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Iowa Republican Senator Chuck Grassley doubled down on his belief that Christopher Wray has failed in his “fundamental duties” as FBI director in a blistering letter expressing that he has “no confidence” in Wray’s continued leadership of the agency.
“For the good of the country, it is time for you and your deputy to move on to the next chapter of your lives. I have spent my career fighting for transparency, and I have always called out the governors who have fought against it,” Grassley wrote in a letter to Wray on Monday morning, also referring to FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate. “For the record, I have to do it again now.”
Grassley went on to say that he “must express my vote of no confidence in his continued leadership of the FBI. President-elect Trump has already announced his intention to nominate a candidate to replace him, and the Senate will carefully consider this election. Part, I’ve seen enough, too, and I hope your respective successors learn from those failures,” continued Grassley, who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The longtime Republican senator’s letter comes as Trump’s pick to head the FBI, Kash Patel, headed to the Capitol on Monday to meet with lawmakers, including Grassley, and rally support for his confirmation .
Senator Chuck Grassley at the US Capitol after Senate luncheons on September 24, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Before the Senate could potentially confirm Patel Head of the FBI under the second Trump administrationWray should resign or be fired as he is in the middle of a 10-year appointment that does not end until 2027.
Grassley’s lengthy 11-page letter to Wray detailed specific examples of Wray’s “failures” as FBI director, which Grassley said “shattered my confidence in your leadership and the trust and hope which many others in Congress deposited in you.” The Iowa senator previously argued that Wray he has “failed” as FBI director in a social media message posted a day after Trump nominated Patel to head the FBI.
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Grassley pointed to the FBI’s “unprecedented raid” on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Florida in August 2022 regarding classified documents as an example of Wray’s failures. The Republican senator noted that the raid included about 30 armed officers who were authorized to “use lethal force if necessary” to execute the search warrant.
Agents “even searched the former first lady’s clothing drawers,” Grassley continued.
FBI Director Christopher Wray arrives at a House Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington, DC on July 12, 2023. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“This raid came despite serious questions about the need. President Trump appeared to be cooperating with the investigation, despite reports in the liberal press. He voluntarily turned over 15 boxes of documents months before the drastic escalation FBI,” Grassley continued, adding that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton never faced such a raid “even though she and her staff mishandled highly classified information while using a non-government server.”
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He also hit the FBI to act as a an “accomplice in the Democrats’ disinformation campaign designed to undermine my investigation into the alleged corruption of the Biden family.”
“On August 6, 2020, as Senator Ron Johnson and I were finishing up our report about the finances of the Biden family connections to foreign governments and questionable foreign nationals, you succumbed to pressure from Democrats in Congress and provided unnecessary information that Democratic leadership requested in an effort to falsely label our investigation as Russian disinformation.”
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“This briefing consisted of information we already knew and information unrelated to our investigation of Biden. We made clear at the time our concern that the briefing would be subject to a leak that would cast false light on the focus of the our investigation. Predictably, on May 1, 2021, the Washington Post did just that, falsely labeling our investigation as Russian disinformation,” he continued.
Sen. Chuck Grassley arrives at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, Sept. 6, 2023. (Drew Anger/Getty Images)
He added that the FBI “sat on bribery allegations” against Biden when he served as vice president, as well as Biden’s son Hunter Biden and Ukrainian officials.
“Consistent with this FBI failure, another glaring example of the FBI’s broken promises under your leadership is its inexcusable failure to investigate bribery allegations against former Vice President Joe Biden, while strictly scrutinizing former President Trump You have repeatedly stated that you will ensure that the FBI does justice, “free from fear, favor or partisan influence.” The FBI under the your watch, however, had possession of incriminating information against President Biden for three years until I exposed the existence of the record outlining those allegations, but did nothing to investigate it,” he wrote.
Grassley argued that under Wray’s leadership, the FBI has also shown a “blatant disregard for congressional oversight,” including failing to provide lawmakers with information related to the FBI’s “improper handling of claims sexual harassment” made by female employees.
“This request was not pulled out of a hat. It was based on credible disclosures from whistleblowers alleging that hundreds of FBI employees had retired or resigned to avoid liability for sexual misconduct,” he said. write Grassley.
The FBI also “refused” to provide information to lawmakers about the vetting process for Afghan nationals amid the Biden administration’s botched withdrawal from the nation in 2021, Grassley added. The FBI was also criticized by Grassley for “refusing to provide information to Congress about the FBI’s ‘Richmond Memo,'” which has become known as the anti-Catholic memo for portraying traditional Catholics as violent extremists.
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FBI Director Christopher Wray and Senator Chuck Grassley (Getty Images)
“Your and Deputy Director Abbate’s failure to take control of the FBI has hindered my work and that of others throughout various congresses on issues that needed timely information, and has prevented the truth on some issues from coming out. never to the American people. You have also shown a double standard and a failure to keep promises,” Grassley wrote in his letter.
When asked about Grassley’s letter, the FBI told Fox News Digital that “the FBI has repeatedly demonstrated our commitment to being responsive to congressional oversight and being transparent with the American people.”
“Director Wray and Deputy Director Abbate have taken strong actions to achieve accountability in the areas mentioned in the letter and remain committed to sharing information about the ever-evolving threat environment facing our nation and the extraordinary work by the FBI.”
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Trump joined NBC’s “Meet the Press” for an interview that aired Sunday, where the president-elect also criticized Wray, saying “respect for the FBI has gone down a lot over the last few years.” .
“He invaded my home. I’m suing the country for this. He invaded Mar-a-Lago. I’m very unhappy with the things he’s done. And crime is at an all-time high. Migrants are pouring into the country. who are from prisons and mental institutions, as we’ve discussed, I can’t say I’m excited,” Trump said during the interview.
Kash Patel is a longtime Trump ally and crusader against the “deep state.” (Head by Kash Patel)
“I certainly can’t be happy with him. Look at what’s happened. And then when I got shot in the ear, he said, maybe it was shrapnel. Where’s the shrapnel coming from? Is it coming from the sky? Not me. I don’t think so, so we need someone to, you know, I have a lot of respect for the FBI, but the respect for the FBI has gone down a lot over the last few years,” he continued.
Wray has not revealed whether he will voluntarily step down as FBI director, and Trump is expected to fire Wray to make room for Patel as FBI director.
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Patel is a longtime Trump ally and crusader against the “deep state,” who has advocated for firings of “corrupt actors” within the FBI, “aggressive” congressional oversight of the agency , comprehensive reviews of the special counsels and the departure of the FBI. of Washington, DC
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment on Grassley’s letter, but did not immediately hear back.
