Key Takeaways
- FBI Director Christopher Wray resigns amid criticism from US President-elect Donald Trump.
- Wray cites the need to avoid conflicts and focus on the Bureau’s mission.
- US President-elect Donald Trump criticizes the FBI under Wray’s leadership, stating that it has ‘used their vast powers to threaten and destroy many innocent Americans’.
- Trump nominates his aide Kash Patel to lead the FBI.
Washington: FBI Director Christopher Wray, who resigned on Wednesday, called his decision the best option to avoid conflicts amid criticism from US President-elect Donald Trump who has his own candidate for the job.
“My goal is to keep the focus on our mission the indispensable work you’re doing on behalf of the American people every day. And in my view, 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,” Wray was quoted by the Bureau as saying to all FBI employees.
The decision to resign did not come easy for him, the FBI chief added.
“I love this place. I love our mission. And I love our people. But my focus is, and always has been, on us and doing what’s right for the FBI,” he said.
On Wednesday, Trump, commenting on Wray’s decision, said that under his leadership the FBI has “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.”
On November 30, Trump nominated his aide Kash Patel to lead the FBI.
