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🏛️ Wray’s Way Out

Wray leaves, Trump cheers, and the FBI braces for a dramatic new era.

December 13, 2024

The Flag


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Right: Move to a pro-Second Amendment state, Brady Leonard, Washington Examiner

Left: It's Never Just About the Economy, Stupid, Jacob Rosenberg, Mother Jones

FBI

Wray’s Way Out

Today’s Top Story: FBI Director Christopher Wray announced his resignation ahead of President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration, citing a desire to shield the Bureau from further political turmoil, as Trump praised the move and reaffirmed plans to replace Wray with Kash Patel to restore "Law, Order, and Justice."

Reporting from the Right: Jim Jordan cheers Wray resignation but says he's not done probing his FBI tenure (Fox News)

Reporting from the Left: FBI Director Wray says he intends to resign before Trump takes office in January (AP)

RIGHT-LEANING SENTIMENT

Good Riddance

The Top Argument From The Right: Good Riddance, Christopher Wray, Tristan Justice, The Federalist: “Democrats exploited the FBI as a vehicle of deep state interference to crack down on political opponents, and Wray became its conductor. The FBI director had two options when President Joe Biden took over, either get on board or get out. He obviously stayed and accelerated the FBI’s transformation into an American KGB under the Biden regime. The only reason Democrats fret about Trump as a threat to democracy is because now the new president has the power to use the FBI the way Wray did. … It was under Wray that FBI stormtroopers carried out an unprecedented raid of President-elect Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence two years ago. … The FBI under Wray’s direction carried out a nationwide hunt to find any and all participants in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, even questioning 71-year-old grandmothers. The agency, meanwhile, refused to answer lawmakers’ questions about the extent of federal law enforcement’s involvement in the Capitol riot. … In 2020, Wray led the FBI as the bureau actively sought to undermine the legitimacy of the Hunter Biden laptop stories even after the agency had verified the hard drive’s authenticity a year earlier. … Wray is capping off his tenure as FBI director by breaking a 15-year tradition of testifying in an end-of-year hearing.”

Honorable Mention #1: Good riddance to Wray, Washington Examiner

LEFT-LEANING SENTIMENT

Abidcation of Duty

The Top Argument From The Left: Christopher Wray’s Complete Abdication of Leadership, Garrett M. Graff, Politico: “Wray’s surprise decision is, simply put, a damning decision, an abdication of leadership, and a terrifying indication of how unready Washington remains for a second Trump term. … The FBI’s highest guiding principle is supposed to be the rule of law — and federal law is clear: The FBI director serves a 10-year-term, a length meant to isolate the role from political winds. … The only reason Trump wants to change FBI directors is he doesn’t think he can boss, bend and break Wray to his will sufficiently, that Wray would not be personally loyal to him in the way that he has wanted his FBI directors to be — and which, institutionally, they’re explicitly not supposed to be. Every single part of that is a dire warning sign about what’s to come under Trump II and what he and Patel intend to do with the bureau. Wray had an opportunity to make that a fight — to force Trump to bear the political cost of firing him on invented pretexts, to force the president to be the one who destroyed that guardrail rather than Wray himself. And, instead of upholding that oath to the Constitution, the rule of law and duty to protect the bureau from outside influence, Wray just … capitulated. He’s handing the keys over to Trump just because Trump asked.”

Honorable Mention #2: FBI Director Caves to Trump’s Dangerous Wishes by Resinging, Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling, The New Republic

FLAG THIS

FBI Favor Split

Polling conducted early in 2023 by Rasmussen Reports poll revealed that a majority of U.S. voters believe the FBI has been “politically weaponized, starting from the top in Washington”:

  • 64% agree with the statement, 44% strongly agree, and 30% disagree.

  • The FBI's favorability rating stands at 50%, with 45% viewing it unfavorably.

  • 59% of Republicans strongly agree the FBI is politically weaponized, compared to 28% of Democrats and 45% of independents.

  • Favorability splits sharply along party lines: 69% of Democrats view the FBI favorably, compared to only 37% of Republicans and 43% of independents (Harriet Hageman).

Do you believe the FBI has been politically weaponized, starting at the top levels in Washington?

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WATERCOOLER

Wilson in Paris, Predator of the Abyss, Neck and Neck

On this day in 1918, President Woodrow Wilson arrived in France to participate in World War I peace negotiations and promote his plan for a League of Nations, an international organization for resolving conflicts between nations.

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