Supporters of embattled FBI Director Christopher A. Wray are circling the wagons following The Washington Times’ exclusive report that the bureau’s rank-and-file agents want him to resign.
Brian O’Hare, president of the FBI Agents Association, insisted Mr. Wray still has the support throughout the bureau.
“Attempts to politicize FBI Agents’ work and divide our team should be rejected. While some claim to speak on behalf of FBI Agents, only the FBI Agents Association, representing more than 90 percent of active duty Special Agents, serves as the voice for these Agents,” he said in a statement to The Times.
“It is with this voice that FBIAA acknowledges the important partnerships that field Agents have with Director Wray and Bureau leadership, prosecutors making charging decisions, state and local law enforcement, and the private sector. FBI Agents work hard every day to protect the public and our Constitution. With a clear eye on our mission, we remain confident in Director Wray, his leadership team, and our Agents,” he said.
The Times recently reported Kurt Siuzdak, a lawyer and former FBI agent who represents whistleblowers at the bureau, said agents tell him that Mr. Wray has lost control of the agency and should resign.
The resignation calls are happening amid a flurry of FBI whistleblowers telling Congress about corruption and retaliation that Mr. Wray often knows about but never fixes.
That includes recent whistleblower disclosures to House Judiciary Committee Republicans about agents being forced or coerced into signing false affidavits and claims of sexual harassment and stalking. It also includes fabricated terrorism cases to hike performance statistics, as reported this month by The Times.
“I’m hearing from [FBI personnel] that they feel like the director has lost control of the bureau,” Siuzdak said. “They’re saying, ’How does this guy survive? He’s leaving. He’s got to leave.’”
The FBIAA, which was formed as a nonprofit organization in 1981 to represent active and former agents, supported Mr. Wray in 2020 for another 10-year term as FBI director.
Mr. Suizdak dismissed FBIAA’s continued support of Mr. Wray, saying he has never seen the organization appear on behalf of an agent in an employment dispute or whistleblower case.
“I’ve had all the whistleblower cases. I probably have as much visibility as anyone of whistleblower cases. I know of no incidents where the Agents Association has ever made a single inquiry,” he told The Times. “They are known to be a rubber stamp of the FBI executives.
They may provide some guidance to FBI agents who are in trouble, but that’s the extent of it. Of all the whistleblowers who come forward, 100 or more each year, they’re silent.”
The FBIAA did not respond to questions about its support for whistleblower protections or the current effort to strengthen whistleblower laws by Sen. Chuck Grassley, Iowa Republican.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
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