Trump thinks DOJ is probing ex-FBI Director Christopher Wray: ‘Very inappropriate, what he did’

WASHINGTON — President Trump remarked on Sunday that he “would certainly believe” the Justice Department is investigating former FBI Director Christopher Wray.

Over the weekend, Trump criticized Wray following a report suggesting that the FBI had plainclothes agents present during the January 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection — a claim that Director Kash Patel later said referred to agents who arrived after the chaos began.

“I would think. I would certainly think so. I believe that they are looking into it,” Trump told NBC News in a phone conversation when asked about a potential DOJ investigation into Wray.

“What he did was very inappropriate, and much of his tenure was also inappropriate,” he elaborated. “However, we haven’t gone further than that. Remember, we’ve only recently learned about these FBI officers being there.”

On Saturday, the president referenced a story from The Blaze, which cited a congressional source asserting that the FBI acknowledged deploying 274 plainclothes agents amidst the crowd on the day of the riot.

“Christopher Wray, who was the FBI Director at the time, has a lot of explaining to do. That’s two strikes in a row, with Comey and Wray,” Trump exclaimed in a post on Truth Social.

The president further speculated — without offering supporting evidence — that the agents in attendance were “likely acting as agitators and insurrectionists,” rather than fulfilling their duties as “law enforcement officials.”

Shortly thereafter, Patel issued a clarification.

“274 FBI agents were deployed for crowd control on January 6, which violated FBI protocols. This lapse lies with corrupt leadership. Thanks to the agents who stepped up, the facts are emerging,” he stated on social media.

The official Justice Department watchdog stated, “In the materials we reviewed or the testimony received, we found no evidence suggesting that the FBI deployed undercover employees in any protest crowds or at the Capitol on January 6,” in accordance with a report made public last year.

This report did confirm that FBI informants were indeed present in the crowd.

Trump appointed Wray as FBI director in 2017, succeeding James Comey. Since then, Trump has voiced his discontent with Wray, particularly noting that the former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie recommended him for the position.

Wray tendered his resignation earlier this year, just a day before Trump was inaugurated as the 47th president.

Last week, a grand jury indicted Comey on charges of providing false statements to Congress regarding the leaking of information related to the bureau’s investigation of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Critics of Wray have pointed to his earlier testimony to Congress concerning the presence of agents during the Capitol riot. However, Wray was careful in his responses, as he had stated to lawmakers in 2023, “I can’t confirm if there were undercover agents there.”

“That’s a subject I want to approach cautiously.”