Trump says he 'would think' DOJ is investigating former FBI Director Christopher Wray

President Donald Trump, in an exclusive interview Sunday with NBC News, accused former FBI Director Christopher Wray of “inappropriate” behavior during his tenure and said he “would think” the Justice Department is investigating him.

“I would imagine. I would certainly imagine. I would think they are doing that,” Trump said in a phone call when he was asked whether the Justice Department should investigate Wray.

Trump accused him of wrongdoing in the interview, saying Wray, who resigned at the end of the Biden administration, “did a terrible job and we just found out about it.”

“I think it’s very inappropriate what he, what he did. And I think a lot of his service was very inappropriate. But we haven’t gone beyond that. Don’t forget, we just found out about all of these FBI agents being there,” he said. The comment about FBI agents’ “being there” was an apparent reference to an unfounded accusation Trump posted Saturday on Truth Social alleging that the FBI “secretly placed, against all Rules, Regulations, Protocols, and Standards, 274 FBI Agents into the Crowd just prior to, and during, the January 6th Hoax.”

Trump has repeated that unfounded claim multiple times in the past.

Last week, Blaze Media, a conservative media outlet, wrote that “FBI had 274 plainclothes agents embedded in Jan. 6 crowds, congressional source says.” NBC News hasn’t independently confirmed the report.

Trump also alleged Saturday on Truth Social that the agents were “probably acting as Agitators and Insurrectionists” and certainly not as “Law Enforcement Officials.”

The post also directly called out Wray, saying he “has some major explaining to do.”

Wray hasn’t publicly commented on the recent allegations.

There is no evidence that undercover FBI officers were at protests at or near the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. A report by the Justice Department’s inspector general’s office in December concluded the same.

On Saturday evening, FBI Director Kash Patel gave a different description of the agency’s role on Jan. 6, 2021. Patel also criticized the FBI’s action on that day.

On X and in an interview with Fox News, Patel said agents were at the Capitol after the riot began only to try to control the unruly crowd.

“274 FBI agents were thrown into crowd control on Jan 6 against FBI standards. That failure was on corrupt leadership. Thanks to agents stepping up, the truth is coming out,” Patel wrote on X in a post that has apparently been taken down.

He told Fox News, “Agents were sent into a crowd control mission after the riot was declared by Metro Police — something that goes against FBI standards.”

A senior former FBI official with knowledge of the bureau’s actions that day said the Blaze post was “completely and utterly untrue.”

“I know of no agents who were authorized to be in the crowds observing the constitutionally protected rights of citizens on Jan. 6th,” said the official, who requested anonymity, citing fear of retaliation.

Another former FBI director, James Comey, was indicted last week on two counts: making a false statement and obstruction of a congressional proceeding. The indictment relates to Comey’s testimony at a 2020 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing denying he authorized leaks of certain information to the media.

Comey, who has denied any wrongdoing, he was indicted after Trump publicly encouraged the Justice Department to pursue investigations against him and other political foes, like New York Attorney General Letitia James and Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.

Other Trump administration officials in recent weeks and months have hinted at other Justice Department investigations happening behind the scenes.

On Sunday, Vice President JD Vance told Fox News that there are “certainly going to be more indictments coming over the next 3½ years of the Trump administration.”

Plans for Portland

Trump also spoke about directing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to send troops to Oregon in a post that said he was “authorizing Full Force, if necessary,” to protect Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities in “War ravaged Portland.”

“They are literally attacking, and there are fires all over the place. ... It looks, like, terrible,” Trump said. “Can’t have that in an American city. But this has been going on for a long time. This has been going on for years, actually.”

Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek said Saturday she told Trump in a phone call that Oregon didn’t need federal troops to be sent there. “Our city is a far cry from the war-ravaged community that he has posted about on social media, and I conveyed that directly to him,” Kotek said at a news conference. “The president will not find lawlessness or violence here.” On Sunday, Oregon officials filed a request for a preliminary injunction to stop the deployment.

Trump stopped short of committing to send in troops Sunday, telling NBC News, “We’ll make a decision on that pretty soon.”

He also promised federal operations in Chicago, something he has been floating for weeks.

“Chicago is a mess. It’s a crime-ridden mess,” he said, adding later, “Any place where there is big trouble, we want to go and help out.”

Trump also referred to what he called a “successful” operation in Washington, D.C., where the federal government surged federal law enforcement officers and National Guard troops in August.

“Look at Washington, D.C., it’s doing so beautifully now. Everybody is so happy. This was a crime-ridden mess, absolute crime-ridden mess, and look at it now, it’s so successful,” he said.

The National Guard was also deployed this year to Los Angeles, where thousands of troops and hundreds of Marines arrived on federal orders to quell anti-ICE protests in June.

Trump has threatened to send troops and a surge of federal law enforcement officers to other cities run by Democratic mayors, as well, including Baltimore and New Orleans.

He created a task force this month to mobilize resources to Memphis, too, a move welcomed by Tennessee GOP Gov. Bill Lee.

Impending government shutdown

Trump and congressional leaders also face a looming deadline to avoid a government shutdown Wednesday if Democrats and Republicans don’t agree on a continuing resolution.

Trump said Sunday that a shutdown is “a possibility.” He is scheduled to meet with congressional leaders from both parties at the White House on Monday.

Last week, the Trump administration laid the groundwork to permanently lay off mass numbers of federal workers who would normally be furloughed for the length of a government shutdown.

“We are going to cut a lot of the people that, you know, we’re able to cut, if there is” a shutdown, Trump said Sunday. “We’re able to cut on a permanent basis, and we will be doing that. I’d rather not do that.”

He also blamed Democrats for causing a potential shutdown, accusing them of wanting to fund health care for immigrants living in the United States illegally. Senate Democrats sought this month to pass their own version of a stopgap spending bill that would have restored cuts to Medicaid that Republicans implemented this year.

Neither that measure or a measure the House passed to keep funding at current levels through Nov. 21 got enough votes to pass in the Senate this month

“The problem we have with the shutdown is that Democrats want to do all health care for illegal immigrants,” Trump said. “We’re not going to do that.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., echoed Trump on Sunday, telling NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that it was “totally up to the Democrats” whether a shutdown would occur.

“What the Democrats have done here is take the federal government as a hostage — and for that matter, by extension, the American people — to try and get a whole laundry list of things that they want that special interest groups on the far left are pushing them to accomplish,” he said.

In an interview afterward, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called for “a serious negotiation“ with Republicans.

“We need the meeting. It’s a first step, but only a first step. We need a serious negotiation,” he told “Meet the Press.”

Previewing Netanyahu meeting

Trump also spoke about a meeting he has planned Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, telling NBC News he’s optimistic a deal can be reached to end the war in Gaza.

“We’re doing very well. It looks like there is a really good chance for peace in the Middle East. Everybody is on board. Everybody,” he said.

Trump said last week that he wouldn’t allow Israel to annex the West Bank.

“It’s not going to happen,” he told reporters at a press gathering.

So far, no one has revealed the details of a potential peace deal between Hamas and Israel, but Vance told Fox News on Sunday that he was “cautiously hopeful” that the sides could reach a deal.

“But I think the president’s optimism is warranted here. I feel more optimistic about where we are right now than where we have been at any point in the last few months, but let’s be realistic: These things can get derailed at the very last minute. So while I remain very hopeful, I am cautiously hopeful,” Vance said.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com