Christopher A. Wray - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Christopher A. Wray
8th Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Assumed office
August 2, 2017
PresidentDonald Trump
Joe Biden
DeputyAndrew McCabe
David Bowdich
Paul Abbate
Preceded byJames Comey
United States Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division
In office
2003–2005
PresidentGeorge W. Bush
Preceded byMichael Chertoff
Succeeded byAlice S. Fisher
Personal details
Born
Christopher Asher Wray

(1966-12-17) December 17, 1966 (age 57)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)
Helen Garrison Howell (m. 1989)
Children2
EducationYale University (BA, JD)

Christopher Asher Wray (born December 17, 1966)[1] is an American lawyer. He is the 8th and current Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation since August 2, 2017. From 2003 to 2005, he served as Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Criminal Division under the George W. Bush administration. He was previously a litigation partner with the law firm King & Spalding.[2]

Early life[change | change source]

Wray was born in New York City.[3] He was raised in Andover, Massachusetts. He studied at Yale University.

Early career[change | change source]

In 2003, President George W. Bush nominated Wray as Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Criminal Division of the Justice Department.[4] Wray was unanimously confirmed by the Senate.[5] Wray was Assistant Attorney General from 2003 to 2005, working under Deputy Attorney General James Comey. While heading the Criminal Division, Wray oversaw prominent fraud investigations, including Enron.[6]

Director of the FBI (since 2017)[change | change source]

On June 7, 2017, President Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate Wray to be Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.[7] On July 20, 2017, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted unanimously to confirm Wray to be the next director of the FBI.[8] Wray was officially confirmed by the Senate with bipartisan support on August 1, 2017; the vote was 92–5.[9][10] He was sworn in by Attorney General Jeff Sessions in a private ceremony on August 2.[11]

In the aftermath of the Douglas High School shooting in Parkland on February 14, 2018, it was found out that the FBI ignored a tip that shooter Nikolas Cruz had a desire to "kill people". Florida Governor Rick Scott called for Wray to resign, with the earliest tip received by the FBI dating back to September 2017 in which a YouTube user with the same name commented, "I'm going to be a professional school shooter." [12]

In December 2020, it was announced that President-elect Joe Biden would keep Wray as FBI director under his administration.[13]

Personal life[change | change source]

Wray married Helen Garrison Howell in 1989. They have two children. He is registered as a Republican.[14]

References[change | change source]

  1. ↑ "Confirmation Hearings on Federal Appointments" (PDF). Committee on the Judiciary. p. 849. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  2. ↑ "Christopher A Wray". www.kslaw.com. King & Spalding. Archived from the original on June 7, 2017. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  3. ↑ Gerstein, Josh (June 7, 2017). "5 things to know about Trump's FBI pick Christopher Wray". Politico.
  4. ↑ "Christopher A. Wray". United States Department of Justice. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  5. ↑ "PN705 — Christopher A. Wray — Department of Justice". U.S. Congress. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  6. ↑ Markham, Jerry W. (2015). A Financial History of Modern U.S. Corporate Scandals: From Enron to Reform: From Enron to Reform. Routledge. ISBN 9781317478157.
  7. ↑ @realDonaldTrump (June 7, 2017). "I will be nominating Christopher A. Wray, a man of impeccable credentials, to be the new Director of the FBI. Details to follow" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  8. ↑ "Senate panel votes to confirm Christopher Wray as new FBI director". USA Today. July 20, 2017. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Senate confirms Wray as next FBI director". Washington Post. Retrieved 2017-08-01.
  10. ↑ "Senate roll call vote PN 696". United States Senate. August 1, 2017. Retrieved 2017-08-01.
  11. ↑ "Statement by Attorney General Sessions on the Swearing in of FBI Director Chris Wray". www.justice.gov. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  12. ↑ Shaw, Adam (16 February 2018). "Florida Gov. Rick Scott calls for FBI Director Christopher Wray to resign in wake of Parkland school shooting". Fox News.
  13. ↑ Walsh, Joe. "Report: Biden Will Keep Chris Wray As FBI Director — If Trump Doesn't Fire Him First". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
  14. ↑ "Who is Christopher Wray? The Christie attorney named as Trump's FBI pick".

Other websites[change | change source]

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