It’s Official! James Comey Installed as New FBI Director

Comey previously served as a Department of Justice official during the Bush administration

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AP

New FBI Director James Comey

President Obama installed a new director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation during a ceremony on Monday afternoon. Obama said he selected James Comey because the former Justice Department official is “somebody who knows what’s right and what’s wrong.”

Comey served as deputy attorney general from 2003-2005 under George W. Bush’s administration and testified to Congress that he refused to reauthorize a warrantless wiretapping program that the administration had put in place after 9/11. His position on the matter is significant in the wake of new revelations about secret, warrantless electronic surveillance used in recent years.

Comey’s nomination was met with bipartisan support although Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) became the first senator to vote against a nominee for the position since 1968, when Senate approval became a requirement.

At the installation ceremony on Monday, according to PBS, Comey told FBI employees and guests that the agency “must be independent of all political forces and interests.”

Comey replaces Robert Mueller, who left the post after serving for 12 years.

[PBS]