In February 1980, FBI Director William Webster testifies before the Senate Intelligence Committee. Bettmann Archive/Getty Images
As reported by CNN
On Thursday in Washington, a memorial service was held for William Webster, the former director of the FBI and CIA, an event that has become a kind of marker of memory for an era that seems increasingly distant in the face of today’s political landscape.
Bill understood his calling to be powerful: to defend and advance the rule of law, to serve everywhere and always whenever he could, and to be a leader of principles and dignity.
Christopher Ray, the former FBI director, called Webster an example of a servant-leader who became a model of service for the sake of the law, a person who gave his life to serving the country in the Navy during the Korean War and later worked as a judge before heading the FBI and CIA by appointment of presidents from both parties.
Although Kash Patel did not appear at the ceremony, the event was attended by Dan Bongino, the FBI co-director, who sat a few feet from Ray, and Brian Driscoll, a former senior agent appointed by the Trump administration to serve in an acting capacity before Patel’s confirmation and later dismissed.
In Driscoll’s lawsuit, it states that Patel said thousands of agents would become targets because of their work on investigations into Trump and his supporters.
Other notable participants included former Attorney General Merrick Garland and Chief Justice John Roberts, underscoring the nonpartisan nature of the memorial event honoring a public servant whose career linked service to the country with two presidential administrations.
“We remember the judge as a ‘straight shooter’ who did not tend to favor one side.”
Webster died in August at the age of 101. Even in his later years he remained active, offering advice to the successors of FBI directors, including Christopher Ray, with whom he maintained a friendship.
During his tenure, Webster helped establish and defend the principles of justice during trials, remaining a model of public service to the country, even beyond his era.
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- FBI Director Kash Patel faces Senate hearings amid controversy over Epstein case and Charlie Kirk investigation, with questions on leadership and bureau independence.
- William H. Webster, the only person to lead both the FBI and CIA, passed away at 101, remembered for restoring trust in U.S. intelligence agencies.
- Memorial service held in Poltava for Larisa Zarytska, a Ukrainian Armed Forces civil servant killed in a drone attack by Russian forces on July 3.
