memo and expose Nunes,” added former FBI counterterrorism special agent Ali Soufan. Soufan cited the bad blood between Director Louis Freeh and President Bill Clinton in the 1990s as a sign that the FBI can continue investigating a president despite their relationship collapsing.
But Nunes has the support of Trump, on whose transition team he served. Trump is widely expected to assent to the memo’s release as soon as Thursday, though Fox News is reporting it will come Friday. That is the day when the House of Representatives’ parliamentary rules compel Trump to register any objections to declassification of the memo the FBI considers fundamentally misleading.
Southers expects Wray’s tenure after the memo’s release to be “very tense. The pressure is going to continue mounting. I never thought I’d see the FBI deemed the enemy of the state by anyone, let alone people in this country,” he said.
Should Wray remain in office, Southers continued, “he’s going to have to be a rock going forward, making clear to people that his only objective [will be] to stay focused on the mission. Certain things will be out of his control, and that includes his future, as it relates to the president.”
Or Trey Gowdy.
These stories are B.S.
Just last week it was “reported” that Wray supposedly was ready to quit over Trump wanting McCabe gone.
A Week later, McCabe has been removed by Wray.
This is just deep state sewer gas!
In other words, they're telling Wray to give President Trump an ultimatum. Good luck with that.
So let me get this straight...you have to let us operate as a corrupt secret police, a law entirely unto ourselves, and you have to let us, with these powers, try to destroy you so we can get a person who will submit to us in office.
Did I get that right?
Yeah, uh-huh. Your colleagues in the KGB salute you.
The problem is that Rudy has made it known that he is retired from public service and happily involved with his business.
The FBI should be placed in receivership.
Wray is NOT at the center of all of this. That place belongs to Barack Obama. Followed by Hillary Clinton, Loretta Lynch, then Rod Rosenstein. You can have your pick after these criminals are gone.
This Ali Soufan character is a piece of work.
I wonder what lurks in HIS background?
Really. All those losers protecting all that cankle.
Unreal. The question the American people need to have answered is whether the FBI used its power to try and sway a presidential election, and whether it had/has any integrity in the highest positions of the organization.
To hell with what a bunch of former or present agents want, if they want anything other than the undiluted truth. And I hope Wray does resign. And I hope the memo is as it's been sold by Republican reps over the past few weeks.
Even if there are redactions, they can get filled in later. Just release the f*ing thing. Right now.
You can say THAT again...
Has this person seen the memo? I doubt it. Sounds like Fake News.
Integrity? Oh, that's rich. Yes, Wray MUST resign if, when given the choice, he would rather side with a corrupt agency than clean house. After he's gone the President can appoint someone who will ruthlessly go after the rot.
Enter Trey Gowdy! ??
Fib has been murdering Americans for a long time. Shut it down.
Yep.
This must be fake news, because we’ve heard from people like Hannity that it’s just a few bad apples at the very top of the FBI, and not a whole bad FBI barrel of them. So naturally most in the FBI want the couple corrupt ones exposed, right?
I must be missing something?
Wray was not around when all this went down; it gives him cover to clean house of the Deep State FBI execs; why the fuss?
Further, if it is so inaccurate, write a rebuttal and release it when the House releases the 4 pager.
It must be really, really bad; and supportable enough by the evidence that neither Schiff’s memo nor an FBI response would be enough to rebut.
They better just release the damn memo. I have a bad feeling about someone getting to Nunez by tomorrow or an injunction by some lefty District Court Judge.
The FBI is making a mistake by not being proactive by cleaning house and changing the way they do business in the Headquarters themselves. By not dong so, outsiders who do not understand the work they are commissioned to do, make the changes. When that happens gross errors will result. Too bad they have failed to do a self-analysis and take corrective action.
“Daily Beast
Made up claptrap
Fake news at it’s worst”
It sure is. Plenty of FBI agents want this all cleared up.
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