FBI 局长克里斯托弗·雷表示，他打算在拜登任期结束时辞职

【中美创新时报2024 年 12 月 11 日编译讯】（记者温友平编译）FBI 局长克里斯托弗·雷周三告诉局内工作人员，他计划在 1 月份总统乔·拜登任期结束时辞职，这一消息是在当选总统唐纳德·特朗普表示将提名忠诚的卡什·帕特尔担任该职位一周半后宣布的。美联社对此作了下述报道。

雷在一次全体会议上表示，他将“经过数周的深思熟虑”后辞职，距离他十年任期的结束还有大约三年。在此期间，他试图让联邦调查局远离政治，尽管该局发现自己陷入了一系列爆炸性调查，其中两起导致去年对特朗普分别提出起诉，以及对拜登父子的调查。

“我的目标是专注于我们的使命——你们每天代表美国人民所做的不可或缺的工作，”雷告诉机构员工。“在我看来，这是避免让该局陷入更深的纷争的最佳方式，同时强化了对我们工作至关重要的价值观和原则。”

考虑到特朗普已经确定由帕特尔担任局长，并多次对他在第一任期内任命的雷表示愤怒，他打算辞职并不意外。但他的离职仍然反映了特朗普打破常规的风格如何重塑了华盛顿，这位当选总统再次藐视传统，在任期结束前更换了联邦调查局局长，而雷则辞职以避免与新政府发生冲突。

“这应该是不言而喻的，但我还是要说——这对我来说并不容易，”雷说。“我爱这个地方，我爱我们的使命，我爱我们的人民——但我的重点是，而且一直是，我们自己，为联邦调查局做正确的事情。”

据一位联邦调查局官员透露，雷在联邦调查局总部的人群中发表讲话后获得了起立鼓掌，一些观众哭了，这位官员未获授权透露姓名，并要求匿名向美联社透露了这一私人聚会。

特朗普在社交媒体上对这一消息表示赞赏，称这是“美国的伟大一天，因为它将结束所谓的美国不公正部门的武器化”，并表示帕特尔的确认将开启“让联邦调查局再次伟大的进程”。

如果得到参议院的确认，帕特尔将预示着美国首屈一指的联邦执法机构将发生彻底的领导变革。他主张关闭联邦调查局的华盛顿总部，并呼吁清除联邦政府中的“阴谋家”，这引发了人们对他可能试图利用联邦调查局的重要调查权力作为报复特朗普所谓的敌人的工具的警惕。

帕特尔周三在一份声明中表示，他期待“平稳过渡。我将准备好在第一天为美国人民服务。”

联邦调查局局长在完成 10 年任期之前被免职的情况极为罕见，任期的延长是为了使该机构免受政府更迭的政治影响。但特朗普已经两次这么做了，2017 年，在对俄罗斯与共和党总统竞选活动之间关系的调查中，特朗普解雇了局长詹姆斯·科米，随后任命雷担任这一职务。

尽管任命了雷，但特朗普多年来曾多次表达他对联邦调查局局长的愤怒，最近一次是在上周。

在周日播出的 NBC 节目“与媒体见面”采访中，特朗普说：“我不能说我对他感到高兴。他闯入了我的家”，这指的是两年前联邦调查局搜查他在佛罗里达州的房产海湖庄园，寻找特朗普第一任期内的机密文件。

那次搜查，以及对一箱箱敏感政府记录的追回，为对特朗普的两项联邦起诉之一铺平了道路。鉴于特朗普 11 月的胜利，这起案件以及另一起指控他密谋推翻 2020 年大选的案件都被司法部特别顾问驳回。

司法部长梅里克·加兰德称赞雷“数十年来一直光荣而正直地为国家服务”。他说：“在雷局长坚守原则的领导下，联邦调查局一直致力于履行司法部的使命，即保护国家安全、保护公民权利和维护法治。”

