Trump suggests criminal probe of former FBI Director Wray over false claims of bureau's involvement in Jan. 6 riot
President Donald Trump suggested a criminal investigation into Christopher Wray, his appointee to lead the bureau in his first term, after a conservative media outlet reported the false claim that FBI agents were involved in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
"I would imagine. I would certainly imagine. I would think they are doing that," Trump said in a phone interview with NBC News when asked whether the Justice Department should investigate Wray.
Trump appointed Wray to lead the bureau in 2017 after he fired former FBI Director James Comey. Comey was indicted in a grand jury last week on charges of making false statements to Congress and obstructing a congressional investigation after Trump just days before publicly urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to act "now" to prosecute his foes.
In a brief video posted to his Instagram account, Comey said, "My heart is broken for the Department of Justice. I have great confidence in the federal judicial system and I am innocent, so let's have a trial, and keep the faith."
Wray opted to depart the bureau before Trump took office for his second term because he had fears that Trump firing him could cause turmoil within the department. Wray had also drawn Trump's ire over investigations into election interference from the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and Trump's handling of classified documents, both of which were dropped after Trump won the 2024 election.
Trump first began suggesting Wray should be be investigated by the Justice Department after the conservative outlet The Blaze, citing an unidentified congressional source, reported last week that 274 FBI agents had been embedded in the pro-Trump mob that stormed the Capitol.
Trump promoted The Blaze's story on his social media platform on Saturday, saying "It was just revealed that the FBI had secretly placed, against all Rules, Regulations, Protocols, and Standards, 274 FBI Agents into the Crowd just prior to, and during, the January 6th Hoax. This is different from what Director Christopher Wray stated, over and over again! That's right, as it now turns out, FBI Agents were at, and in, the January 6th Protest, probably acting as Agitators and Insurrectionists, but certainly not as "Law Enforcement Officials."
"Christopher Wray, the then Director of the FBI, has some major explaining to do. That's two in a row, Comey and Wray, who got caught LYING, with our Great Country at stake."
The DOJ's Office of the Inspector General found no evidence that the FBI had undercover employees in the protest crowd in a December 2024 report. It also said that the FBI deployed tactical resources to the Capitol after the building had been breached by rioters and reports of two pipe bombs discovered at the Republican and Democratic national party headquarters.
That report also said while there were 26 informants in Washington, D.C., who were dubbed within the FBI as "confidential human sources," or CHSs, the IG uncovered no evidence suggesting that any were instructed to join the assault on the Capitol or otherwise encourage illegal activity by members of the mob.
The IG report did not find fault with agents being sent to the Capitol where law enforcement had been overwhelmed and thousands of federal crimes had been committed, ranging from trespass and assault on federal officers to seditious conspiracy.
It's not immediately clear whether Wray will be placed under criminal investigation, but Trump's interview with NBC and his social media posts over the weekend show he appears to be increasingly emboldened in the wake of Comey's indictment to call for the prosecution of more political foes.
In comments to reporters outside of the White House last week, Trump suggested he expected more criminal charges to be brought against his opponents while denying he was applying any direct pressure to Justice Department leadership.
"It's not a list, but I think there will be others," Trump told reporters. "I hope there will be others."
