BREAKING: Christopher Wray resigns as FBI Director

Per the Washington Times, Wray resigned to avoid getting fired. He has been appointed by Trump during his first term. Deputy Director Paul Abbate will become acting director and will appoint an acting deputy director until a new director is confirmed.

Wray was a former prosecutor who was hired in 2017 after James Comey was fired. In 2022, Wray angered Trump when the FBI raided Mar-a-Lago during the classified documents case brought against him by President Joe Biden's Department of Justice. Trump was not at home at the time, but has mantained his anger at his home being raided in service to what he saw as a bogus case. The case was dismissed by federal Judge Aileen Cannon.

Trump maintains that the President Records Act allows presidents to take documents with them when they leave office. Biden was not prosecuted for retaining classified documents, despite his keeping them at several different locations, including his garage, and having absconded with them after his time in the senate and as vice president—neither position is backed by the Act.

On Monday, Senator Chuck Grassley indicated in a letter that he had "no confidence" in Wray or Abbate. "For the good of the country, it’s time for you and your deputy to move on to the next chapter in your lives. 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."

Grassley also had concerns over the raid, saying "President Trump has been subjected to a continuing double standard, an area where your failed tenure is consistent with your predecessor’s. While the FBI under your leadership turned a blind eye to information contained in the FD-1023 that was prejudicial to President Biden, FBI agents conducted an unprecedented raid of President Trump’s home in Florida to serve a warrant for records."

"This raid occurred despite serious questions about the need for it," Grassley went on to say. "No such raid took place at Hillary Clinton’s premises, even though she and her staff mishandled highly classified information while using a non-government server after repeated warnings from State Department security personnel it was a security risk, and despite the fact her associates destroyed potentially-incriminating evidence."

Patel is seen to have wide support in the Senate and is expected to be confirmed once the hearings begin.

In response to the resignation, Trump said:

"The resignation of Christopher Wray is a great day for America as it will end the Weaponization of what has become known as the United States Department of Injustice," Trump wrote. "I just don’t know what happened to him.

"We will now restore the Rule of Law for all Americans. Under the leadership of Christopher Wray, 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.

"Kash Patel is the most qualified Nominee to lead the FBI in the Agency’s History, and is committed to helping ensure that Law, Order, and Justice will be brought back to our Country again, and soon. As everyone knows, I have great respect for the rank-and-file of the FBI, and they have great respect for me. They want to see these changes every bit as much as I do but, more importantly, the American People are demanding a strong, but fair, System of Justice. We want our FBI back, and that will now happen. I look forward to Kash Patel’s confirmation, so that the process of Making the FBI Great Again can begin."