FBI director has no plans to step down

FBI Director James BOSTON — Comey signaled he has no plans to resign despite once again being at the center of a political storm this time — over probes into Russian hacking of the 2016 election and his request that Justice Department officials reject President Donald Trump’s claims that his predecessor “tapped” his phones.

“You’re stuck with me for about another six and a half years,” Comey said Wednesday at a cybersecurity conference in Boston, referring to the time remaining in his 10-year appointment to the post.

Trump claimed — without offering evidence — in tweets on Saturday that former President Barack Obama had wiretapped his phones at Trump Tower in New York during the campaign, a charge refuted by Obama aides and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper. Comey wanted the Justice Department to publicly rebut the claim, according to a U.S. official who requested anonymity in order to discuss sensitive issues, but the department so far has remained silent.