FBI Director Wray Warns Number of Russian Spies in US is ‘Still Way Too Big’

FBI Director Christopher Wray said that Russia still has numerous spies operating in the United States during a Q&A at the Spy Museum on Thursday. 

“The Russian traditional counterintelligence threat continues to loom large,” said Wray. “The Russian intelligence footprint, and by that I mean intelligence officers, is still way too big in the United States and something we are constantly bumping up against and trying to block and prevent and disrupt in every way we can.”

Wray said that the United States has “made positive significant strides in reducing the size of the Russian intelligence officer footprint in the United States,” citing the case last year of a Mexican citizen employed by the Russian government who was arrested by the U.S. government.

The FBI director stressed the importance of countering Russian activities, saying that Russia's interests run counter to those of the United States.