New FBI chief is a man on a mission
In time of turmoil, Wray guards bureau’s ‘brand’
WASHINGTON – On the fourth day of James Comey’s promotional blitz for a blockbuster book, Christopher Wray was quietly engaged in another kind of advocacy.
Last week at a ceremony honoring community leaders, the new FBI director started by lauding the agency he leads.
“I believe in the work of this organization,” he said before a packed audience at the bureau’s Bonaparte Auditorium. “I believe in the men and women who do this work every single day. ... The more I learn, the more inspired I am by the FBI’s ... dedication to doing the right thing in the right way.”
His remarks were a sharp counterpoint to broadsides that have been leveled by the White House and some Republican lawmakers. Nine months after succeeding Comey — who was dismissed by President Trump last year — Wray highlighted the enormous challenge before him: managing the federal government’s elite law enforcement agency while restoring an institutional brand wounded in an unyielding political firestorm.
“People talk about criticism, and that inevitably raises questions about things like brand,” Wray said in an interview with USA TODAY. “What I try to tell our folks is that while there are a lot of opinions out there about us, the opinions that really matter are the opinions of a jury when one of our agents takes the stand or a judge when he’s being presented with a warrant or community leaders who are having to work side-by-side with our people.”
Out there, beyond the capital’s echo chamber, Wray said, the bureau’s reputation is unbroken.
“Our brand — with those people — couldn’t be higher,” the director said. “The appreciation we get ... I’ve been
almost taken aback, but in a good way.” Wray’s surprise is understandable. Trump has repeatedly directed his ire at the FBI and Justice Department, charging that the inquiry into Russia’s suspected interference in the 2016 election was biased against him after it was disclosed that two agents formerly assigned to the investigation had exchanged disparaging text messages about Trump.
He has described the FBI’s reputation as in “tatters” and the bureau’s conduct as “really, really disgraceful” in connection with the Russia inquiry, which includes an examination into whether Trump sought to obstruct the investigation by firing Comey.
Each time, Wray has defended the bureau while being careful not to call out the president or other critics by name.
Thomas O’Connor, president of the FBI Agents Association, said Wray’s support of the ranks has been constant and “invaluable.”
O’Connor acknowledged that he barely recognized the name of the former Justice Department official when Wray was nominated after Comey’s firing. After their first meeting, O’Connor — whose group had endorsed former FBI agent and Michigan representative Mike Rogers to succeed Comey — said he walked away impressed: “This guy was for real, not a politician.”
O’Connor said the director has demonstrated an urgency to connect with the ranks. In the past nine months, Wray has visited 23 field offices, saying he is “hellbent on trying to get to all 56 ... by the end of the year.”
“From everything we’ve seen, he truly believes in the mission,” O’Connor said.
Bill Mateja, a former Justice Department senior counsel who worked with Wray, said that although his friend “surely didn’t anticipate” the forces aligned against him, the new director is best equipped to navigate the storm.
“He calls balls and strikes like he sees them,” Mateja said. “And he’s not going to let anyone defame the FBI.”
Wray’s early defense of the bureau, Mateja said, sends a strong message to the ranks: “When you need him most, he’s got your back. The FBI needs that more than ever now.”
In the short term, the director’s work is likely to become even more challenging as the Justice Department’s inspector general is poised to release its examination of the FBI’s handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server when she was secretary of State.
Last month, former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe, a prominent figure in the Clinton inquiry, was fired for misleading investigators about his role in providing information to the media before the 2016 election.
For now, Wray is focused on preserving the public’s trust. Friday, he tended to that mission in an auditorium full of community leaders honored for their public service.
“He calls balls and strikes like he sees them. And he’s not going to let anyone defame the FBI.” Bill Mateja Former Justice Department senior counsel
The group included Meenakshi Brewster, an advocate for opioid treatment in Baltimore; Rabbi Vered Harris, who has pushed for increased security for houses of worship in Oklahoma City; Lisa Allen, a West Virginia executive whose popsicle company committed to hiring employees with criminal records; and Cynthia Horton, who works with human-trafficking victims in El Paso.
They described the political warfare in Washington as a kind of white noise that distracts from their partnerships with the FBI on projects across the country.
From her post in far West Texas, Horton has heard the criticism, but her regard for the FBI is based on the work of agents who assisted her in the rescue of trafficking victims.
“Any time there is negative publicity, you are going to take a hit,” Horton said. “What I’ve seen is that (agents) continue to hold their heads up. And we are going to continue to trust until we don’t have a reason to trust anymore.”