We have remarked from time to time, that we suspected the Democrat Senators* knew what they were doing. They got just the FBI Director they wanted…since they couldn’t have “Big Jim” Comey.
Mr. Wray was confirmed by the Senate, 92-5, securing confirmation votes from all but 5 Democrats …a spectacular feat given the experience of every other Trump nominee to face a confirmation vote!
No surprise that the 5 Democrats voting against Wray were, Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, Eliabeth Warren, Ron Wyden, Ed Markey and Jeff Merkley. Those 5 probably would not vote for any Trump nominee, regardless. They are founding members of the “cut off their noses to spite their faces” gang.
Since his ‘triumphant’ confirmation, Chris Wray has been seldom seen or heard from. Not much, it seems, has changed in the Bureau so far. Slow walking and stonewalling of requests from the then GOP-controlled House Investigating committees, continued under Wray and acting AG Rosenstein. The public revelation of the FBI’s reliance on the now discredited “Steele Dossier”, the “Strzok-Page” emails appears to not perturb him. Wray’s biggest “moment” was his appearance at a press conference at FBI headquarters in June, 2018.
Assessing the damage to the FBI under Comey, Wray ‘jumped right in there with his ‘solution ‘:
“Because change starts at the top—including right here with me—we’re going to begin by requiring all our senior executives, from around the world, to convene for in-depth training on the lessons we should learn from today’s report.
Then we’re going to train every single FBI employee—new hires and veterans alike—on what went wrong, so those mistakes will never be repeated.
“Third: We’re going to make sure we have the policies, procedures, and training needed for everyone to understand and remember what’s expected of us. “That includes:
Drilling home the importance of objectivity—and of avoiding even the appearance of personal conflicts or political bias in our work;
Ensuring that recusals are handled correctly and effectively—and are clearly communicated to the appropriate people;
Making all employees fully aware of our new policy on contacts with the news media, which I issued last November—and making clear that we will not tolerate non-compliance;
Ensuring that we follow all DOJ policies about public statements on ongoing investigations and uncharged conduct; and
Ensuring that our employees adhere strictly to all policies and procedures on the use of FBI systems, networks, and devices.
“I’ve also directed our associate deputy director to lead a review of how the FBI handles particularly sensitive investigations, and to make recommendations on how those should be staffed, structured, and supervised in the future—so that every sensitive investigation is conducted to the FBI’s highest standards.”
Aside from the keen insight on the issue he demonstrated, the Bureau under Mr. Wray has seemed to continue to function much as it had under AG’s Holder and Lynch, Acting AG Rosenstein, and FBI Director Comey, all as part of the “Deep State”.
No doubt because all this important ‘training’ was consuming Director Wray’s time, we’ve hardly heard a peep out of him since that press conference…until this past week. Here are just a few aspects of Wray’s reappearance that we would highlight:
– The Director seemed to be very anxious to assure the Democratic senators on the Appropriations subcommittee on Commerce Tuesday that he was no ‘puppet’ of his new boss, Attorney General William Barr
– “Spying”?…that’s not in Director Wray’s “colloquial wheelhouse”; General Barr may use the term, but not Chris Wray!
– No senator thought to ask Mr. Wray how he would define the term “spying”..or even if he ever heard of such a word.
– If anybody thinks that the ‘culture’ established and nurtured under the Holder, Lynch, Comey reign is going to change under the ‘leadership’ of Wray…think again, folks! DLH
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Here’s a few “highlights from Director Wray’s past that, maybe, should have been clues to the kind of FBI Director President Trump was getting. (No worries about Chris’s “loyalty” to the president!):
– Wray headed up the Justice Department’s criminal division from 2003 to 2005 under President George W. Bush (“expert” on “weird shit”)
– In 2004, Wray was among the top Justice Department officials, including Comey and then-FBI Director Robert Mueller, who threatened to resign after the Bush administration tried to bring back the National Security Agency’s domestic surveillance program that the organization found illegal.
– Wray also signed a 2015 letter to the Senate judiciary committee from a number of partners from his law firm endorsing Sally Yates’ nomination to become deputy attorney general. In the letter, the partners praise Yates for her “extraordinary legal skill and judgment.”
-Wray had given $53,350 to Republican candidates, committees and his law firm’s PAC since 2007, including to John McCain in 2008, Mitt Romney in 2012, and the National Republican Senatorial Committee in 2016, FEC records show. There are no records of any contributions to Trump.
Coming into the Director’s job, Mr. Wray immediately identified the Bureau’s problems, as suggested by his “training agenda”, noted above:
– In his judgment, the 35,000 FBI employees did not realize the “importance of objectivity” in performing their vital duties ! Wow! Now there is an indictment!
– He strongly advocated that recusals be handled “correctly and effectively”. Again, Wow! Good thing Chris showed up when he did. You gotta wonder how those “recusals” had been handled !
– Director Wray also thought it a good idea that “all employees be aware of his new policy on ‘contacts with the news media’…and, that they should comply with that policy”! (Pretty groundbreaking concept, Chris.)
– The new boss also let it be known that he expected FBI employees to strictly adhere to “all policies and procedures on the use of FBI systems, nertworks, and devices”.
(DON’T YOU HAVE TO WONDER HOW THE FBI OPERATED BEFORE CHRISTOPHER WRAY ARRIVED?) DLH
