President Joe Biden trusts FBI director Christopher Wray and plans to keep him in office, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Thursday.
Psaki raised some eyebrows in the police and intelligence circles on Wednesday, when he refused to say at a news conference whether Biden trusted Wray.
In a tweet on Thursday, Psaki clarified that his response “caused an unintended wave” and “wanted to make it clear” that Biden plans to keep Wray at work.
Justice Department inspectors and other federal agencies are reviewing how the FBI, Pentagon and other law enforcement agencies prepared for security at the United States Capitol earlier this month, when protesters broke into and stopped vote counting electoral The FBI is conducting an investigation into the attack.
Inspector General Michael Horowitz said last week that he will review the type of threat information available beforehand and how it was widely shared with the US Capitol Police and other law enforcement agencies.
Wray, who is still more than six years old in his 10-year term, had no indication that Biden or his team were dissatisfied with him, said a senior FBI official on Wednesday night, adding that “shared feelings were all positive “.
Some influential voices criticized the FBI’s response to the riot, however. David Lauffman, a senior Justice Department official during the Obama administration, said the FBI must prevent domestic terrorism and “it is unclear whether the FBI exercised the urgent national leadership necessary to maximize Capitol protection.”
Wray and those around him were concerned that he might be fired by former President Donald Trump, who publicly pressured him to take action on certain investigations – such as announcing an investigation into Biden’s son, Hunter Biden – and then expressed frustration at Wray did not follow his suggestions.
Hunter Biden announced in December that federal authorities in Delaware were investigating his taxes, and a source familiar with the investigation said it involved his business in China. The Delaware office attorney declined to comment on the investigation.
Biden’s campaign also declined to comment at the time the investigation was revealed. Hunter Biden was the target of relentless attacks during the campaign by Trump and his allies, who claimed that he used his father’s influence to enrich himself through business in Ukraine and China.
These negotiations were examined during the campaign, but there was no evidence that he or his father committed any wrongdoing. He promised during the campaign that he would not work for any foreign company if his father won the presidency.
