Christopher Wray’s Parting Message To The Fbi: ‘maintain Our Independence’

FBI Director Christoper Wray gave his agency a final directive in his farewell address before Donald Trump’s return to power: Stay independent and stay away from politics.

“We’ve got to maintain our independence and objectivity, staying above partisanship and politics,” Wray said. “Because that’s what the American people expect and, I think, that’s what they deserve.”

Wray didn’t refer to President-elect Donald Trump by name, but his presence loomed over the event. The former president’s re-ascension brings peril for the bureau. On the campaign trail, Trump promised to appoint a special prosecutor to “go after” President Joe Biden and his family, and suggested many of his political foes deserve scrutiny from law enforcement.

Trump has long blamed Wray for what he sees as the FBI’s weaponization against him and announced after winning November’s election that he would fire him. Wray then resigned.

On Friday afternoon, Wray urged FBI personnel to maintain their independence and objectivity, “staying above partisanship and politics.”

“No matter what’s happening out there, in here we’ve gotta stay committed to doing our work the right way, every time, with professionalism, with rigor, with integrity,” he said from the bureau’s headquarters. “That means following the facts wherever they lead, no matter who likes it — or doesn’t. Just trust me, if there’s anything I’ve learned in this job, there’s always somebody who doesn’t like it.”

None of the dozen speakers at the going-away ceremony named Trump directly. But Attorney General Merrick Garland, who spoke first, reminded the audience — comprised of the nationwide FBI workforce, tuning in via livestream — of the importance of resisting improper influence.

“That independence is central to preserving the rule of law and protecting the freedoms that we as Americans hold dear,” he said.

Other speakers praised Wray for his work to strengthen ties with state and local law enforcement, intelligence agencies and foreign partners. CIA Director William Burns said the agency has deepened its integration with the FBI under Wray’s leadership, joking that his subordinates had stopped grumbling about the bureau. Joseph Gramaglia, the commissioner of the Buffalo Police Department, lauded the FBI’s response to a racist mass shooting at a grocery store that left ten Black people dead. And Kenneth McCallum, the head of Great Britain’s MI5 domestic spy agency, praised Wray’s work to strengthen transatlantic partnership.

The mood at the ceremony — held in a chilly auditorium in the FBI’s hulking downtown Washington headquarters — was warm and friendly, with attendees laughing easily at speakers’ jokes. Wray’s family attended and drew sustained applause.

The in-person audience also included other people with first-hand experience weathering criticism of federal law enforcement. Rod Rosenstein, who was Deputy Attorney General for part of Trump’s first term, was there; he famously faced intense invective from the now-president-elect for overseeing the Russia probe.

And Rob Hur, the special counsel who investigated Biden for improper possession of classified materials, was also in the audience. Hur’s report on that investigation drew condemnation from national Democrats by saying Biden’s mental faculties appeared to be declining. The White House responded by launching a full-court press against him, but Biden later ended his reelection bid after a miserable debate performance that appeared to confirm Hur’s findings.

Republican former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, one of Wray’s most famous clients from his days in private practice, also attended. Wray represented him during the “Bridgegate” investigation, and Christie later recommended to Trump that Wray get the job. Trump has since turned on both men.