FBI Director Christopher Wray appeared for a segment on 60 Minutes Sunday night, during which he was asked about President-elect Donald Trump‘s nominee for his post, Kash Patel.
CBS anchor Scott Pelley asked Wray if he was concerned that the FBI could be turned against him because Patel listed him as a member of the “deep state” in his 2023 book, Government Gangsters, and Patel’s pledge to root out perceived corruption and retaliate against perceived enemies if he is confirmed.
Wray initially refused to answer the question, saying, “You know, I’m not going to weigh in on specific people or their rhetoric. From where I sit, facts and the law drive investigations, not politics or partisan preferences.”
When Pelley pressed the FBI director on Patel’s labeling of him as “corrupt,” Wray drew on his background as a “strict, by-the-book law enforcement professional” and offered a defense of the agency, rebutting claims of partisanship.
“I can tell you that I have been, my whole life, my whole adult life, a conservative Republican, more importantly, a strict, by-the-book law enforcement professional,” he said. “I do take very seriously attacks against our people in the FBI. And I will tell you that the FBI that I see every single day is 38,000 career law enforcement professionals. Not one of them is a political appointee. Not one of ’em. And they tackle the job with a level of rigor, tenacity, and professionalism, and objectivity that I think is unparalleled. And I will tell you it’s been the honor of a lifetime to serve with them.”
The 60 Minutes interview with Wray comes one month after he announced his intention to resign as FBI director at the end of President Joe Biden’s term, citing Trump’s plan to replace him. The president-elect appointed him in 2017.
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Patel, meanwhile, is headed for a Senate confirmation hearing, the date of which has not been set.
Patel is one of Trump’s most controversial nominees. While Republicans generally seem behind him, he is set to meet fierce opposition from Democrats, including Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA), who has said he should not be confirmed.
