Outgoing FBI Director Chris Wray left a series of parting warnings as he gets ready to leave his post once President-elect Donald Trump takes office. China being the "defining threat of our generation," the chance that terrorist attacks on U.S. soil are closer than expected by many and his handling of investigations into Trump and President Joe Biden were some of the topics he went through.
Speaking to CBS' 60 Minutes, Wray said China is the greatest long-term threat facing the U.S., highlighting that its cyber program has stolen more information from the country than all others combined. "To lie in wait on those networks to be in a position to wreak havoc and can inflict real-world harm at a time and place of their choosing," Wray said.
He went on to say that the country's pre-positioning on critical civilian infrastructure, like water treatment plants and telecommunications has not been paid enough attention. The latest large episode of the kind took place on New Year's Eve, when the Treasury Department said that Chinese state-sponsored hackers broke into its systems and accessed employee workstations, as well as unclassified documents.
The Treasury Department called it a "major incident" and said it was working to the FBI to determine the magnitude of the impact. China, in contrast, denied any involvement, saying it "consistently opposes all forms of hacking."
Discussing the recent terrorist attacks that took place in the U.S., Wray warned the population that such threats are more present than most believe. He pointed to the arrest of a Pakistani national in September who intended to carry out a mass shooting at a Jewish center in Brooklyn.
"In his words, not my words, he wanted to conduct the largest attack in the U.S. since 9/11," Wray said. "I would say to the American people is that, when you think these things are happening half a world away, it's like that little inscription on your mirror in your car: 'Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear.'"
Muhammad Shahzeb Khan was arrested in Canada as he sought to travel to New York City. According to the Justice Department, he "intended to use automatic and semi-automatic weapons to carry out a mass shooting in support of ISIS."
Discussing the terrorist attack carried out in New Orleans on New Year's Day, when Shamsud-Din Jabbar killed more than a dozen people with a truck, Wray said "it's pretty clear so far that this is a guy who was radicalized online and who was determined to try to murder as many innocent people as he could in the name of ISIS."
As for the criticism received from both ends of the political spectrum for investigating the handling of classified documents from both Trump and Biden, Wray said "our jobs as investigators at the FBI is to follow the facts wherever they lead, no matter who likes it."
"I add that last part because one of the things that I've seen over my seven-and-a-half years as FBI director is that people often claim to be very interested in independence and objectivity until independence and objectivity lead to an outcome they don't like. You know, truth is truth, not necessarily what either side wants it to be," he concluded. Donald Trump has nominated loyalist Kash Patel to replace him in the post.
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