Attorney General William Barr said he still has confidence in FBI Director Christopher Wray, who is facing growing discontent among the Right and President Trump.
In recent weeks, Wray has faced rising criticism by conservative commentators and Republican lawmakers for his handling of the case against retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn. They accuse the bureau chief of suppressing or slow-walking the release of documents about the FBI’s investigation into the former Trump national security adviser.
After the Justice Department moved to drop the charges against Flynn on Thursday, which followed the release of documents that were found in a U.S. attorney’s review of the case, Barr shielded Wray from criticism in an interview with Catherine Herridge on CBS News.
“Many of these records should have been provided to Flynn’s defense team long ago,” Herridge said before asking Barr whether he still had “confidence” in Wray.
“Well, you know, Chris Wray has always supported and been very helpful in various investigations we’ve been running,” Barr said, referencing the review of the Flynn case conducted by U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri Jeffrey Jensen as well as the investigation of the Trump-Russia investigators being carried out by U.S. Attorney for Connecticut John Durham. The attorney general said Wray “cooperated fully” with both inquiries.
“But, you know, there are a lot of cases in the Department of Justice, and I don’t consider it the director’s responsibility to make sure that all the documents are produced in each case,” Barr added. “So I don’t — I wouldn’t say that this has affected my confidence in Director Wray.”
Trump criticized Wray on Friday morning when asked about him on Fox & Friends. He asserted that Wray was “appointed by” former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein before saying he was “really recommended by” Rosenstein and also by former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Trump nominated Wray to the role after he fired Director James Comey in May 2017.
Trump said Friday that “a lot of things are coming out — you’ll see a lot of things coming out … and it’s disappointing.” Trump said that “the jury is still out” on Wray and “let’s see what happens with him.” But the president said that he was ultimately leaving the decision up to Barr.
“You know, I told Bill Barr: You handle it. I would be absolutely entitled in theory, as the chief law enforcement officer, in theory — but I said, ‘you know what, I want Bill Barr to handle it,’” Trump said. “Let’s see — [Barr] has done an unbelievable job.”
Herridge asked Barr on Thursday whether Wray has “his arms around the gravity of what happened” in 2016 and 2017.
The attorney general said that “I think he does.”
When Herridge asked if Wray has “what it takes” to reform the FBI, Barr said he did.
“You know, he’s been a great partner to me in our effort to restore the American people’s confidence in both the Department of Justice and the FBI,” Barr replied. “And we work very well together. And I think both of us know that we have to step up. That it’s very important to restore the American people’s confidence.”
Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the ranking Republican on the House Oversight Committee, and Mike Johnson of Louisiana sent a letter to Wray on Monday, saying that what they found “even more concerning” than the newly revealed details about the Flynn case was that “we continue to learn these new details from litigation and investigations — not from you.” They further stated, “It is well past time that you show the leadership necessary to bring the FBI past the abuses of the Obama-Biden era.”
Brian Hale, the FBI’s assistant director for the Office of Public Affairs, defended Wray on Tuesday, saying the bureau chief “has fully cooperated and been transparent with” the DOJ’s reviews of the Flynn case and of the broader Crossfire Hurricane investigation. The FBI spokesman said Wray has also worked closely with DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz, who has been reviewing the FBI’s use of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act for investigations.
FBI records released over the past few weeks were touted by Flynn’s lawyer, Sidney Powell, as exculpatory evidence heretofore concealed from the defense team. They suggest that now-fired FBI agent Peter Strzok and others in the FBI’s leadership stopped the bureau from closing its investigation into Flynn in early January 2017 after investigators had uncovered “no derogatory information” on him. Emails from later that month show Strzok, along with then-FBI lawyer Lisa Page and several others, sought out ways to continue investigating Flynn, including considering using the Logan Act.
“With regard to certain documents in the Michael Flynn matter from the 2016-2017 time period that are now the subject of reporting by the press, the FBI previously produced those materials to the Inspector General and U.S. Attorney Durham,” Hale said.
Wray’s spokesperson also pointed the finger at the FBI’s prior leadership, not naming anyone but likely referring to at least Comey and fired FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe.
“The Flynn investigation was initiated and conducted during this time period, under prior FBI leadership,” Hale said. “Since taking office, Director Wray has stressed the importance of strictly abiding by established processes, without exception. Director Wray remains firmly committed to addressing the failures under prior FBI leadership while maintaining the foundational principles of rigor, objectivity, accountability, and ownership in fulfilling the Bureau’s mission to protect the American people and defend the Constitution.”
Horowitz’s report released late last year criticized the Justice Department and the FBI for at least 17 “significant errors and omissions” related to the surveillance warrants against Trump campaign associate Carter Page in 2016 and 2017 and for the bureau’s reliance on British ex-spy Christopher Steele’s unverified dossier. Declassified footnotes show the FBI was aware that Russian disinformation may have compromised the dossier.
Wray testified in February there had been at least some illegal surveillance and said he was working to “claw back” that information. Wray said every member of the FBI mentioned in Horowitz’s report had been referred for a disciplinary review, and “the failures highlighted in that report are unacceptable — period.”
