FBI director stuck in the middle with 'Obamagate'

FBI Director Christopher Wray is sitting in an increasingly hot seat as Republicans and the White House press forward with investigations into what President Trump is calling “Obamagate.”

Congressional Republicans are pressing Wray to provide more information after recently released FBI field notes showed officials debating how to handle the case against former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

The controversy over the notes contributed to Attorney General William Barr’s contentious decision to drop charges against Flynn, despite his guilty plea.

The president argues the charges against Flynn were trumped-up and that officials in the Obama administration leaked information about Flynn’s phone conversations with Russia’s former U.S. ambassador after learning Flynn’s identity in intelligence reports to hurt his incoming administration.

Trump and Republicans have also criticized the FBI in their public remarks, suggesting agency officials may have been biased against Flynn and Trump.

Democrats say Barr’s unprecedented decision to drop charges against Flynn after he pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI was a political move that has undermined the Department of Justice.

Wray is the man in the middle who is charged with leading his embattled organization while reporting to a president deeply suspicious and critical of the FBI and to congressional Democrats with oversight over federal law enforcement.

Wray has a thin line to walk, seeking to protect his agency but not alienate the president.

Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.), who has called on Wray to testify to Congress, said the criticism that Wray is taking from some Republicans is “fair and warranted.”