Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, wrote to FBI Director Christopher Wray on Monday to express "no confidence" in his leadership of the bureau and said it's time to "move on" for the "good of the country."
The incoming Senate Judiciary chair's 11-page letter, which was obtained by The Hill, reportedly indicated he backs President-elect Donald Trump's stated goal of cutting Wray's tenure short. The FBI director began his 10-year term as head of the agency in 2017 after Trump nominated him during his first White House stint.
"For the good of the country, it's time for you and your deputy to move on to the next chapter in your lives," Grassley wrote. The senator reproached Wray for having "prevented the truth on some issues from ever reaching the American people" and for obstructing his work in the upper chamber by not responding to requests for information.
"I therefore must express my vote of no confidence in your continued leadership of the FBI," Grassley wrote. "President-elect Trump has already announced his intention to nominate a candidate to replace you, and the Senate will carefully consider that choice. For my part, I've also seen enough, and hope your respective successors will learn from these failures."
Trump has picked Kash Patel to serve as FBI director in his new administration.
Grassley called the letter an "opportunity to tell you where you went wrong, for the benefit of the Bureau and that of your successor."
According to The Hill, the letter largely focuses on contrasting the way the FBI handled investigations into Trump and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Grassley slammed the raid of Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, prior to the Justice Department's indictment of the former president for alleged mishandling of classified documents, and said "no such raid took place at Hillary Clinton's premises, even though she and her staff mishandled highly classified information."
He also complained that "no such raid" took place at President Joe Biden's Delaware home, despite his admitting that he retained classified documents from his time as a senator and vice president.
Additionally, the Iowa Republican highlighted information he revealed that was provided by FBI informant Alexander Smirnov, who claimed that Biden had accepted a bribe. Prompted by political animosity toward Biden, Smirnov allegedly manufactured the claim and was later arrested and charged with providing false information. His story was central to the House GOP's probe of the Biden family, however.
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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