The internet swiftly reacted as FBI Director Christopher Wray announced he would step down before Donald Trump entered the White House.
Trump, who appointed Wray, blamed the FBI head for "invading my home at Mar-a-Lago" as part of an investigation into Trump's potential mishandling of classified documents and presidential records. Wray also oversaw the prosecutions of MAGA fans who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6.
Frank Figliuzzi, former FBI assistant director for counterintelligence, told MSNBC that he hoped Wray would force Trump to fire him, but he suspected Wray didn't want the department to go through that process.
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"I can't get inside Chris Wray's head, but it may be that the constant bashing of the bureau was going to get even worse if he didn't step down before being fired," said Figliuzzi. "And if the firing process was to play out, and it looked like it would, that Trump would just publicly berate the bureau and Wray."
He said that it would likely look like "fabricated conspiracy theories of a deep state," and Wray may not have wanted that to continue in the public eye.
Social media users were less forgiving, however.
Law professor Anthony Michael Kreis posted on Blue Sky, "Wray is making a mistake."
Independent journalist Aaron Rupar echoed that sentiment, saying, "Wray hasn't done anything worthy of getting fired by Trump and should've made him do it."
Wray told the staff that resigning would stop "dragging the bureau deeper into the fray."
"When you look at where the threats are headed, it's clear the importance of our work, keeping Americans safe and upholding the Constitution, will not change," Wray said. "And what absolutely cannot, must not, change is our commitment to doing the right thing the right way every time. Our adherence to our core values, our dedication to independence and objectivity and rule of law. Those fundamental aspects of who we are must never change. That's the real strength of the FBI. The importance of our mission; the quality of our people and their dedication to service over self. It's an unshakable foundation that stood the test of time and cannot be easily moved."
He told the staff that they would be the ones who would ensure it continued.
Washington Post columnist Garrett Graff posted, "This is an unbelievable abdication by Wray and makes it so much easier for Trump to install a corrupt leadership under Kash Patel and weaponize the FBI. Wray is doing a huge disservice to the FBI past, present, and future."
Former ethics czar Norm Eisen said that Wray "should’ve made Trump fire him. Anticipatory obedience is not how we will save democracy. Instead you must constantly push back."
"Now Trump won’t have to fire the FBI Director. Wray has cleared the path by obeying the tyrant in advance, violating Tim Snyder’s first rule of how not to deal with dictators," said former Harvard Constitutional Law professor Laurence Tribe.
The comment was a reference to historian Timothy Snyder's list of lessons to stop tyranny."
"Wray’s resignation has resulted from raw political pressure that is repugnant to our justice system. It vastly heightens the hazards of weaponizing the FBI for political or personal ends—which should be an anathema to all my colleagues, regardless of party," said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).
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