Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI Crime News
Thanks, everybody. I’m honored and moved to be joined by so many close friends and colleagues today, and I’m deeply grateful for all of you.
I want to start where everything does—at home—with a thank you that will never begin to cover all it should to my supremely patient wife, Helen; our kids, Caroline and Trip; and my mom and dad, who I’m also grateful to have here this afternoon.
Being here with all of you today, at the heart of this institution that I’ve put my heart and soul into…being surrounded by the people—the patriots—who have dedicated themselves and their careers to making our world a better place…well, it’s hard to find the words to express how touched and humbled I am by all of it.
Before I go any further, I want to thank the folks joining us today as speakers: Merrick…Avril…Bill…Tim…Ken…Joe…Peter…Drew…Chuck…Paul…and Brian and Mike. I want to thank you and the scores of dedicated professionals each of you represents—our colleagues in intelligence and law enforcement, here in the U.S. and abroad; the men and women of the Department of Justice; and my FBI family, past and present. You and your organizations are indispensable to the work we do together to keep people safe—here at home and around the world. I’m grateful for the personal relationships I’ve developed with each of you and for the tremendous partnership and support you’ve provided throughout our years working together. Please know you have my sincerest gratitude.
I also want to thank our distinguished guests—DAG Monaco; many of our partners, both here and abroad, who’ve traveled many miles to be here; and particularly Judge Webster and his wife, Lynda—for joining us this afternoon. Judge, if even a fraction of what’s been said about me today is true, it’s because I’ve been able to stand on the shoulders of giants like you.
I, of course, want to thank the Deputy for serving as our emcee today. Paul, I’m grateful for your thoughtful advice, counsel, and leadership over the years. Two of the very best decisions I’ve ever made were asking you and, before you, Dave Bowdich to serve alongside me as deputy directors. Thank you both for everything you’ve done—for me, for the Bureau, and for our country.
I’d also like to thank my team and everyone who worked so hard to organize this event—and then reorganized it after the snowstorm interfered with our plans. Although I have a bit of a bone to pick with whoever it is within the U.S. government who controls the weather. Avril, is that you and Bill?
And finally, and most importantly, I want to thank my FBI Family—all of you who are here in person and all of you tuning in online from our offices across the country and around the world. Thank you for joining me today and, more importantly, every step along the way for these last seven and a half years.
What Makes the FBI Successful Today
When it comes to a role like this one, I’m pretty confident nobody takes it on thinking it’ll be easy. But President Teddy Roosevelt once said, “Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.”
Here at the FBI, we certainly work hard, and without a doubt, our work is worth doing. In fact, the importance—the criticality—of our mission of protecting the American people and upholding the Constitution is one of the biggest reasons why I’ve loved all my years with the Bureau so much. After all, who wouldn’t want to be part of the organization people turn to when it matters most? Who parents call when their kids are in danger, who communities rely on to rid their neighborhoods of violent gangs and drugs, who businesses lean on to get compromised networks and operations back online, who our government counts on to safeguard our most sensitive secrets, and who the public depends on to protect us from terrorism.
What we do here at the FBI is more than a job; it’s a calling. And our work could not be more essential. Is it challenging? Absolutely. But I’ve never once questioned the Bureau’s ability to do it because, over my seven plus years as Director, I’ve seen the FBI rely steadily on the values, the principles, and the strengths that have long sustained our organization. And they are what enable us to meet those challenges head on—to keep calm and tackle hard.
Our most important asset is our people—all of you. You are what makes the FBI the extraordinary organization it is. For more than 116 years, the American people have seen you rise to the challenge, again and again, to keep our nation safe. And day after day after day, I’m inspired by the caliber and the character of the men and women in the FBI’s ranks.
People like the Hostage Rescue Team agent who, while serving a warrant in a terrorism case, exchanged gunfire with a barricaded subject and, despite not having any cover, managed to keep himself and his teammates safe from harm until the threat was neutralized. And then, while at a training exercise just a few months later—we’re talking about the same agent, now—helped save the life of a civilian badly hurt in a skydiving accident.
