White House lawyers reportedly warn Trump of 'legal jeopardy' if he fires FBI Director Christopher Wray

President Trump has reportedly considered firing the director of the FBI again, but White House lawyers have tried their best to talk him out of it.

Trump, NBC News reported on Wednesday, "has come so close to firing" FBI Director Christopher Wray that the White House counsel's office "warned him not to do so because it could put him in potential legal jeopardy."

The White House lawyers, according to the report, "strongly" advised Trump not to fire Wray, saying that it would "risk creating the perception that a 'loyalty test' was being imposed" on the position or that Trump was firing him out of "retaliation" for not taking investigative actions he wanted. Trump previously controversially fired former FBI Director James Comey in 2017 amid the Russia probe.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

In October, The Washington Post reported that Trump was considering firing Wray as he expressed "disappointment" in both Wray and Attorney General William Barr that they didn't "indicate that Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, his son Hunter Biden or other Biden associates are under investigation" before the 2020 election. Hunter Biden revealed last week he's under federal investigation for his "tax affairs," and according to CNN, this investigation began "as early as 2018."

Though Wray remains as head of the FBI, Trump earlier this week announced that Barr will resign as attorney general before Christmas. Now, NBC News reports that Trump's "advisers hope he's been persuaded against ousting Wray."