WOW FBI Director Christopher Wray to retire before President Trump’s inauguration. pic.twitter.com/GimZrdrL9M

— The Trump Train (@The_Trump_Train) November 9, 2024

Speculation about such a move started circulating shortly after Trump was declared the winner of the 2024 election. Wray, who was appointed by Trump, has had a tumultuous reign over the federal law enforcement agency.

Most recently, he’s been called out by the House Judiciary Committee for “cooking the books” on crime statistics ahead of the election.

Chris Wray isn’t off the hook for cooking the books on crime stats.

We’re on it.@Jim_Jordan, @RepAndyBiggsAZ. pic.twitter.com/ZudNigvxRP

— House Judiciary GOP (@JudiciaryGOP) November 7, 2024

Trump supporters have been critical of Wray for years.

Christopher Wray knew hunters laptop wasn't disinformation. He also knew the 51 spies lied and covered it up. Are we ready for Trumps administration to fire him and bring him up on charges? Not one person should get a pass. pic.twitter.com/2eLFqxgrug

— Sassafrass84 (@Sassafrass_84) November 8, 2024

According to the Associated Press:

With Trump poised to reclaim the White House, Wray’s days as director may be numbered. Though the director’s job carries a 10-year term, Trump’s blistering and repeated criticism of his own appointee raises the likelihood that Trump would either replace Wray upon taking office or that Wray would leave on his own to avoid being fired. Such a move would give Trump a chance to reshape the FBI’s leadership in his own image at a time when he’s threatened to pursue his own political adversaries.

If Christopher Wray doesn’t step down, he’ll almost certainly be fired. Who would be a suitable replacement?

The FBI and the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said they have “no information suggesting cyber activity against U.S. election infrastructure” that has “compromised the integrity of voter registration information, prevented an eligible voter from casting a ballot, impacted the integrity of any ballots cast, or disrupted the ability to count votes or transmit unofficial election results in a timely manner.”

But the two agencies said that foreign adversaries still might promote “false or misleading narratives” to sway the election or to undermine American confidence in its election systems and processes.

Specifically, the two agencies warned of election-related content produced by artificial intelligence (AI) that has lowered the guardrails for malicious or foreign actors to create more advanced schemes to influence the election.

“We are seeing foreign actors use these tools to develop and distribute more compelling synthetic media messaging campaigns and inauthentic news articles, as well as synthetic pictures and deepfakes (video and audio) at greater speed and scale across numerous U.S.- and foreign-based platforms,” their joint bulletin said.

“These efforts to develop content are designed to undermine voter confidence and to entice unwitting consumers of the information to discuss, share, and amplify the spread of false or misleading narratives.”

In one example of AI-aided content produced by foreign actors ahead of the election, the agency said that Russian groups have “created and deliberately designed” web pages “to look like legitimate mainstream news websites” such as The Washington Post or Fox News.

“Russian malign influence actors also created fake social media profiles posing as U.S. citizens to direct users to these fake news websites and purchased social media advertisements to drive traffic to the specific fake articles on the fake news site,” the two agencies cautioned.

The PSA highlights specific examples of tactics we have seen used by Russia and Iran during the 2024 election cycle to target all Americans. These include things from mimicking national level media outlets like The Washington Post and Fox News and creating inauthentic news sites posing as legitimate media organizations to using paid influencers to hide their hand.

In late September, three Iranian government employees were charged and identified by the Department of Justice for a wide-ranging hacking conspiracy that targeted both current and former U.S. officials as well as political campaigns.

The bulletin was referring to an indictment that was returned last month that accused Masoud Jalili, Seyyed Ali Aghamiri, and Yasar Balaghi of trying to hack the campaign of a presidential candidate, without providing names. But in a news conference last month, Attorney General Merrick Garland confirmed that they were targeting the campaign of former President Donald Trump.

Iran-backed hackers who breached the Trump campaign in June and July sent emails with hacked campaign materials to people associated with President Joe Biden’s campaign as well as various media outlets, said the FBI, CISA, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence last month.

But the agencies said that the the campaign of Biden, who suspended his presidential bid in late July, was not interested in the hacked materials. There is also no evidence the Biden campaign even responded to the emails, which were described by the intelligence and cybersecurity agencies as unsolicited.

“It is important for voters to critically evaluate information sources, particularly as disinformation campaigns evolve to use AI-generated content,” both CISA and the FBI said in a news release accompanying the bulletin. “Both agencies urge the American public to rely on trusted information from state and local election officials and to verify claims through multiple reliable sources before sharing them on social media or other platforms.”

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Wray on Oct. 10 regarding allegations that the FBI has not taken sexual misconduct accusations seriously. Grassley said the FBI and the Department of Justice had failed to produce information that he had requested two years ago.

Another group of lawmakers announced an inquiry into the FBI’s actions on Oct. 4, questioning Wray on what the agency has done to make changes in the months following a damning audit by the Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG).

The audit report, released in August, exposed flaws in the FBI’s handling of the sexual abuse cases and in handling tips that it received about sex offenses against children.

A group of 11 senators underscored the urgency of the situation in a joint letter to Wray.

“At a time of historically low trust in American institutions, the FBI continues to undermine its own credibility when it comes to safeguarding our children from predators who wish to do them harm. It is not only outrageous but unacceptable that the FBI continues to fail the victims of sexual abusers. These victims deserve justice,” Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) and 10 other senators stated.

The letter further requested answers from the FBI regarding the failures highlighted in the OIG report and urged the agency to implement reforms in a timely manner.

In light of the OIG findings, Schmitt and his colleagues directed several questions to Wray, including questions about whether the FBI faces any hurdles that hinder compliance with mandatory reporting rules.

Their concerns revolved around the wake of the Larry Nassar scandal, a sports doctor whose clients included champion gymnasts.

Additionally, Schmitt and his colleagues have requested information regarding the disciplinary measures implemented against FBI personnel who have been found consistently negligent in adherence to established rules.

The senators wanted to know how many workers have been fired or put on administrative leave for not following company policy, and for those who were able to resign, they wanted to know what happened before they left.

The lawmakers specifically cited the FBI’s response to the Nassar scandal, after which the agency assured the public that it will do everything possible to ensure that safeguards are in place to keep the failures in that case from happening in the future.

The August report said the FBI has updated its policies, training, and systems since the OIG’s 2021 report on Nassar, but found instances of FBI employees not complying with the relevant law or policy when handling such cases.

Olympic champion Simone Biles and dozens of other victims of sexual assault committed by Nassar sued the FBI for more than $1 billion in June 2022, saying that the bureau ignored their warnings about Nassar’s misconduct. Nassar pleaded guilty in 2017, but his assaults continued after the allegations were reported to the FBI.

A spokesperson for the FBI responded to The Epoch Times’ request for comment, confirming the receipt of both letters and referring to the agency’s previous statement about the OIG report.

“Ensuring the safety and security of children is not just a priority for the FBI; it is a solemn duty that we are committed to fulfilling with the highest standards,” the statement reads.

“The FBI’s efforts combating crimes against children are among the most critical and demanding undertakings we do. … We are committed to maintaining the public’s trust by implementing the necessary improvements to ensure the important changes we made to our Violent Crimes Against Children program in 2018 and 2019 have the intended effect of promoting the highest level of compliance and effectiveness.”