联邦调查局特工协会主席娜塔莉·巴拉在一份声明中表示，雷带领联邦调查局“度过了艰难时期，始终专注于保护国家安全的工作”。 “

在任职的七年中，自称“低调、低调”的雷伊以务实的态度对待工作，尽管特朗普及其支持者不断攻击他，但他还是反复向局内人员宣扬“保持冷静，坚决应对”的口号。

他还尽可能避免与特朗普白宫发生公开冲突，与联邦调查局在就职前发生的错误保持距离，并宣布了数十项纠正措施，旨在防止再次出现困扰调查的监控滥用行为。

但也有其他一些令人难忘的例子，他与特朗普决裂——例如，他不同意特朗普将俄罗斯调查定性为“猎巫”。当白宫批准解密与监视前特朗普竞选助理有关的材料时，他表达了自己的不满，并反驳了特朗普的谈话要点，称乌克兰没有干预 2016 年大选。

他一再试图将焦点放在联邦调查局的日常工作上，在辞职声明的大部分内容中赞扬该局在打击从暴力犯罪和网络攻击到中国间谍活动和恐怖主义等各种活动方面所做的努力。然而，由于他在威胁加剧之际离任，公众的大部分注意力都集中在他任职期间的政治敏感调查上。

除了对特朗普的调查外，近年来，联邦调查局还调查了拜登对机密信息的处理，以及拜登的儿子亨特的税务和枪支违规行为。亨特·拜登上周被他的父亲赦免。

一个特别的爆发点发生在 2022 年 8 月，当时联邦调查局特工搜查了海湖庄园——官员们为这一行动辩护，认为这是必要的，因为那里有几箱文件被藏在棕榈滩的房产中，司法部称已收集到妨碍司法公正的证据。

特朗普对联邦调查局的搜查大加指责，此后一直批评联邦调查局。特朗普对雷在国会听证会上的言论感到愤怒，雷表示，7 月在宾夕法尼亚州的一次暗杀企图中，特朗普的耳朵“被子弹还是弹片击中”存在“一些疑问”。联邦调查局后来明确表示，那确实是一颗子弹。

在被任命为联邦调查局局长之前，雷曾在一家著名的律师事务所 King & Spalding 工作，在“桥门”丑闻期间，他代表前新泽西州州长克里斯·克里斯蒂。在乔治·W·布什总统执政期间，他还曾领导司法部的刑事部门一段时间。

题图：FBI 局长克里斯托弗·雷于 2024 年 7 月 24 日在华盛顿特区国会山出席众议院司法委员会会议。CHRIS KLEPONIS/AFP via Getty Images

附原英文报道：

FBI Director Christopher Wray says he intends to resign at the end of Biden’s term

By The Associated PressUpdated December 11, 2024

FBI Director Christopher Wray appears before the House Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on July 24, 2024.CHRIS KLEPONIS/AFP via Getty Images

WASHINGTON (AP) — FBI Director Christopher Wray told bureau workers Wednesday that he plans to resign at the end of President Joe Biden’s term in January, an announcement that came a week and a half after President-elect Donald Trump said he would nominate loyalist Kash Patel for the job.

Wray said at a town hall meeting that he would be stepping down “after weeks of careful thought,” roughly three years short of the completion of a 10-year term during which he tried to keep the FBI out of politics even as the bureau found itself entangled in a string of explosive investigations, including two that led to separate indictments of Trump last year as well as inquiries into Biden and his son.

“My goal is to keep the focus on our mission — the indispensable work you’re doing on behalf of the American people every day,” Wray told agency employees. “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.”

The intended resignation was not unexpected considering that Trump had settled on Patel to be director and had repeatedly aired his ire at Wray, whom he appointed during his first term. But his departure is nonetheless a reflection of how Trump’s norm-breaking style has reshaped Washington, with the president-elect yet again flouting tradition by moving to replace an FBI director well before his term was up and Wray resigning to avert a collision with the incoming administration.

“It should go without saying, but I’ll say it anyway — this is not easy for me,” Wray said. “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.”

Wray received a standing ovation following his remarks before a standing-room-only crowd at FBI headquarters and some in the audience cried, according to an FBI official who was not authorized to discuss the private gathering by name and spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press.

