Trump to nominate former Justice Dept lawyer to lead FBI
President Donald Trump, in a surprise Twitter message early on Wednesday, said he will nominate former assistant U.S. attorney general Christopher Wray to lead the FBI, whose former chief was fired by Trump less than a month ago.
James Comey, dismissed as Federal Bureau of Investigation director on May 9, is slated to testify before a Senate panel on Thursday about investigations of possible ties between Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. elections and the Trump campaign.
Wray, now in private practice at law firm King & Spalding, worked from 2003 to 2005 at the Justice Department under former Republican President George W. Bush.
“I will be nominating Christopher A. Wray, a man of impeccable credentials, to be the new Director of the FBI. Details to follow,” Trump said in a Twitter message.
The U.S. Senate must evaluate and vote on any nomination by Trump of a new FBI leader.
His announcement comes as the Senate Intelligence Committee prepares to hear from top U.S. intelligence officials and Comey regarding the FBI’s probe into Russian involvement in the election and fallout from Comey’s firing.
On Wednesday, lawmakers will hear from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, the No. 2 official at the Justice Department who signed a letter recommending Comey’s dismissal.
U.S. Senator Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the intelligence committee, said in a series of television interviews that Trump’s announcement seemed timed to distract from the two days of potentially explosive hearings.
