CNN: White House Worried FBI Director Wray May Quit Over Memo Release

on December 7, 2017 in Washington, DC.
WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 07: FBI Director Christopher Wray testifies before the House Judiciary Committee December 7, 2017 in Washington, DC. The committee hearing focused on oversight of the Federal Bureau of Inve... WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 07: FBI Director Christopher Wray testifies before the House Judiciary Committee December 7, 2017 in Washington, DC. The committee hearing focused on oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) MORE LESS
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White House officials are concerned FBI Director Chris Wray may quit if House Intelligence Committee Chair Devin Nunes’ (R-CA) memo purporting to show anti-Trump prejudice among federal law enforcement officials is released, CNN reported Thursday.

Senior White House officials are working on a solution that will satisfy both President Donald Trump and Wray, as well as other law enforcement officials, like Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, according to officials with knowledge of the matter who spoke with CNN. 

While Wray has not explicitly threatened to resign, the President’s Chief of Staff John Kelly reportedly “believes it is a real possibly” that Wray could leave if the memo goes public and he is striving to mediate the issue, according to CNN.

NBC’s Pete Williams reports that Wray has no intention of quitting over the memo.

The White House did not immediately respond to TPM’s request for comment.

In a rare public statement Wednesday, the FBI expressed “grave concerns about material omissions of fact” in the document, which reportedly alleges FBI officials abused the FISA process when seeking a warrant to surveil Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.

CNN reported on Thursday, citing an unnamed senior administration official, that the White House has signed off on several redactions to the document, but continues to reject requests from the FBI and the Department of Justice to block its release.

The White House confirmed Thursday that Trump has read the memo and White House officials expect to get a final decision about the release of the document on Thursday, according to CNN. 

Read the latest reporter’s notebook (Prime access) on this story »

 

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  1. Avatar for ur ur says:

    Hopefully the headline: White House Worried… continues throughout the year

  2. Trump etal are micromanaging aholes. They ‘think’ they can do any job on Earth better, quicker and more thoroughly than anyone else and if YOU don’t think that they berate, demean and lie at the top of their lungs. When people show integrity or are just plain sick of their sht, they become ‘worried’. Oh please.

  3. One of the angry WH staffers I follow on Twitter made this known last night. Looks like CNN has confirmed. So Wray is drawing a line here. Now, Kelly wants to negotiate. I hope Wray does stand his ground. Sensitive intel should not be used for political purposes or to help a corrupt POTUS obstruct justice. Kelly needs to resign. A win here by Wray could usher that because if powerful institutions like the FBI have had enough, Trumper options are limited.

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