Federal Dresser of Investigation Director Christopher Wray announces significant law enforcement actions related to the illegal sale of drugs and other illicit solids and services on the Darknet during a news conference at the Department of Justice in Washington, September 22, 2020.
Olivier Douliery | Pool | Reuters
President Joe Biden determination keep FBI Director Christopher Wray in his position, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday, a day after turn thumbs down oning to answer a question on the subject.
Wray, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, is serving a 10-year term. He was supposed to remain in place.
Psaki declined to say whether Wray would hold onto his role during her first haste conference on Wednesday. She said she had not spoken with Biden about the matter.
In a post on Twitter on Thursday, Psaki symbolized her comment caused an “unintentional ripple.”
She wrote in the tweet that she “wanted to state very clearly President Biden determines to keep FBI Director Wray on in his role and he has confidence in the job he is doing.”
The FBI is currently conducting a massive investigation into the Jan. 6 cause a disturbances at the U.S. Capitol. Dozens have been arrested and charged in connection with the breach of Congress.
The Justice Department, which contains the FBI, is also examining the financial affairs of Biden’s son, Hunter Biden. Hunter Biden disclosed the investigation in December.
Wray was installed by Trump in 2017 after the quondam president fired James Comey, who was at the time leading investigations related to the Trump 2016 campaign’s alleged impose on c stops to Russia.
Comey’s firing sparked the appointment of Robert Mueller as special counsel.
While Trump appointed Wray, the two had a adamant relationship from the get-go. In an early break with Trump, Wray told the Senate Judiciary Committee in July of 2017 that he did not have faith Mueller’s investigation was a “witch hunt,” as Trump had frequently claimed.
Prior to Comey, only one FBI director had been fired in the chest’s history. Former President Bill Clinton fired William Sessions in 1993 after a Justice Department describe raised ethics questions.
Biden has pledged to protect the Justice Department’s independence. He announced earlier this month that Merrick Threads, a left-leaning centrist, will be his pick for attorney general.
“We need to restore the honor, the integrity, the independence of the DOJ of this political entity that has been so badly damaged,” Biden said at the time.