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\nwhich reflects the author’s opinion.<\/p>\n
Former FBI Director Christopher Wray is now the target of an expanding federal investigation into possible obstruction of justice, false statements, and mishandling of classified materials, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.<\/p>\n
The inquiry, which has already resulted in subpoenas to several former senior FBI officials, centers on Wray\u2019s leadership during the latter years of the Biden administration and his handling of politically sensitive investigations, including the Durham probe into the origins of the Trump\u2013Russia investigation.<\/p>\n
The Journal reports that prosecutors are also investigating former CIA Director John Brennan, another figure central to the intelligence community\u2019s handling of politically charged matters during the Trump presidency. \u201cFormer officials have received subpoenas in recent days in the Wray inquiry,\u201d the report said, citing a person with direct knowledge of the matter.<\/p>\n
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\nA separate report from CNN indicated that the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office for the Western District of Virginia is leading a national security\u2013related investigation into Wray\u2019s actions. That inquiry reportedly focuses on whether FBI officials under Wray destroyed or concealed evidence connected to the Durham special counsel investigation.<\/p>\n
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\nSources familiar with the matter told CNN that investigators are examining the use of \u201cburn bags\u201d inside a restricted area on the seventh floor of FBI headquarters\u2014where the bureau\u2019s leadership suite is located\u2014and whether documents tied to the Durham probe were improperly destroyed.<\/p>\n
Investigators have reportedly interviewed current and former FBI staff who worked on that floor between 2020 and 2024, when Wray served as director. The probe is said to involve multiple prosecutors, with the FBI\u2019s prior handling of politically sensitive materials drawing renewed attention from oversight committees and from current FBI Director Kash Patel, who succeeded Wray earlier this year.<\/p>\n
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\nAccording to the referral, Wray falsely testified in 2020 and 2021 that the FBI had seen no coordinated national effort of election interference or voter fraud. However, a recently declassified FBI intelligence report\u2014turned over to Congress by Director Patel\u2014shows the bureau had evidence that the Chinese government mass-produced counterfeit U.S. driver\u2019s licenses ahead of the 2020 election. The report claimed the fake IDs were intended to facilitate mail-in ballot fraud favoring then-candidate Joe Biden.<\/p>\n
Wray is also accused of giving misleading testimony about the FBI\u2019s \u201cRichmond product,\u201d a 2023 intelligence memorandum suggesting that \u201cradical-traditionalist Catholics\u201d posed potential domestic terrorism risks. While Wray told lawmakers that the memo was the work of a single field office and was immediately retracted, congressional investigators later uncovered that the document had been circulated to over 1,000 bureau employees and coordinated with at least two other field offices. A draft version for external distribution reportedly repeated the same unfounded links between Catholic traditionalism and violent extremism.<\/p>\n
Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), who helped expose the internal memo, said Wray\u2019s statements were \u201cinaccurate and incomplete,\u201d adding that \u201cmore than a dozen\u201d related FBI products were found across bureau systems. The Oversight Project alleges these discrepancies amount to deliberate obstruction of congressional oversight and perjury under federal law.<\/p>\n
Wray\u2019s troubles compound a broader internal reckoning at the FBI under Patel\u2019s leadership. Since taking office, Patel has dismissed several top officials, abolished the Washington Field Office\u2019s corruption unit known as \u201cCR-15,\u201d and severed long-standing partnerships with outside activist groups including the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), calling them \u201cpartisan smear machines.\u201d Patel has promised full transparency, saying the bureau is \u201ccleaning up a diseased temple three decades in the making.\u201d<\/p>\n
He has also confirmed a joint investigation with the Treasury Department to trace the financial networks funding extremist groups, including Antifa, stating that \u201cmoney never lies\u201d and vowing to pursue every source of illicit support \u201cin every single city in this country.\u201d<\/p>\n
The federal inquiry into Wray, now expanding through multiple jurisdictions, underscores the deep divisions within the nation\u2019s security establishment over political influence and accountability. While supporters argue that Wray sought to balance law enforcement integrity amid political pressure, critics say his tenure marked one of the most partisan eras in FBI history\u2014defined by secrecy, selective enforcement, and contempt for oversight.<\/p>\n
Neither Wray nor his attorneys have commented publicly on the ongoing investigations. The Justice Department and FBI also declined to comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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