Trump denounces FBI director over IG report on origins of Russia probe
President Trump condemned FBI Director Christopher Wray over the newly released report from the Justice Department's internal watchdog into the origins of the bureau's investigation into ties between Russia and Trump campaign officials, saying Wray "will never be able to fix the FBI" with his reading of the findings.
"I don't know what report current Director of the FBI Christopher Wray was reading, but it sure wasn't the one given to me. With that kind of attitude, he will never be able to fix the FBI, which is badly broken despite having some of the greatest men & women working there!" Mr. Trump tweeted Tuesday.
The Justice Department's inspector general on Monday released his long-awaited report, finding that while the FBI made several procedural errors and "serious performance failures," there was overall no "political bias" by the agency.
The review by Inspector General Michael Horowitz also found the bureau was justified in launching the July 2016 counterintelligence investigation into the Trump campaign, which became known as "Crossfire Hurricane." Special counsel Robert Mueller eventually took over the FBI's probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
Wray said in a statement he accepted the findings of the 434-page report and acknowledged "certain FBI personnel" failed to comply with the bureau's policies and standards of conduct. Wray also said he "ordered more than 40 corrective steps to address the Report's recommendations."
In an interview with ABC News, Wray noted it was "important that the inspector general found that, in this particular instance, the investigation was opened with appropriate predication and authorization."
Mr. Trump, however, has accused the FBI and some of its employees of spying on his 2016 presidential campaign and harboring a bias against him.
The president tweeted quotes from Fox News hosts earlier Tuesday morning sharing their thoughts on the report, including that there was "very serious misconduct on the part of the FBI."
"Are you listening Comey, McCabe, lovers Lisa & Peter, the beautiful Ohr family, Brennan, Clapper & many more?" he added.
Mr. Trump selected Wray in June 2017 to replace James Comey as director of the FBI. The president fired Comey in May 2017.