People like the Jackson agent who was working a violent crime investigation when he heard gunshots and saw an SUV speeding away. While the agent was detaining a passenger who’d gotten out of the car, the driver stopped and fired dozens of rounds at them, including one that penetrated our agent’s vest. Even though he’d been shot in the back, he continued getting the passenger to safety and ultimately saved his life.
Just another day on the job, right?
And the new folks we’re bringing onboard are just as inspiring. As you heard, I’ve given the commencement address at every single one of the 39 new agent graduations we’ve had in my seven and a half years. Which means I’ve had the privilege of personally handing badges and credentials to over 5,700 new agents—more than 40 percent of those on the job today. They’re bringing new talent and resolve to a workforce already full of top-notch professionals. And together, I’m confident they’ll continue to find new ways to tackle the threats we’re up against.
But as I’ve said many times before—and as you heard from almost every one of our speakers this afternoon—no single agency can go it alone. Keeping people safe is a team sport, and none of our successes would be possible without our partners.
Every day, the Bureau’s employees are working shoulder to shoulder with our brothers and sisters in local, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement in record numbers to keep our fellow citizens safe. They’re seamlessly sharing intelligence with our partners in the Intelligence Community, across government, and around the world to stay ahead of threats. And they’re working in new ways with the private sector to protect American ideas and intellectual property from our adversaries.
Those partnerships have made a huge difference—a real, tangible difference—in people’s lives. Together, in recent years, we’ve arrested nearly 50 violent criminals per day—every day.
We’ve dismantled hundreds of gangs terrorizing neighborhoods all over the country.
In just a couple years, we’ve seized enough fentanyl to kill nearly 80 percent of all Americans.
We’ve saved victims around the world nearly 800 million dollars in ransomware payments.
We’ve stopped hostile nation-states from stealing our state secrets, kidnapping and killing dissidents here, and helping themselves to valuable U.S. technology and innovation.
And we’ve kept watch against the ever-present threat of terrorism, thwarting attacks targeting houses of worship in Las Vegas, Long Beach, and Pittsburgh; a crowded pier in San Francisco; a Fourth of July parade in Cleveland; and countless other communities across the nation.
And when tragedy does strike—as we saw in New Orleans earlier this month—we’re there, working with our partners to support the community and victims’ families and to get to the bottom of what happened.
Succeeding Against the Threats of Tomorrow
Our mission is absolutely critical. And fulfilling it—time and again—means relying on our people and our partnerships. That is how we stay ahead of the threats and pursue justice throughout the communities we serve.
But if my time as Director has taught me anything, it’s that those threats are constantly growing more complex, more dynamic, and more severe—and a whole lot of dangers that were once inconceivable are now an everyday reality.
Today, would-be terrorists using encrypted communications can plot with collaborators overseas to secretly plan violent attacks right here on our soil. Cartels can acquire chemicals from half a world away to manufacture deadly drugs with a potency we’ve never seen before. Violent gangs have evolved into what now more closely resemble sophisticated criminal organizations. And with a keystroke, foreign adversaries can shut down a 911 call center, compromise a pipeline, or—as we’ve seen most recently—breach our telecommunications systems in an unprecedented act of cyber espionage.
Across the threat landscape, we’re seeing that our enemies are more emboldened, better resourced, savvier with technology, and more relentless than ever before.
Now, I say all this not because any of you needs a threat briefing or because I think it’s time for anybody to panic, but I do think it’s important to be candid about the daunting threats that are out there.
Having said that, my time as Director has proven to me that the Bureau is at its best when it’s facing a challenge. And as the threats and obstacles have multiplied, so too have the capabilities and determination of the men and women of the FBI.
So yes, it’s a scary world out there, and we’re up against some very serious threats and some very dangerous foes. And to meet what lies over the horizon, we’ve got to keep innovating and finding new ways to impose the greatest consequences on our adversaries. We’ve got to keep leveraging intelligence to maximize impact and stay ahead of the threat. And we’ve got to double down on what we know works—our people and our partnerships.
Relying on Our Core Values
But there is one more thing that is fundamental to the FBI’s work and must never change, and that is how we go about this work.
