{UAH} PRESSURE MOUNTS ON FBI DIRECTOR

Pressure mounts on FBI director as Trump, GOP fume over Flynn documents

By Emily Jacobs

FBI Director Christopher Wray Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images

FBI Director Christopher Wray is under fire as his agency faces backlash over its handling of the investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn, according to reports.

Top Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee sent Wray a letter Monday demanding he reveal when he “personally knew of the FBI’s misconduct” with respect to the Flynn investigation, according to Axios.

The letter, written by Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Mike Johnson (R-La.), questions the motives of the embattled FBI chief, asking him why the public “is learning of the FBI’s misconduct with respect to [Lt. Gen.] Flynn from court filings rather than from you.”

The news comes as frustration has mounted among President Trump and his allies over Wray’s lack of reaction to the newly released documents in Flynn’s case, in which the then-counterintelligence director of the bureau openly questioned whether the agency’s “goal” was to “get him to lie.”

The four-page document included one page of handwritten notes, believed to be written by former FBI counterintelligence director Bill Priestap. The notes were taken in January 2017, following a meeting with former FBI Director James Comey and Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, according to Fox News.

Priestap’s handwritten remarks were taken down on the heels of a critical interview with the newly installed national security adviser regarding Flynn’s contacts weeks earlier with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.

Flynn pleaded guilty in late 2017 to lying to the FBI about conversations he had with Kislyak. However, his lawyers now say they believe this document supports their case to reverse his plea, citing investigative misconduct.

Trump is not happy with Wray’s handling of the situation and would love to replace him, three sources who have discussed the matter with the commander-in-chief told Axios over the weekend.

Trump “has never felt like Wray was his guy” and does not trust him to “change the culture” at the FBI, a source told the outlet.

The president, however, is unlikely to do so before November, those sources said, citing advisers who don’t want to cause controversy by firing a second FBI director so close to the election.

Those advisers also are said to not have an obvious replacement in mind, someone whom Trump considers an ally who could get confirmed by the Senate.

A spokesperson for the FBI told The Post in a statement, “Under Director Wray’s leadership, the FBI has fully cooperated and been transparent with the review being conducted by U.S. Attorney Jeff Jensen, just as it has been with U.S. Attorney John Durham and was with Inspector General Michael Horowitz. With regard to certain documents in the Michael Flynn matter from the 2016-2017 time period that are now the subject of reporting by the press, the FBI previously produced those materials to the Inspector General and U.S. Attorney Durham.

“The Flynn investigation was initiated and conducted during this time period, under prior FBI leadership. Since taking office, Director Wray has stressed the importance of strictly abiding by established processes, without exception. Director Wray remains firmly committed to addressing the failures under prior FBI leadership while maintaining the foundational principles of rigor, objectivity, accountability, and ownership in fulfilling the Bureau’s mission to protect the American people and defend the Constitution.”

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