FBI Director Christopher Wray, who recently announced his planned resignation, told "60 Minutes" he opposes pardons for those charged for their roles in the Jan. 6, 2021 protest at the U.S. Capitol.
The investigation into Jan. 6 was the largest case in FBI history. Trump has said he will pardon many of the 1,500 people charged.
"I do think it's important to step back and remember that we're talking about hundreds of people who are convicted, most of them pled guilty of serious federal crimes," Wray said. "Heck, I think 170 or so of them pled guilty to assaulting law enforcement, dozens of them with dangerous or deadly weapons. And there's a whole bunch that were convicted of seditious conspiracy."
Wray said the FBI investigated a man in Tennessee for Jan. 6 involvement who put together a kill list to murder FBI agents.
"Now where I come from, violence against law enforcement, threats against law enforcement is serious business and totally unacceptable," Wray said.
Wray, who was appointed in 2017, said that after President-elect Donald Trump's victory he will step down three years before the end of his term.
"The president-elect had made clear that he intended to make a change, and the law is that is something he is able to do for any reason or no reason at all," Wray said. "My conclusion was that the thing that was best for the bureau was to try to do this in an orderly way, to not thrust the FBI deeper into the fray."
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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