Posted on 07/12/17
| News Source: CNBC
President Donald Trump's pick to lead the FBI pledged independence during a high-stakes Senate hearing Wednesday that follows former FBI Director James Comey's accusation that Trump asked him for loyalty.
"If I am given the honor of leading this agency, I will never allow the FBI's work to be driven by anything other than the facts, the law and the impartial pursuit of justice. Period. Full stop." FBI Director nominee Christopher Wray told the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Wray is a 50-year-old white-collar lawyer who served as assistant attorney general during the George W. Bush administration.
Trump terminated Comey in May amid a federal probe into Russian attempts to influence the 2016 election and whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Moscow. Trump later said he ousted Comey while thinking about the "Russia thing."
Comey testified that Trump asked him for loyalty shortly after taking office and later made a statement that Comey interpreted as a request to "drop" an investigation into former national security advisor Michael Flynn. Trump has denied making those statements.
Wray said Wednesday that, if confirmed, he would do his job "without fear, with favoritism and certainly without regard to any partisan political influence."
"I believe to my core that there's only one right way to do this job and that is with strict independence, by the book, playing it straight, faithful to the constitution faithful to our laws," he said.
Former FBI Director Robert Mueller, a special counsel appointed by the Department of Justice, is currently overseeing the federal Russia probe.
Asked about what qualified him for the national security aspects of leading the FBI, Wray said he spent "well over 50 percent" of his time at the Justice Department's Criminal Division on those issues.