Trump assails FBI Director Wray after report finds no evidence of political bias

By Susan Heavey

 

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks, while calling former Vice President Joe Biden “sleepy Joe” during a campaign rally in Cincinnati, Ohio. U.S., August 1, 2019. REUTERS/Bryan Woolston/File Photo

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump berated FBI Director Christopher Wray on Tuesday after a U.S. government investigation found no evidence of political bias when the FBI began investigating contacts between Trump's presidential campaign and Russia in 2016.

 

Trump's allies and his detractors both were encouraged by the Justice Department's internal watchdog report, which on Monday found 17 FBI missteps. The findings are unlikely to end debate over the legitimacy of the probes that have overshadowed his presidency.

 

Asked if he thought the FBI unfairly targeted the Trump campaign, Wray, who was appointed by Trump, told ABC News in an interview on Monday: "I do not."

 

Trump responded on Twitter early on Tuesday: "I don’t know what report current Director of the FBI Christopher Wray was reading, but it sure wasn’t the one given to me.

 

"With that kind of attitude, he will never be able to fix the FBI, which is badly broken despite having some of the greatest men & women working there!"

Representatives for the FBI and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Trump's tweet.

 

In Monday's interview, Wray said he took the errors seriously but noted the watchdog had found the probe "was opened with appropriate predication and authorization."

 

He also pushed back against the notion - advanced largely by Trump and his backers - that the Federal Bureau of Investigation is part of a "deep state" bureaucratic network aimed at undermining Trump.

 

President Donald Trump berated FBI Director Christopher Wray on Tuesday after a U.S. government investigation found no evidence of political bias when the FBI began investigating contacts between Trump’s presidential campaign and Russia in 2016. Lisa Bernhard has more.

 

"That's the kind of label that's a disservice to the men and women who work at the FBI who I think tackle their jobs with professionalism, with rigor, with objectivity, with courage," Wray told ABC, calling the term "an affront to them."

 

Wray's response stood in stark contrast to scathing comments about the findings from Trump's attorney general, William Barr.

 

In a series of interviews on Tuesday, Barr blasted the FBI for relying on a dossier Barr called "a complete sham" penned by ex-British intelligence officer Christopher Steele to obtain a wiretap on ex-Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.

 

Barr also cast doubt on the report's conclusion there was no evidence of bias, telling NBC News that the FBI's errors and omissions in applying for and renewing a wiretap application raised concerns whether the FBI "acted in bad faith."

 

Barr told NBC he still had confidence in Wray as FBI director. "I think Chris has been working hard to address the problems of the past," Barr said.

 

(Reporting by Susan Heavey; additional reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Howard Goller)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-12-11

Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking Thailand news and visa info

Taking bets on whether or not FBI Director Wray lasts another two weeks.

Trump sure does get upset when people cite facts.

 

IG report says no political bias.

Wray says there IG report says no bias.

 

Of course it will rankle those devoid of facts to know the whole investigation started because of a report by an australian ambassador, not the dossier.

YOUR FIRED  

I always thought Wray was a sleeper.

 

Given just the Strzok/Page text messages for Horowitz to then claim that there was no bias is simply ludicrous.  This is the second time he's reached that conclusion.

Durham and Barr strongly disagree — they know far more than Horowitz!  That said, there is enough evidence in the report for indictments. 

Some truths are just too hard to swallow.

 

But then, it doesn't take much for Trump to choke and start the vitriol flowing.

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Trump responded on Twitter early on Tuesday: "I don’t know what report current Director of the FBI Christopher Wray was reading, but it sure wasn’t the one given to me.

That's because the one given to him was the cartoon version, suitably embellished by his toadies.

4 minutes ago, ballpoint said:

That's because the one given to him was the cartoon version, suitably embellished by his toadies.

Small words, lots of pictures he could color.

Almost makes one pine for the return of J. Edgar Hoover. He and Trump would have been a stoush worth watching.

1 hour ago, Tippaporn said:

I always thought Wray was a sleeper.

 

Given just the Strzok/Page text messages for Horowitz to then claim that there was no bias is simply ludicrous.  This is the second time he's reached that conclusion.

Your string of people who must be ‘sleepers’, ‘deep state agents’, ‘never Trumpers’ and liars gets longer by the day.

 

It has to if you are to be blind to the crimes of the life long liar Trump.

1 hour ago, Guitarzan said:

Durham and Barr strongly disagree — they know far more than Horowitz!  That said, there is enough evidence in the report for indictments. 

We already know Barr is implicated in Trump’s crimes in the Ukraine against the USA.

 

He’s part of Trump’s crime gang.

Trump is furious that the IG debunked one of his main conspiracy theories: investigation was predicated, no political bias, no conspiracy, no spy planted in the campaign, etc....

2 minutes ago, candide said:

Trump is furious that the IG debunked one of his main conspiracy theories: investigation was predicated, no political bias, no conspiracy, no spy planted in the campaign, etc....

Seems steele of dossier fame was actually a close friend of ivanka. So that political bias is out the window also.

 

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/ivanka-trump-british-spy-christopher-steele-kremlin-a9240541.html

the guy assails/criticizes/insults anybody and everybody who doesn't agree with him.....

3 hours ago, Chomper Higgot said:

We already know Barr is implicated in Trump’s crimes in the Ukraine against the USA.

 

He’s part of Trump’s crime gang.

