Opinion | Christopher Wray just did exactly what FBI directors are not supposed to do
www.msnbc.com
Wray folded instead of defending the FBI’s honor and its staunchly nonpartisan record over the last seven years.

Summary

FBI Director Christopher Wray announced he will resign three years early, a move widely seen as bowing to political pressure from Trump.

Critics argue Wray’s resignation undermines the FBI’s independence and normalizes Trump’s governance style, allowing him to replace Wray with a loyalist who may prioritize Trump’s interests over the rule of law.

Wray’s decision avoids the potential political fallout of being fired but forfeits a chance to publicly challenge Trump’s grievances against the FBI, raising concerns about the erosion of institutional integrity.

  • BillDaCatt@lemmy.worldEnglish
    59·
    20 hours ago

    I’m pretty sure this is all about his pension. If he retires now, before Trump takes office, there isn’t much that can be done to take his pension away from him. If he stays on and Trump fires him for cause, he will likely get nothing for retirement.

    • kandoh@reddthat.com
      31·
      9 hours ago

      James Comey would still be eligible for the Federal Employees Retirement System as a federal employee, despite being fired from his FBI director position - so Wray would be too

    • masterofn001@lemmy.ca
      434·
      19 hours ago

      Glad he gets some money in exchange for what will likely result in the loss of lives of many and freedom for everyone.

      Good guy.

          • Deceptichum@quokk.auEnglish
            22·
            14 hours ago

            There aren’t good men in the FBI or any other enforcement institution to begin with.

            • Windex007@lemmy.world
              2·
              6 hours ago

              That’s true, but even if he sat in his seat and did nothing it’d still be better handing it to a Trump loyalist. Squatting in that seat he can do more than 1,000,000 people writing scathing tweets.

            • masterofn001@lemmy.ca
              21·
              15 hours ago

              Most of the good ones will be afraid of doing anything ‘bad’. Many of the (even remotely) good ones in a position to do good are outing themselves as only willing to do good for themselves.

              The good ones that will or would do something are probably already on a list compiled by the tech bros.

              Obi-wan, you’re our only hope.

        • masterofn001@lemmy.ca
          17·
          18 hours ago

          I must make two honest confessions to you, my Christian and Jewish brothers. First, I must confess that over the last few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in the stride toward freedom is not the White citizens’ “Councilor” or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate who is more devoted to “order” than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says “I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I can’t agree with your methods of direct action” who paternistically feels that he can set the timetable for another man’s freedom; who lives by the myth of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait until a “more convenient season.” Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.

          An excerpt from a Letter from Birmingham Jail

          Dr. Martin Luther King jr April 16, 1963