Ammon News - Republican President-elect Donald Trump said on Saturday he wanted former National Security official and loyalist Kash Patel to lead the FBI, signaling an intent to drive out the bureau's current director, Christopher Wray.

Patel, who during Trump's first term advised both the director of national intelligence and the secretary of defense, has previously called for stripping the FBI of its intelligence-gathering role and purging its ranks of any employee who refuses to support Trump's agenda.

With the nomination of Patel, Trump is signaling that he is preparing to carry out his threat to oust Wray, a Republican first appointed by Trump, whose 10-year term at the FBI does not expire until 2027.

FBI directors by law are appointed to 10-year terms as a means of insulating the bureau from politics.

Wray, whom Trump tapped after firing James Comey in 2017 for investigating his 2016 campaign, has been a frequent target of Trump supporters' ire.

During Wray's tenure, the FBI carried out a court-approved search at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate to look for classified documents and he has also faced criticism for his oversight role of a directive by Attorney General Merrick Garland aimed at working to protect local school boards from violent threats and harassment.

Special Counsel Jack Smith, who led the two federal prosecutions against Trump for his role in subverting the 2020 election and retaining classified documents, asked on Nov. 25 the judges overseeing those cases to dismiss them before Trump takes office on Jan. 20, citing a Justice Department policy of not prosecuting a sitting president.

Wray had previously signaled no intention of stepping down early and was busy planning events well into his 2025 calendar, according to a person familiar with the matter.

FORMER FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER, PROSECUTOR
Patel, 44, previously worked as a federal public defender and a federal prosecutor.

He was instrumental in working to lead House Republicans' probe into the FBI's 2016 investigation into contacts between Trump's 2016 campaign and Russia during his stint as an aide to former House Intelligence Committee Chair Devin Nunes.

Reuters