BREAKING NEWS: FBI Director Chris Wray Gives An Update To Congress About Trump Assassination Attempt

2 months ago

At a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday, FBI Director Chris Wray spoke about

Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:

https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript

Stay Connected
Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes
More From Forbes: http://forbes.com

Transcript

00:00Director Wray, you're recognized for your opening statement.

00:04Good morning, Chairman Jordan, Ranking Member Nadler, members of the committee.

00:08I want to begin by offering my condolences on the passing of Representative Jackson Lee,

00:14who served the people of Texas in this body and on this committee for so long.

00:21Thank you all for your support of our efforts to protect the American people and uphold

00:27the Constitution.

00:28I am proud to be here today representing the 38,000 special agents, intelligence analysts,

00:35and professional staff who make up the FBI, men and women who every day work relentlessly

00:41to counter the most complex threat environment I've seen in my tenure as FBI Director, maybe

00:48in my entire career in law enforcement.

00:53Before I go any further, I also want to acknowledge and offer my deepest condolences to the victims,

00:59of the horrific assassination attempt in Butler County, to the friends and family of Corey

01:05Comparatore, who by all accounts lost his life protecting others from danger, to the

01:13other victims, two of whom were critically wounded, and of course, of course, to President

01:18Trump, former President Trump and his family.

01:22As I've said from the beginning, the attempted assassination of the former president was

01:27an attack on our democracy and our democratic process, and we will not and do not tolerate

01:34political violence of any kind, especially a despicable account of this magnitude.

01:41And I want to assure you and the American people that the men and women of the FBI will

01:46continue to work tirelessly to get to the bottom of what happened.

01:51We are bringing all the resources of the FBI to bear, both criminal and national security.

01:57Now, there's a whole lot of work underway and still a lot of work to do, and our understanding

02:02of what happened and why will continue to evolve, but we're going to leave no stone

02:08unturned.

02:10The shooter may be deceased, but the FBI's investigation is very much ongoing.

02:18To that point, I also want to acknowledge that I recognize both the congressional and

02:23the public interest in this case and the importance of this investigation to the American people.

02:31And I understand there are a lot of open questions.

02:34So while the investigation is very much ongoing and our assessments of the shooter and his

02:40actions continue to evolve, my hope here today is to do my best to provide you with all the

02:46information I can, given where we are at this point.

02:52I have been saying for some time now that we are living in an elevated threat environment.

02:58And tragically, the Butler County assassination attempt is another example, a particularly

03:04heinous and very public one, of what I've been talking about.

03:09But it also reinforces our need at the FBI and our ongoing commitment to stay focused

03:15on the threats, on the mission, and on the people we do the work with and the people

03:19we do the work for.

03:21Every day, all across this country and indeed around the world, the men and women of the

03:26FBI are doing just that, working around the clock to counter the threats we face.

03:33Just in the last year, for example, in California, the FBI and our partners targeted an organized

03:39crime syndicate responsible for trafficking fentanyl, meth, and cocaine all across North

03:45America.

03:47We charged the Mexican-based suppliers who brought the drugs into the United States,

03:53a network of Canada-based truck drivers who delivered the drugs, and the distributors

03:59in the United States who spread the poison into our communities.

04:05Relying on threats emanating from the border, I have warned for some time now about the

04:11threat that foreign terrorists may seek to exploit our southwest border or some other

04:17port of entry to advance a plot against Americans.

04:23Just last month, for instance, the Bureau and our Joint Terrorism Task Forces worked

04:27with ICE in multiple cities across the country as several individuals with suspected international

04:34terrorist ties were arrested using ICE's immigration authorities.

04:40Leading up to those arrests, hundreds of FBI employees dedicated countless hours to understand

04:45the threat and identify additional individuals of concern.

04:50Now, the physical security of the border is, of course, not in the FBI's lane.

04:56But as the threat has escalated, we're working with our partners in law enforcement and the

05:01intelligence community to find and stop foreign terrorists who would harm Americans and our

05:08interests.

05:09As concerning as the known or suspected terrorists encountered at the border are, perhaps even

05:15more concerning are those we do not yet know about because they provided fake documents

05:22or because we didn't have information connecting them to terrorism at the time they arrived

05:28in the United States.

05:30Staying ahead of today's threats demands that we work together.

05:35And for the FBI, that means doubling down on our partnerships, especially with state

05:40and local law enforcement.

05:43Whether it's working through our hundreds of Joint Terrorism Task Forces to build out

05:48source networks to identify those who slip through the cracks or targeting the worst

05:53of the worst responsible for the violence that still plagues far too many communities

05:58through our Safe Streets Task Forces or taking the fight to the cartels responsible for trafficking

06:04the dangerous drugs like fentanyl pouring into our country and claiming countless American

06:09lives.

06:11Staying ahead of the threat also means continuing to disrupt the cyber criminals ravaging businesses

06:17large and small and confronting nation states like China targeting our innovation and our

06:25critical infrastructure.

06:27At the Bureau, we're proud to work side-by-side with our brothers and sisters in federal,

06:32state, and local law enforcement, our partners in the intelligence community, and others

06:37around the world to fulfill our commitment to keep Americans safe.

06:44On Friday, the FBI will celebrate its 116th anniversary, 116 years of protecting the American

06:53people and upholding the Constitution.

06:56116 years of working with our partners to safeguard the communities we serve.

07:02116 years of innovating to stay ahead of the complex, evolving, and very real threats out

07:10there.

07:11I am proud of the legacy the men and women of the FBI have built and all they have accomplished

07:17for the American people.

07:19So if I may, as we approach this week's anniversary, I would just like to say to all those who

07:25are part of the FBI family, from our current employees to our formers and to our partners

07:31across law enforcement and the intelligence community, thank you.

07:37Thank you for dedicating your lives to this country and to its people.

07:42It is both humbling and an honor to serve alongside you and I look forward to the work

07:47we're going to continue to do together.

07:49And with that, thank you again for having me and I look forward to our discussion.

BREAKING NEWS: FBI Director Chris Wray Gives An Update To Congress About Trump Assassination Attempt

Category

Transcript

Recommended