US Senate confirms Christopher Wray as new FBI director after President Donald Trump fired James Comey

Christopher Wray testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on his nomination to be the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on July 12, 2017 in Washington,DC. (Photo by AFP)

The US Senate has overwhelmingly confirmed Christopher Wray as the next FBI director after President Donald Trump fired James Comey who was leading an investigation into Russia’s alleged meddling in the 2016 US presidential election and any possible ties between Trump’s associates and Moscow.

In a 92-to-5 vote on Tuesday, the Senate confirmed 50-year-old Wray, a former criminal lawyer who worked with Comey at the Justice Department during the George W. Bush administration.

Last month, Wray stressed his independence from the White House, telling lawmakers that he would rather resign than bow to political interference.

His promise helped him gain the confidence of Senate Judiciary Committee members, who unanimously approved his nomination and asked their colleagues to vote in favor of his confirmation.

“He told the committee that he won’t condone tampering with investigations, and that he would resign rather than be unduly influenced in any manner. Mr. Wray’s record of service, and his reputation, give us no reason to doubt him,” Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), the panel’s chairman, said Tuesday.

“Now more than ever, the bureau needs a resolute and independent leader,” said Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Democrat of Rhode Island and a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. “Christopher Wray has assured us he can be that leader.”

Former FBI Director James Comey leaves a closed session with the Senate Intelligence Committee in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill June 8, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by AFP)

Trump, in May, fired Comey who had been appointed FBI director by former President Barack Obama in 2013 to a 10-year term.

Later in June, Comey said Trump had fired him “because of the Russia investigation.”

"Although the law required no reason at all to fire the FBI director, the administration then chose to defame me and more importantly the FBI by saying that the organization was in disarray, that it was poorly run, that the workforce had lost confidence in its leader," Comey said before the Senate Intelligence Committee.

"Those were lies, plain and simple," he told the committee.

Comey also revealed that Trump had asked him to drop a probe into former national security adviser, Michael Flynn whom the president had dismissed over his ties to Russia.