FBI Director Christopher Wray reiterated his position that Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Trump-Russia probe is not a witch hunt in an appearance before the Senate Appropriations Committee Wednesday, continuing to stake a position opposite to President Donald Trump’s.
According to a Wednesday CNN report, in reply to a question from Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) about if Wray still stands by his confirmation position that the probe is not a witch hunt, Wray answered succinctly: “yes.”
Wray also reportedly defended the agency as a whole against Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) and other House Republicans who accuse the Justice Department of withholding documents under false pretenses of source endangerment.
“The day that we can’t protect human sources is the day the American people start becoming less safe,” Wray reportedly said. “Human sources in particular who put themselves at great risk to work with us and with our foreign partners have to be able to trust that we’re going to protect their identities and in many cases their lives and the lives of their families.”
When asked about his reaction to more of the President’s recent criticism, Wray dodged the questions, largely sticking to praise of the agency and its work.
On Thursday, Trump sent out a morning tweet about Mueller’s investigation in the well-worn “witch hunt” vein.
