Former President Donald Trump admitted it was probably wrong to hire FBI Director Christopher Wray during an exclusive Sunday interview with Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo.
Trump nominated Wray in early June 2017 for the agency after firing former FBI Director James Comey. Wray, who Trump once said is “a man of impeccable credentials,” has come under fire mainly by Republicans in Congress after numerous reports surfaced of the agency targeting conservatives and traditional Catholics.
I will be nominating Christopher A. Wray, a man of impeccable credentials, to be the new Director of the FBI. Details to follow.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 7, 2017
“Was it a mistake to put Christopher Wray there? I mean, obviously the FBI is not following any of the things that you’re talking about,” Bartiromo asked Trump.
“Yeah, sadly, it probably was,” Trump responded.
The former president then attacked former New Jersey Gov. and Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie for recommending Wray.
“You know, he was recommended very strongly by Chris Christie whose, you know, a sad case. I mean, I watch him, he’s a sad case,” Trump said. “You know how he’s doing, he’s at 1% and he probably won’t even make the debate stage. Chris is — he’s sad. I mean, I watched him the other day. He said I built 47 miles of wall, I built over 500 miles of wall and that’s Homeland Security statements. I had the safest border in the history of our country. I built massive miles of wall. I was gonna put up another 200 miles, everything was built, just had to erect it.”
Wray testified before the House Weaponization Committee Wednesday about the FBI’s alleged unfair targeting of conservatives.
The agency raided the home and pointed weapons at pro-life activist Mark Houck before arresting him in front of his seven children in October. He faced charges of violating the FACE Act relating to allegations that he assaulted an abortion clinic volunteer. A jury acquitted Houck in a January 30 decision widely celebrated by pro-life activists.
A now-redacted memorandum found the Richmond FBI field office targeted Catholics who reject the reforms from the Second Vatican Council. The memo accused these Catholics of being susceptible to “anti-Semitic, anti-immigrant, anti-LGBTQ and white supremacist ideology.” (RELATED: ‘It’s Political Motivation’: Jim Jordan Confronts FBI Director On Targeting Traditional Catholics)
The FBI also communicated with Big Tech companies — such as Twitter — to suppress so-called “disinformation” and “misinformation.” The collaboration resulted in the suppression of several conservative figures who voiced their views on the COVID-19 vaccine and the 2020 presidential election results.
United States Judge Terry A. Doughty of Louisiana issued a legal injunction July 5 barring President Joe Biden’s administration and the FBI from collaborating with social media companies, and concluded the censorship was one of the most major violations of the First Amendment in the history of the U.S.