The men and women of the FBI must maintain an unwavering commitment to our core values and to justice. To sticking together as individuals committed to doing the right thing the right way, and as an organization committed to upholding the rule of law. No matter what’s happening out there—in here, we’ve got to stay committed to doing our work the right way every time. With professionalism, with rigor, with integrity.
That means following the facts wherever they lead, no matter who likes it or doesn’t—because trust me, if there’s anything I’ve learned in this job, it’s that there’s always someone who doesn’t like it. It means conducting investigations without fear or favor. And it means not pursuing investigations when the predication is not there. That’s what the rule of law is all about. We’ve got to maintain our independence and objectivity, staying above partisanship and politics. Because that’s what the American people expect, and I think that’s what they deserve.
It is an enormous responsibility that the FBI bears. And it’s a burden that often comes without any recognition or appreciation for all those nights and weekends…the time away from loved ones…the blood, sweat, and tears you put into your work. And yet, every single day, I see you show up to work eager to serve and fiercely determined to protect the American people and uphold the Constitution. And for that, our nation—our world—owes you a debt we can never repay.
People ask me all the time how I’ve managed to do this job day after day—to see the worst of what our world has to offer, time and time again. And it’s true—a lot more often than I’d like, I’ve seen some of the darkest that humanity is capable of. But in this job, I’ve also seen the very best side of humanity, too. Men and women who could do just about anything they wanted with their lives but who’ve chosen to put service over self every day…who are there for their colleagues and their communities when they’re needed most, both on and off the job…and who put their own lives on the back burner—and on the line—often for total strangers.
That’s what I see in you, our FBI workforce.
Conclusion
When it comes to my gratitude for all of you, I could go on and on. But at some point soon, my badge is going to stop working on the doors, so I know it’s time for me to wrap up. And I’m starting to get that telling look from my family that I’ve learned to recognize (and usually blow right past).
I hope you’ll forgive me, though, for wanting to linger here just a couple more minutes. You see, way back in 2017, I stood a few steps from here in our courtyard for my installation ceremony and the oath of office. And as I was formally welcomed into the FBI Family that day, I told you I wanted to make sure I really absorbed the significance of the moment.
It was a reminder to myself to make sure to pause and drink it all in. I know just how difficult it can be to truly appreciate the best moments of your life when you’re right smack in the middle of them. Because as I tell every graduating class of special agents and intelligence analysts, far too often, the most important moments—your wedding day, the birth of a child, that moment you get your dream job—those things can go by in kind of a blur.
So, on that day seven plus years ago, I asked you to pause with me to savor—to cherish—that moment. And I encouraged you to do the same over the course of your days and your assignments as you continued along in your Bureau careers. And I hope you’ve found time to do that. Because today, I can tell you that I’ve appreciated—I’ve savored—every one of those moments I’ve spent with all of you.
And it’s been more than the obvious victories—the lives you’ve saved, the cases you’ve solved, the criminals you’ve brought to justice. It’s been all the moments in between, too. From the hundreds of times I’ve met with case teams all over the country who’ve passionately told me about the successes of their investigations…to my calls and visits with employees in the hospital, at funerals, or experiencing unforeseen personal hardships…to the cafeteria lunches I’ve shared with trainees at the Academy…and all those mornings I’ve tagged along for a run with new agents who, as my wife likes to point out, politely refrained from leaving me in the dust…and especially in the moments we’ve made dreams come true for kids who want nothing more than to be part of Team FBI.
For the past seven and a half years, during these moments we’ve shared in your work and in your lives, I have savored every single connection I’ve had the honor of making with the extraordinary men and women of the FBI. Those are the moments that have stuck with me—and they’re the ones I’ll keep close to my heart.
So, I want to thank you, the men and women of the FBI—those who served before me and alongside me, and those who will serve long after I’m gone.
Thank you for your relentlessly hard work…for your unwavering dedication to our mission…and for your unyielding commitment to the rule of law. Thank you for affording me the privilege of serving with you as we’ve protected the American people and upheld the Constitution. And thank you for keeping up that work in all the years to come. Serving as your Director has been the honor of my lifetime.
Be safe out there and take care of each other. I will always, always, be rooting for you.
Thank you.
