The Senate has voted Christopher Wray, 92-5, as the new chief of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) after James Comey was sacked from the post in May. The fired FBI director had been on the service for over three years before he was dismissed by Donald Trump over the case of Hillary Clinton's private emails.
POTUS fires FBI director over Russia case
The president later admitted that his primary reason for firing James Comey was due to their investigation of his alleged collusion with Russia during the 2016 U.S. elections. Donald Trump personally told Russian officials that he was relieved from "great pressure" after he dismissed the then-FBI chief.
The U.S. leader even claimed that he is "not under investigation" over the alleged meddling. James Comey, on the other hand, said Donald Trump had requested him to drop their investigation on Mike Flynn's controversial phone call with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the transition.
The fired FBI director also revealed that the POTUS asked for his loyalty and suggested that he should drop the probe into Michael Flynn, whom the president described as a "good guy." James Comey also echoed Donald Trump's claim that he is not under investigation for the alleged Russia interference.
Senate names new FBI director
In the wake of the controversy for firing James Comey, the president named Christopher Wray as his nominee to lead the bureau.
On Tuesday, the 50-year-old lawyer was formally named as the new FBI director who will continue the investigation on the alleged collusion between Donald Trump's campaign team and Russia.
"Multiple investigations are underway, including by this body, to clearly lay out Russia's activities that attempted to influence the 2016 election," Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said as cited by CNN.
"These are important and sensitive investigations, and they cannot be inappropriately influenced by people in powerful positions, in any way. This applies to the FBI director."
During his speech to pledge his independence, Christopher Wray vowed that he is committed to the "rule of law" and to the "Constitution" in seeking the truth.
He also assured that no person can influence and convince him to just let go of any investigation.
The new FBI director guaranteed that there isn't a person in the administration who asked him to pledge his loyalty, contrary to James Comey's allegation on the president. Christopher Wray also promised to step down from his position if he will be asked to do something illegal or unethical.
