Top 66 Christopher A. Wray Quotes

The FBI holds sacred the rights of individuals to peacefully exercise their First Amendment freedoms.

Protected Voices aims to help political campaigns, private companies, and individuals protect themselves from foreign actors who want to hijack their message.

In everything we do, as long as I have anything to say about it, we’re going to follow the facts independently, wherever they may lead, to whomever they may lead, no matter who likes it.

I am very committed to the FBI being agile in its tackling of foreign threats. But I believe you can be agile and still scrupulously follow our rules, policies and processes.

We, the FBI, don’t investigate ideology, no matter how repugnant. When it turns to violence, we’re all over it.

The prosperity that drives our economic security is inherently linked to our national security. And the immense influence that the Chinese government holds over Chinese corporations like Huawei represents a threat to both.

We must build toward the future so that we are prepared to deal with the threats we will face at home and abroad and understand how those threats may be connected.

My view is that, if any public official or member of any campaign is contacted by any nation-state or anybody acting on behalf of a nation-state about influencing or interfering with our election, then that is something that the FBI would want to know about.

Criminal and terrorist threats are morphing beyond traditional actors and tactics. We still have to worry about things like an al-Qaida cell plotting a large-scale attack, but we also now have to worry increasingly about homegrown violent extremists radicalizing in the shadows.

To be clear, we do not open investigations based on race, or ethnicity, or national origin. But when we open investigations into economic espionage, time and time again, they keep leading back to China.

We can’t eradicate hate, and we can’t wish away evil. But we can continue to stand together on the side of the freedoms we all cherish.

I left DOJ’s leadership back in 2005. At the time, we were still building our national security capabilities in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. And we’d made a lot of progress.

Our adversaries are trying to undermine our country on a persistent and regular basis, whether it’s election season or not.

In pursuit of their commercial ambitions, Huawei relied on dishonest business practices that contradict the economic principles that have allowed American companies and the United States to thrive.

In our country, the vast majority of our critical infrastructure and intellectual property is of course in the hands of the private sector.

We have no information that indicates that Ukraine interfered with the 2016 presidential election.

We need to coordinate closely with international partners, right down to tightly-coordinated execution of seizures, searches, and arrests, so that instead of capturing a single criminal, we’re taking down an entire enterprise.

The FBI assesses HVEs are the greatest terrorism threat to the homeland.

Non-violent protests are signs of a healthy democracy, not an ailing one.

Our Constitution in many situations rightly demands a warrant or order before we take investigative steps. And the FISC provides that vital, independent oversight.

Whether core al Qaeda or its offshoots like AQAP, ISIS, or the many others – we are working with our partners to find and disrupt them, wherever they are, whether they’re plotting attacks on Americans here at home or abroad.

The inability to access evidence or intelligence despite the lawful authority to do so significantly impacts the FBI’s ability to identify, investigate, prosecute, or otherwise deter criminals, terrorists, and other offenders.

Given our law enforcement authorities, our central role in the Intelligence Community, and the span of our responsibilities – from counterterrorism to counterintelligence to criminal investigations – we’re particularly well-positioned to address cyber threats to our national security.

Healthy competition is good for the global economy. Criminal conduct is not. Rampant theft is not. Cheating is not.

All American voices are important, and the FBI’s Protected Voices videos and resources will help all Americans protect themselves online.

The threat from unmanned aircraft systems in the U.S. is steadily escalating.

As the threat to harm the United States and U.S. interests evolves, we must adapt and confront these challenges, relying heavily on the strength of our federal, state, local, and international partnerships.

Cyber criminals often operate through online forums, selling illicit goods and services, including tools that lower the barrier to entry for aspiring criminals and that can be used to facilitate malicious cyber activity.

As cyber threats evolve, we need to evolve as well.

The FBI that I see is people, decent people, committed to the highest principles of dignity and professionalism and respect… Now do we make mistakes? You bet we make mistakes, just like everybody who’s human makes mistakes.

The Chinese government’s not pulling any punches. They want what we have so they can get the upper hand on us. And they’re highly strategic in their approach – they’re playing the long game.

We will not stand idly by while any entity – be it a foreign power or corporation – seeks to criminally or unfairly undermine our country’s place in the world.

We’ve got to make sure tech companies – all of them – aren’t taking steps that will place content beyond the reach of the courts.

We all want safe, secure, private data, but we also want safe and secure communities. And we can have both. I really do believe that.

We’ve created these Protected Voices videos to showcase the methods these adversaries might use, and to help campaigns practice good cyber hygiene, because the foundation of election security is cybersecurity.

FISA is a powerful tool – and we’ve got to be sure we’re using it properly, at every step in the process. But we couldn’t do our jobs without it.

The cyber threat has evolved dramatically since I left DOJ in 2005, partly just reflecting how much the digital world has itself evolved over that time. Back then, ‘tweeting’ was something only birds did.

All too often, vital electronic evidence has been made unavailable through encryption that doesn’t allow for execution of legal process including court-approved search warrants.

As a profession, we face unlimited threats with limited resources. We face a lack of trust in some of the communities we serve. We face a whole lot of second guessing and criticism about the work we’re doing and the way we’re doing it.

The men and women of the FBI are deployed around the clock, all over our country and around the world, identifying and disrupting threats, and pursuing those who would do us harm.

My loyalty is to the Constitution and the rule of law.

The FBI relies on FISA every day in national security investigations to prevent terrorists and foreign intelligence services from harming the United States.

China has pioneered a societal approach to stealing innovation in any way it can from a wide array of businesses, universities, and organizations.

In this country, we value our open, free-market system – including the way it attracts international investment and talent to our country.

I can’t imagine a situation where, as FBI director, I would be giving a press conference on an uncharged individual, much less talking in detail about it.

It takes an incredibly special person to be willing to put his or her life on the line for a complete stranger. And to get up every morning, day after day after day, to do that, I think, is extraordinary.

Cybersecurity is a central part of the FBI’s mission. It’s one part of the broader safety net we try to provide the American people: not only safe data, safe personal information, but also safe communities, safe schools.

When you can say, I get up in the morning to protect the American people and uphold the Constitution, it keeps people coming back. And I will stack our workforce up against anybody, anywhere, any day.

We are vested with significant authorities, and it is our obligation as public servants to ensure that these authorities are exercised with objectivity and integrity. Anything less falls short of the FBI’s duty to the American people.

When law enforcement fails to fulfill its most basic duty to protect and serve its citizens, particularly members of a minority community, it not only tarnishes the badge we all wear, but erodes the trust that we in law enforcement have worked so hard to build.

The FBI’s mission is to protect the American people and uphold the Constitution. To carry out that mission, we’re entrusted with a lot of authority, so our actions are subject to close oversight – from the courts, from our elected leaders, and from independent entities like the inspector general.

Our folks at the FBI are working their tails off every day to stop and find criminals, terrorists, and nation-state adversaries.