FBI agents back Christopher Wray in letters to Trump, Biden and warn that firing him could 'damage' bureau

FBI agents voiced their support Wednesday for embattled Director Christopher Wray, warning President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden that his untimely removal could "undermine stability" within the federal government's premier law enforcement agency.

The action by the FBI Agents Association, representing 14,000 active and retired agents, comes as Trump is weighing a number of key staff changes after the election, including the dismissal of Wray, who has served just more than three years of 10-year term following the abrupt removal of James Comey in 2017.

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"Unanticipated changes in bureau leadership are challenging and can undermine stability," the association said in separate letters to the president and the Democratic nominee. "Right now, the FBI is confronting an even more daunting threat environment... This country needs stability in leadership of the bureau during these challenging times, and creating upheavals...after the elections can only undermine the goal of protecting the safety and security of our country."

The association lauded Wray for leading the agency through the uncertainty that followed Comey's dismissal, crediting the former Justice Department official with adhering to an non-partisan, independent brand of leadership.

"He has not led the bureau in a political manner, and politics should not determine his fate as director," the association said. "While the president can remove an FBI director,

doing so could lead to instability and damage to the Bureau’s operations..."

Wray, who Trump selected to replace Comey, has been the subject of much criticism from the president.

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Late last year, Trump rebuked Wray following the release of a Justice Department inspector general’s report highly critical of the FBI work in the Russia investigation that shadowed much of Trump’s presidency.

Trump appeared to threaten the FBI director, when in an interview with ABC News Wray affirmed a key finding in the report, indicating that the Russia inquiry was opened with the “appropriate predication and authorization.“

Asked if he thought Trump’s campaign was unfairly targeted in the Russia investigation, Wray said: “I do not.”

“I don’t know what report current Director of the FBI Christopher Wray was reading, but it sure wasn’t the one given to me,” Trump tweeted then, adding that Wray “with that kind of attitude will never be able to fix the FBI...”

More recently, Wray has drawn Trump’s ire for his testimony during congressional hearings in September when he highlighted the conclusions of intelligence officials who warned that Russia was actively attempting to denigrate the candidacy of Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.

"Director Wray’s highest priorities have been to ensure that the bureau conducts

investigations in an impartial way and in compliance with the law and the Constitution, and that agents perform their duties with integrity and professionalism," the association said. "Our country is safer because of him."

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: FBI agents back Christopher Wray, urge Trump, Biden not to fire him