Nonsense ,more conspiracy theories 

1 minute ago, riclag said:

Nonsense ,more conspiracy theories 

No, you regurgitate Fox News talking points (they lie a lot, did you know that?).

https://www.npr.org/2019/10/03/766927045/how-attorney-general-barr-ended-up-at-the-center-of-the-ukraine-controversy

7 hours ago, Tippaporn said:

I always thought Wray was a sleeper.

 

Given just the Strzok/Page text messages for Horowitz to then claim that there was no bias is simply ludicrous.  This is the second time he's reached that conclusion.

So lets get this straight. The issue is that it was the INSPECTOR GENERAL, that oversight body that investigates investigators, that issues the report. Not Wray.

 

The INSPECTOR GENERAL belongs to the Justice Department. The INSPECTOR GENERAL was praised by Trump's Attorney General as the best man for the job only last month. Now Trump's Attorney General is highly critical of the report, playing all the deep-state and coup nonsense that Trump has been coming up with.

 

Whether the partisan politicians allow for Trump to be thrown out or not, I really worry for the state of the Union that is the USA. Institutions were put in place for a reason, both by the originators of the constitution and by others along the way. The INSPECTOR GENERAL position was created so that the FBI or any of the 16 other Federal law enforcement Agencies could be independently investigated - in other words, they would not be investigating themselves or each other!

 

Now Trump and his cronies cannot decide whether a) the INSPECTOR GENERAL's report is totally wrong, or b) whether it is right and to crow about the procedural missteps highlighted and to ignore the main part, which is that the investigation was created in good faith.

 

Whether two FBI agents had an affair and exchanged some frank views with each other about Trump is really very small stuff - about the only thing that they can be caught on is that they used their work phones for personal matters. This is now the subject of an appeal against his firing by Strzok who is highly likely to win, although he will appropriately disciplined (possibly reduction in rank or penalized wages or something appropriate like that).

 

So you always thought that Wray was a sleeper? He never tried to get involved with the Russians, never tried to trade on his official position to gain personal benefit. No evidence and no cause for such a claim.

 

My question for you is, who do you work for? The Russians or the Chinese?

RT supports Trump's and Barr's position! ????

 

https://www.rt.com/usa/475444-horowitz-barr-report-spying-dossier/

7 hours ago, Tippaporn said:

I always thought Wray was a sleeper.

 

Given just the Strzok/Page text messages for Horowitz to then claim that there was no bias is simply ludicrous.  This is the second time he's reached that conclusion.

Now you’re an insider ????

4 minutes ago, candide said:

RT supports Trump's and Barr's position! ????

https://www.rt.com/usa/475444-horowitz-barr-report-spying-dossier/

This about your source:
"A questionable source exhibiting one or more of the following: extreme bias, consistent promotion of propaganda/conspiracies, poor or no sourcing to credible information, a complete lack of transparency and/or is fake news." (emphasis added)

https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/rt-news/

THAT dog don't hunt.

15 minutes ago, J Town said:

This about your source:
"A questionable source exhibiting one or more of the following: extreme bias, consistent promotion of propaganda/conspiracies, poor or no sourcing to credible information, a complete lack of transparency and/or is fake news." (emphasis added)

https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/rt-news/

THAT dog don't hunt.

I think thats his point

Well looks like he will be looking for a job soon but he may just be one of the few that exits this administration without beeing ruined trump can’t tolerate truth or facts!kudos mr Wray for having the integrity and courage to speak the facts and truth

Its very sad when the fbi director is in trouble for agreeing with the IG who investigated.

 

The IG who Barr said was a great guy and wll do a great job. Bigly.

 

The truth foesnt matter to trump. You either support his lies or you are in a lot of covfefe.

13 minutes ago, Tug said:

Well looks like he will be looking for a job soon but he may just be one of the few that exits this administration without beeing ruined trump can’t tolerate truth or facts!kudos mr Wray for having the integrity and courage to speak the facts and truth

Meanwhile it is business as usual for the Trump and his sycophant bootlickers. Assaulting truth and facts in Pennsylvania while Barr reprised his role spinning for his boss and dismissing his own department watchdog report and Pompeo press readout that he warned Sergei Lavrov that election meddling is unacceptable except that Lavrov denied election matter was discussed. 

1 hour ago, J Town said:

This about your source:
"A questionable source exhibiting one or more of the following: extreme bias, consistent promotion of propaganda/conspiracies, poor or no sourcing to credible information, a complete lack of transparency and/or is fake news." (emphasis added)

https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/rt-news/

THAT dog don't hunt.

That's why I quoted it, as it's a Russian source. I was joking, of course. It shows Russians support Trump's and Barr's narrative.

3 minutes ago, howbri said:

Don't need evidence huh?

if they get more evidence  then they already have,  he will not be facing impeachment but more like straight to jail

Link: S*** just got real': DOJ watchdog uncovers pro-Trump text messages between FBI agents

16 minutes ago, Mavideol said:

if they get more evidence  then they already have,  he will not be facing impeachment but more like straight to jail

SDNY has a PILE of indictments waiting to be served the instant Trump takes off the crown.

Some excellent coverage by Brit Piers Morgan, an unbiased journalist. I get a feeling the Durham findings will be explosive. This is all playing out perfectly for an astounding KAG2020 victory.

 

"In other words, they have a lot more information than Horowitz, and it could prove devastating to James Comey’s claims of vindicated innocence.

In fact, the deep swamp whitewash may turn very dark very soon.

To return to my soccer analogy, Comey thinks the game’s all over and he’s won. But the ball’s still in play…. and the net’s closing in."

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7776609/PIERS-MORGAN-James-Comey-cool-celebratory-jets.html