FBI Director Christopher Wray, who was appointed by President Trump after the termination of James Comey last year, is speaking out for the first time about the firing of former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe.
During an interview NBC News Wednesday night, Wray avoided going into detail about the McCabe firing, but assured viewers the decisions under his watch are made on the facts and without political influence.
"My commitment to making sure that our process is followed, that it relies on objective input, and that most importantly, it is not based on political or partisan influence is something I am utterly unyielding on," Wray said.
McCabe was fired by Attorney General Jeff Sessions last week after a recommendation from the Department of Justice Inspector General and FBI Office of Professional Responsibility. The timing of the firing, which came two days before McCabe was set to retire with a full pension, has come under criticism.
"After an extensive and fair investigation and according to Department of Justice procedure, the Department’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) provided its report on allegations of misconduct by Andrew McCabe to the FBI’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR)," Sessions said about the firing. "The FBI’s OPR then reviewed the report and underlying documents and issued a disciplinary proposal recommending the dismissal of Mr. McCabe. Both the OIG and FBI OPR reports concluded that Mr. McCabe had made an unauthorized disclosure to the news media and lacked candor − including under oath − on multiple occasions."
"The FBI expects every employee to adhere to the highest standards of honesty, integrity, and accountability. As the OPR proposal stated, “all FBI employees know that lacking candor under oath results in dismissal and that our integrity is our brand,” the statement continued. "Pursuant to Department Order 1202, and based on the report of the Inspector General, the findings of the FBI Office of Professional Responsibility, and the recommendation of the Department’s senior career official, I have terminated the employment of Andrew McCabe effective immediately."
Additionally, Wray addressed the ongoing Russia probe and said President Trump, who has been openly critical of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, has never tried to influence him on the investigation.