Trump applauded the news on social media, calling it “a great day for America as it will end the Weaponization of what has become known as the United States Department of Injustice” and saying that Patel’s confirmation will begin “the process of Making the FBI Great Again.”

If confirmed by the Senate, Patel would herald a radical leadership transformation at the nation’s premier federal law enforcement agency. He has advocated shutting down the FBI’s Washington headquarters and called for ridding the federal government of “conspirators,” raising alarms that he might seek to wield the FBI’s significant investigative powers as an instrument of retribution against Trump’s perceived enemies.

Patel said in a statement Wednesday that he was looking forward to “a smooth transition. I will be ready to serve the American people on day one.”

It’s extremely rare for FBI directors to be ousted from their jobs before the completion of their 10-year terms, a length meant to insulate the agency from the political influence of changing administrations. But Trump has done it twice, placing Wray in the job in 2017 after firing Director James Comey amid an investigation into ties between Russia and the Republican president’s campaign.

Despite having appointed Wray, Trump had telegraphed his anger with the FBI director on multiple occasions throughout the years, including as recently as the past week.

In an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” that aired Sunday, Trump said, “I can’t say I’m thrilled with him. He invaded my home,” a reference to the FBI search of his Florida property, Mar-a-Lago, two years ago for classified documents from Trump’s first term as president.

That search, and the recovery of boxes of sensitive government records, paved the way for one of two federal indictments against Trump. The case, and another one charging him with plotting to overturn the 2020 election, have both been dismissed by the Justice Department special counsel that brought them in light of Trump’s November victory.

Attorney General Merrick Garland praised Wray for having “served our country honorably and with integrity for decades.” He said: “Under Director Wray’s principled leadership, the FBI has worked to fulfill the Justice Department’s mission to keep our country safe, protect civil rights, and uphold the rule of law.”

Natalie Bara, the president of the FBI Agents Association, said in a statement that Wray had led the FBI “through challenging times with a steady focus on doing the work that keeps our country safe. “

Throughout his seven years on the job, the self-professed “low-key, understated” Wray brought a workmanlike approach to the job, repeatedly preaching a “keep calm and tackle hard” mantra to bureau personnel despite a steady drumbeat of attacks from Trump and his supporters.

He also sought to avoid public conflict when possible with the Trump White House, distancing himself and his leadership team from the FBI’s Russia investigation over errors that took place before he took office and announcing dozens of corrective actions meant to prevent the recurrence of the surveillance abuses that plagued the inquiry.

But there were other instances when he memorably broke from Trump — he did not agree, for instance, with Trump’s characterization of the Russia investigation as a “witch hunt.” He made known his displeasure when the White House blessed the declassification of materials related to the surveillance of a former Trump campaign aide and contradicted a Trump talking point by stating that Ukraine had not interfered in the 2016 election.

He repeatedly sought to keep the focus on the FBI’s day-to-day work, using the bulk of his resignation announcement to praise the bureau’s efforts in countering everything from violent crime and cyberattacks to Chinese espionage and terrorism. Yet as he leaves office at a time of heightened threats, much of the public focus has been on the politically sensitive investigations of his tenure.

Besides the inquiries into Trump, the FBI in recent years also investigated Biden’s handling of classified information as well as Biden’s son Hunter for tax and gun violations. Hunter Biden was pardoned by his father last week.

A particular flashpoint came in August 2022, when FBI agents searched Mar-a-Lago — an action officials defended as necessary given the boxes of documents that were being concealed at the Palm Beach property and the evidence of obstruction that the Justice Department said had been gathered.

Trump railed against the FBI over that search and has kept up his criticism ever since. Trump was angered by Wray’s comment at a congressional hearing that there was “some question about whether or not it’s a bullet or shrapnel” that struck Trump’s ear during an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania in July. The FBI later stated unequivocally that it was indeed a bullet.

Before being named FBI director, Wray worked at a prestigious law firm, King & Spalding, where he represented former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie during the “Bridgegate” scandal. He also led the Justice Department’s criminal division for a period during President George W. Bush’s administration.