In an interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes” on Sunday, FBI Director Christopher Wray revealed why he decided to resign “at such a dangerous time” with nearly three years left in his term.

“If it’s so dangerous right now, why are you resigning?” host Scott Pelley asked.

Wray, 58, had just outlined America’s biggest threat to domestic terrorists, namely communist China’s ability to attack critical U.S. infrastructure, such as new orleans forward Shamsud-Din Jabbar became radicalized “not in years, but in weeks.”

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On July 12, 2017, FBI Director Christopher Wray testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee during his confirmation hearing. (Alex Huang/Getty Images)

“My decision Retired from the FBI It was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever made,” Ray responded.

The outgoing FBI director said that while he cares deeply about the FBI and “our people,” his decision to leave after just seven years in a 10-year term was prompted by President-elect Donald Trump Publicly expressed desire for change in leadership within the bureau. Ray announced his departure in December.

“The president-elect has made it clear that he intends to make changes…I concluded that the best thing for the bureau is to proceed in an orderly manner. To not allow the bureau to get deeper into the controversy,” Wray said.

FBI Director Christopher Wray announces resignation

On August 9, 2022, local law enforcement officers appeared in front of the home of former President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida. (Jorge Vieira/AFP via Getty Images)

Wray, a Yale Law School graduate who joined the Justice Department in 1997, was nominated by Trump to head the bureau after he fired the then-Justice Department in 2017.FBI Director James Comey.

Trump and Wray’s relationship sours after FBI investigation Attack on Mar-a-Lago This comes after the president-elect was accused of possessing classified documents in his private residence.

“Our job at the FBI is to follow the facts, no matter what they are, no matter who likes them,” Wray told “60 Minutes.”

Wray further heightened tensions with Trump after he questioned whether he was actually hit by a bullet at a July 2023 campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

“In the case of former President Trump, there was some question as to whether it was a bullet or shrapnel that hit his ear,” Wray told House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) during a hearing on the attack.

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President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025 (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

In a statement to Trump, Trump’s campaign spokesman and incoming White House communications director blasted Wray for peddling “conspiracy theories” for “political reasons” at the time. New York Post.

Trump nominated his longtime ally Kashyap “Kash” Patel to succeed Wray as bureau chief.

Patel, 44, who served on Trump’s National Security Council during his first term and wrote the book “Gangs in Government,” is one of the president-elect’s most controversial picks.

Former Reagan CIA director William H. Webster, 100, writes to senators urging them not confirming patelsaying his confirmation would set a “dangerous precedent.”

“Christopher Wray’s resignation is a great day for America because it will end the weaponization of America’s Department of Injustice,” Trump said. Post to truth social After Lei announced his resignation in December 2024.

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In an interview with “60 Minutes”, Wray said that China poses the greatest threat to the United States.

“The Chinese government is pre-positioned on U.S. civilian critical infrastructure, waiting for these networks to wreak havoc and cause real-world harm at a time and place of their choosing,” he said.