AG Bill Barr 'threatened to quit' in 2020 after Trump attempted to fire FBI Director Chris Wray over his handling of the Hunter Biden email scandal
Attorney General Bill Barr reportedly threatened to quit in the spring of 2020 over former president Donald Trump's attempt to fire FBI Director Chris Wray.
A source with knowledge of the matter told Business Insider that Barr was introduced to Bill Evanina during a meeting at the White House.
But when Barr realized that Evanina, a top counterintelligence official, was being suggested as a potential replacement for Wray, he walked out of the room.
The move was an apparent threat to leave the Trump administration if the former president gave Wray the boot.
Attorney General Bill Barr (left) reportedly threatened to quit in the spring of 2020 over former president Donald Trump's attempt to fire FBI Director Chris Wray (right)
At that point, it was the closest Wray had ever came to getting fired during the Trump administration.
Wray is currently the FBI director in the Biden administration. He assumed his position in 2017.
News that Trump was considering firing Wray made headlines after the election.
It was said at the time that Trump had grown increasingly frustrated with the FBI's handling of the Hunter Biden email scandal.
The Washington Post first reported the possibility, citing sources familiar with Trump's alleged discussions about Wray's uncertain future as the FBI director.
Trump had previously voiced his anger at Wray's public statements on issues like antifa, voting fraud and Russian election interference.
News that Trump was considering firing Wray made headlines after the election. It was said at the time that Trump had grown increasingly frustrated with the FBI's handling of the Hunter Biden email scandal
Trump had charged that emails found on Hunter's (pictured with his dad) laptop could implicate Biden in his son's dealings. Trump was disappointed that Wray hadn't given him a boost in the polls the same way James Comey did with the Hillary Clinton email scandal
That anger apparently grew, especially after Wray and Barr failed to announce an investigation into potential corruption by Joe Biden and his son Hunter.
Trump and his allies had charged that emails discovered on Hunter's laptop could implicate Biden in his son's international business dealings.
DailyMail.com recently revealed contents of his abandoned laptop - including a cache of 103,000 text messages, 154,000 emails, more than 2,000 photos - that were verified by top forensics experts.
Meanwhile, the sources claimed that Trump was disappointed that Wray hadn't delivered him a pre-election boost in the polls the same way his predecessor James Comey did with the Hillary Clinton email scandal 11 days before the 2016 election.
But Wray had sought to defend the FBI's independence and its integrity even as it puts him at odds with Trump and his allies.
At the time, the FBI also tried to avoid confrontations where possible, making clear that it is striving to be responsive to Republican lawmakers on politically charged investigations.
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