FBI director resigns, Trump says 'it's a great day for America'

“A great day for America,” said US President-elect Donald Trump, soon after FBI Director Christopher Wray announced his early resignation during an internal town hall on Wednesday. Wary, who served seven years of a 10-year term as FBI director, said he would leave office before Trump’s inauguration on January 20.

Wray’s announcement of stepping down comes less than a couple of weeks after Trump nominated loyalist Kash Patel to lead the bureau before Wray’s term ended, leaving him with just two options: resign or be fired.

Trump hails Wray’s resignation

“The resignation of Christopher Wray is a great day for America as it will end the Weaponisation of what has become known as the United States Department of Injustice,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social handle, soon after Wray announced his resignation.

“We will now restore the Rule of Law for all Americans,” the US President-elect said.

Trump further said that under Wray’s leadership, the FBI “illegally raided my home, without cause, worked diligently on illegally impeaching and indicting me, and has done everything else to interfere with the success and future of America. They have used their vast powers to threaten and destroy many innocent Americans, some of which will never be able to recover from what has been done to them.”

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Resigning ‘after weeks of careful thought’

During a town hall meeting with FBI employees, Wray said although leaving isn’t easy, it’s the right thing to do for the bureau and Americans.

Wray went on to say that he would be stepping down “after weeks of careful thought.”

“I’ve decided the right thing for the Bureau is for me to serve until the end of the current administration in January and then step down,” he said.

“This is the best way to avoid dragging the Bureau deeper into the fray, while reinforcing the values and principles that are so important to how we do our work,” he said.

“My goal is to keep the focus on our mission - the indispensable work you’re doing on behalf of the American people every day,” Wray told agency employees.

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“In my view, this is the best way to avoid dragging the bureau deeper into the fray, while reinforcing the values and principles that are so important to how we do our work,” he further said.

Wray was appointed by Trump in 2017

In 2017, when Trump was the US President, he had appointed Wray for a 10-year term, and called him “a model of integrity” and an “impeccably qualified individual” for the role of investigating crimes and foreign influence in the US without fear or favor.

Now, Wray is stepping down before Trump returns to power next month.

It is rare for FBI directors to be ousted from their jobs before the completion of their tenure of 10 years, but Trump has done it twice, appointing Wray in 2017 after firing Director James Comey amid an investigation into ties between Russia and the Republican president’s campaign.

However, distance grew between Trump and Wray when the FBI conducted searches of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Florida. During the raid, classified documents were recovered and also there was a federal indictment of several criminal charges against Trump.

Under the leadership of Wray, the FBI launched an investigation into the January 6 attack on the US Capitol in 2021.

In a recent interview with NBC News, Trump said he was unhappy with Wray and crime levels in the US. The president-elect vowed to fire the FBI director once he took office in January.

With inputs from agencies.