Axios stands by report that FBI's Wray threatened to resign
Caitlin Owens, a reporter for Axios, says FBI Director Christopher Wray threatened to resign if he were forced to fire Deputy Director Andrew McCabe; President Trump denies the report.
FBI Director Christopher Wray on Tuesday announced plans to “double the number” of agents handling records for the House Judiciary Committee after it asked for documents on the Clinton email probe, potential FISA abuses and the firing of Deputy Director Andrew McCabe.
According to a statement released by Wray, he believes the documents requested by committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., are “likely in the thousands” but that he agrees the “current pace of production is too slow.”
In attempt to comply with the committee’s request, Wray said he was “doubling” his team.
“We have dedicated 27 FBI staff to review the records that are potentially responsive to Chairman Goodlatte’s requests,” he wrote, adding he was “doubling the number of assigned FBI staff, for a total of 54, to cover two shifts per day from 8am to midnight to expedite completion of this project.”
But, a DOJ insider told Fox News that Attorney General Jeff Sessions has voiced his concern over the “unacceptable” pace with which the FBI is working and is “done” seeing his department criticized over it.
“He’s told Wray that the pace is unacceptable and that if the FBI needs to double the number of people working on this, then that’s what they need to do, but he is done seeing the Department criticized for the FBI’s slow walking of requests from Congress like the last administration when this requests should be a top priority,” the insider said.
Last week Goodlatte sent a letter, attached to a subpoena, to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein saying only a “fraction” of documents relation to the Clinton email investigation had been given to the committee and that “no documents” related to its request on potential FISA abuses had been provided.
“Given the Department’s ongoing delays in producing these documents, I am left with no choice but to issue the enclosed subpoena to compel production of these documents,” Goodlatte wrote.
The subpoena also included requests for documents pertaining to McCabe’s firing, as the committee claimed it may have been prompted by requests for Clinton email investigation documents.
“This recommendation appears to be based, at least in part, on events related to the investigation surrounding Secretary Clinton’s private email server,” Goodlatte wrote. “Accordingly, the subpoena additionally covers all documents and communications relied upon by FBI’s Office of Professional Responsibility in reaching its decision to recommend the dismissal of former Deputy Director McCabe.”
Fox News’ Catherine Herridge, Jake Gibson and Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
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