GOP senator praises current FBI Director Christopher Wray, calls Putin a ‘tyrant’
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(WASHINGTON) — Republican Sen. Mike Rounds emphasized his support for current FBI Director Christopher Wray, whom President-elect Donald Trump intends to fire and replace with the loyalist Kash Patel.
“I think the president picked a very good man to be the director of the FBI when he did that in his first term,” Rounds told ABC “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl about Wray. “When we meet with him behind closed doors, I’ve had no objections to the way that he’s handled himself, and so I don’t have any complaints about the way that he’s done his job right now.”
However, Rounds reiterated the president-elect’s right to select his Cabinet and Trump’s selection of Patel is not surprising.
“It doesn’t surprise me that he will pick people that he believes are very loyal to himself, and that’s been a part of the process,” Rounds said. “Every president wants people that are loyal to themselves.”
A staunch supporter of Ukraine, Rounds called Russian President Vladimir Putin a “tyrant” and suggested that negotiating with him might be futile.
“I think Mr. Putin is a tyrant. I think dealing with him is going to be extremely difficult,” Rounds said, expressing hope for Trump to succeed but recognizing that this will be a challenge for “any president.”
He added that you can’t trust “a guy that doesn’t honor their word,” which he says Putin had done.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(WASHINGTON) — Matt Gaetz said Friday he will not return to Congress after withdrawing his name from consideration to be President-elect Donald Trump’s attorney general.
In an interview with conservative commentator Charlie Kirk on “Real America’s Voice,” Gaetz said he is “still going to be in the fight but it’s going to be from a new perch.”
“I do not intend to join the 119th Congress,” he said. “There are a number of fantastic Floridians who’ve stepped up to run for my seat, people who have inspired with their heroism, with their public service. And I’m actually excited to see northwest Florida go to new heights and have great representation.”
Questions swirled about Gaetz’s future after he dropped his confirmation bid on Thursday amid sexual misconduct allegations. While he’d resigned from the 118th Congress just hours after being tapped by Trump to serve in the administration, he won reelection to serve in the 119th Congress beginning in January.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(WASHINGTON) — A day after the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals denied an effort to block the release of special counsel Jack Smith’s final report on his two investigations into Donald Trump, the president-elect’s former co-defendants are trying to keep U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland from releasing the report to members of Congress.
Attorneys for Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira on Friday asked U.S. Judge Aileen Cannon, who earlier this week temporarily blocked the report’s release while the matter was considered by the Eleventh Circuit, to extend her three-day restraining order prohibiting the report’s release so she can hold a hearing about Garland’s proposed plan to release the portion of the report covering Smith’s classified documents investigation to the ranking members and chairs of the House and Senate Judiciary committees.
If successful, the move could result in a further delay of the report’s release, potentially past Trump’s presidential inauguration on Jan. 20.
“Once the Report is disclosed to Congress, this Court will effectively lose its ability to control the flow of information related to privileged and confidential matters in a criminal proceeding,” wrote attorneys for Nauta, a longtime Trump aide, and De Oliveira, a Mar-a-Lago employee. That makes delaying the issuance of the Final Report until this matter is resolved essential, as there will be no way to put the proverbial cat back into the bag after the Final Report is shared with Congress, and no way to control congressional speech regarding the pending criminal case.”
It’s unclear if Judge Cannon has the jurisdiction to extend her restraining order after the Eleventh Circuit’s ruling left Cannon’s temporary order the only impediment stopping the report’s release. The Justice Department earlier Friday notified Judge Cannon of their intent to appeal her injunction in an effort to nullify the three-day restriction. Garland has stated his intent to make Volume Two of the report, pertaining to Trump’s classified documents case, available to leaders of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees for closed-door review as soon as he is permitted to do so, and to make Volume One of the report, regarding Trump’s efforts to subvert the 2020 election, available to the public.
Lawyers for Nauta and De Oliveira have asked Cannon, who last year dismissed the classified documents case, to hold a hearing about whether Garland should be blocked from releasing the report while the government is still appealing the dismissal of the case against Nauta and De Oliveira.
“”This Court presides over the criminal matter and is best suited to resolve the questions presented by Defendants’ request for injunctive relief,” the attorneys wrote.
Trump pleaded not guilty in June 2023 to 37 criminal counts related to his handling of classified materials, after prosecutors said he repeatedly refused to return hundreds of documents containing classified information ranging from U.S. nuclear secrets to the nation’s defense capabilities, and took steps to thwart the government’s efforts to get the documents back. Trump, Nauta and De Oliveira also pleaded not guilty in a superseding indictment to allegedly attempting to delete surveillance footage at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.
Friday’s filing comes amid escalating tensions between Trump’s lawyers and the Department of Justice. On Thursday, Trump’s co-defendants suggested that the DOJ violated Cannon’s order by submitting a letter to Congress about Smith completing his investigation. Smith, in turn, filed a notice claiming the defense assertion is unfounded.
“There is nothing about the government’s email to counsel for President-elect Trump, the government’s submission to the Eleventh Circuit, nor the Attorney General’s letter to Congress that violates this Court’s Order,” Smith wrote.
(WASHINGTON) — FBI Director Christopher Wray told employees at an internal town hall on Wednesday that he is resigning, according to sources familiar with the meeting.
He said he is stepping down at the end of the current Biden administration.
“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. My goal is to keep the focus on our mission — the indispensable work you’re doing on behalf of the American people every day. 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 said in his remarks.
“It should go without saying, but I’ll say it anyway — this is not easy for me. I love this place, I love our mission, and I love our people — but my focus is, and always has been, on us and doing what’s right for the FBI,” he said.
“When you look at where the threats are headed, it’s clear that the importance of our work – keeping Americans safe and upholding the Constitution — will not change. And what absolutely cannot, must not change is our commitment to doing the right thing, the right way, every time. Our adherence to our core values, our dedication to independence and objectivity, and our defense of the rule of law — those fundamental aspects of who we are must never change,” he said. “That’s the real strength of the FBI — the importance of our mission, the quality of our people, and their dedication to service over self. It’s an unshakeable foundation that’s stood the test of time, and cannot be easily moved. And it — you, the men and women of the FBI — are why the Bureau will endure and remain successful long into the future.”
Wray, who was appointed by President-elect Donald Trump and confirmed in August 2017, oversaw the agency in a “heightened threat environment” and number of high-profile cases, including the investigation of the man who appointed him.
As FBI director, Wray oversaw the investigation into the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob, hundreds of Chinese espionage cases, the probes into Trump’s and President Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents as well as thousands more criminal investigations.
Wray was nominated by Trump after he fired his predecessor, James Comey.
Republican critics have accused Wray’s FBI of political interference, a lack of transparency and a lack of responsiveness to Congress.
Iowa GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley, the incoming chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to Wray on Dec. 9, expressing a “vote of no confidence” in Wray and his deputy director.
“For the good of the country, it’s time for you and your deputy to move on to the next chapter of your life,” Grassley writes.
Trump has picked Kash Patel to replace Wray at the FBI.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
