A Comey-sized cloud hanging over
WASHINGTON — Tomorrow’s confirmation hearing for FBI Director nominee Christopher Wray will likely focus as much on his predecessor, James B. Comey, as on his own record.
“No doubt, there will be a focus on the controversial decisions that James Comey made when he was FBI director — particularly around the alleged demand by President Trump that he pledge his loyalty and remove the cloud of suspicion regarding the Russia investigation,” said Michael German, a fellow with the Brennan Center for Justice’s Liberty and National Security Program. The hearing could also be overshadowed by Trump’s tweet yesterday, reigniting the controversy over Comey’s firing.
“James Comey leaked CLASSIFIED INFOR MATION to the media. That is so illegal!” Trump chirped, a claim that Comey’s friend and Columbia University law professor Daniel Richman — who disclosed details about one Comey memo to the press in May — denies. “The guy is going to keep tweeting, and yes, to some extent that hangs over” Wray’s hearing, said GOP strategist Ford O’Connell. “But whether Trump tweets or doesn’t
tweet, the Democrats are going to throw everything but the kitchen sink at Wray anyway.”
That shouldn’t distract Senate Judiciary Committee members, German said.
“There is intense interest in the issues around Trump and Comey,” he said. “But we have to remember that this is a very important job with extraordinary powers and not a lot of oversight.”
Wray kept a relatively low profile during his time heading the Justice Depart-