Former Attorney General William Barr reportedly threatened to resign if former President Trump fired FBI Director Christopher Wray.
According to Business Insider, Barr’s threat came after he became aware of the White House’s efforts to find a replacement for Wray, who took over the FBI after Trump fired former Director James Comey.
The efforts to oust Wray reportedly continued into the spring of 2020, when a White House aide presented Barr with a potential nominee to replace Wray, Bill Evanina. Barr abruptly left a meeting after realizing that the White House was seeking his approval on the issue, according to the news outlet.
It is not clear when Barr threatened to resign, but the former attorney general’s threat appeared to be effective, as Wray led the bureau through the end of the Trump administration and continues as FBI director to this day.
In December, Barr became one of the highest-ranking Trump administration officials to both privately and publicly contradict Trump’s unproven claims of widespread election fraud.
Barr left the administration later that month, just a few weeks before the end of Trump’s term, amid what many perceived to be a fraying relationship with the president.