OF THE
TIMES
FBI Director Christopher Wray is under fire as his agency faces backlash over its handling of the investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn, according to reports.
Top Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee sent Wray a letter Monday demanding he reveal when he "personally knew of the FBI's misconduct" with respect to the Flynn investigation, according to Axios.
The letter, written by Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Mike Johnson (R-La.), questions the motives of the embattled FBI chief, asking him why the public "is learning of the FBI's misconduct with respect to [Lt. Gen.] Flynn from court filings rather than from you."
The news comes as frustration has mounted among President Trump and his allies over Wray's lack of reaction to the newly released documents in Flynn's case, in which the then-counterintelligence director of the bureau openly questioned whether the agency's "goal" was to "get him to lie."
Trump is not happy with Wray's handling of the situation and would love to replace him, three sources who have discussed the matter with the commander-in-chief told Axios over the weekend.
Trump "has never felt like Wray was his guy" and does not trust him to "change the culture" at the FBI, a source told the outlet.
The president, however, is unlikely to do so before November, those sources said, citing advisers who don't want to cause controversy by firing a second FBI director so close to the election.
A spokesperson for the FBI told The Post in a statement,"Under Director Wray's leadership, the FBI has fully cooperated and been transparent with the review being conducted by U.S. Attorney Jeff Jensen, just as it has been with U.S. Attorney John Durham and was with Inspector General Michael Horowitz. With regard to certain documents in the Michael Flynn matter from the 2016-2017 time period that are now the subject of reporting by the press, the FBI previously produced those materials to the Inspector General and U.S. Attorney Durham.
"The Flynn investigation was initiated and conducted during this time period, under prior FBI leadership. Since taking office, Director Wray has stressed the importance of strictly abiding by established processes, without exception. Director Wray remains firmly committed to addressing the failures under prior FBI leadership while maintaining the foundational principles of rigor, objectivity, accountability, and ownership in fulfilling the Bureau's mission to protect the American people and defend the Constitution."
"According to Christopher Steele, a former British intelligence officer who is reportedly held in high regard by U.S. intelligence, Russian sources tell him that Page has also had a secret meeting with Igor Sechin, CEO of Russian gas giant Rosneft.Schiff's decision to embrace the dossier and read it into a government proceeding gave the document enhanced public credibility with the media, just weeks after it had been leaked to the news site Buzzfeed and before its funding origins and accuracy were determined.
"Sechin is reported to be a former KGB agent and close friend of Putin's. According to Steele's Russian sources, Page is offered brokerage fees by Sechin on a deal involving a 19 percent share of the company."
"The Israeli aircraft carried out the aggression on two military sites in the eastern countryside of Aleppo, from the atmosphere of the areas controlled by the American occupation forces east of the Euphrates.In addition, Dr. Ayman al-Raqab, a professor of political science and a leader in the Fatah movement, said:
"Internal and external motives intersect on the Israeli agenda in terms of pushing it to continue the aggression against Syria. On the one hand, Israel is well aware that with the expected elimination of terrorist groups in the north, which have so far received very strong strikes, an important part of the balance of Syrian deterrence towards Israel will be restored.
"From here it appears that there is a confirmed conflict between Israelis and terrorist groups, and this is not limited to providing them directly with weapons as the former chief of the Israeli staff admitted, and with Israeli certainty that preserving terrorism in the northern region, and the tendency of isolationism in the north-east is the last of its cards in the project to foil the Syrian state."
"Many reports indicate a dramatic shift in the relationship between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his allies, by agreeing to a peaceful transition to rule in Syria by forming an interim government and appointing a new president until holding elections.
"Israel exploits these conditions well and increases its attacks on Syria, to impose itself on the table of the international agreement on Syria, and to be a party to it and decide with them the future of Syria.
"In addition to Israel taking advantage of Hezbollah's preoccupation with what is happening in Lebanon, which constitutes direct pressure on the party and its political future, Israel sees this as an opportunity to strike any weapons depot or security center for Hezbollah and Iran."
Comment:
UPDATE 07/05/2020: Brandon Van Grack has resigned from Flynn's and other government cases after being caught hiding Brady material: