Senate confirms Comey as FBI director in 93-1 vote

With a vote of 93 to one, the Senate confirmed James Comey to replace Robert Mueller as head of the FBI. NBC’s Brian Williams reports.

By Kasie Hunt, NBC News

The Senate on Monday confirmed James Comey as the seventh director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation with a 93-1 vote.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., voted “no,” becoming the first senator to vote against an FBI director since the death of J. Edgar Hoover in 1972.

Two senators — Oregon Democrats Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden — voted “present.”

All other confirmed FBI directors were approved by the Senate either by unanimous consent or with no dissenting votes. Two nominees were withdrawn by the presidents who picked them — L. Patrick Gray, nominated by President Richard Nixon, was implicated in the Watergate scandal, while Frank M. Johnson, selected by President Jimmy Carter, withdrew because of a health problem.

Paul opposed Comey’s nomination because of concerns about the FBI’s use of drone surveillance over U.S. soil. He received a letter from the FBI on Monday, a second round of correspondence that prompted him to drop his objections to Comey’s nomination and allow the Senate to vote to confirm him.

The FBI responded to his initial query with details of the drone program, saying earlier this month that they had used drones over American soil a total of 10 times.

Evan Vucci / AP file

FBI Director nominee James Comey testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, July 9, 2013, before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on his nomination.

Paul wrote back asking about whether or not the FBI needed a warrant to conduct such surveillance.

On Monday, Paul received a second letter back from the FBI. In that letter, the FBI said that while the Supreme Court has never directly considered drone use in this context, there are cases that say there’s no reasonable expectation of privacy because the areas observed were open to public view.

The FBI also argued that using drones does not represent physical trespass.

The law enforcement agency also said that long term surveillance of a person in public space could amount to a search as defined by the Fourth Amendment and indicated they do not use drones to surveil Americans in the long term. “We do not use UAVs to conduct such surveillance,” they said.

Paul said he disagreed with this interpretation but lifted the hold because they responded.

In a statement after Comey’s confirmation, President Obama said he “applaud[ed] the overwhelming, bipartisan majority of Senators who today confirmed Jim Comey to be the next director of the FBI,” but he noted that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has also not had a confirmed director for years.

“I urge the Senate to swiftly confirm Todd Jones, my nominee to lead the ATF, so that he and his team can do their part to keep American families safe,” Obama said.

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Senate confirms Comey as FBI director in 93-1 vote

Senate confirms Comey for FBI

Comey will succeed FBI Director Robert Mueller. | AP Photo

The Senate confirmed James Comey to head up the FBI with an 93-1 vote Monday.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) – the only senator who voted nay – lifted his hold on the nominee to succeed FBI Director Robert Mueller late Monday afternoon, minutes before the vote, after receiving more information from the agency on the domestic drone program. Paul had maintained that he would delay the nomination until his questions were answered.

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“The FBI today responded to my questions on domestic use of surveillance drones by saying that they don’t necessarily need a warrant to deploy this technology,” Paul said in a statement. “I disagree with this interpretation. However, given the fact that they did respond to my concerns over drone use on U.S. soil, I have decided to release my hold on the pending FBI director nominee.”

The FBI sent a letter with additional information Paul after he deemed a response last week insufficient. The Senate skipped a cloture vote and went straight to roll call for Comey’s confirmation.

Democratic Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley of Oregon, longtime critics of surveillance on Americans, voted present.

Comey served as the No. 2 at the Justice Department under President George W. Bush and spent 15 years as a federal prosecutor.

Prior to the Monday vote, no senator had voted against a nominee for FBI director since the death of J. Edgar Hoover in 1972, according to the Congressional Research Service.

POLITICO – Congress

Senate confirms Comey for FBI

Comey moves gingerly toward Senate confirmation

• James Comey faces a Senate hearing on his nomination to be FBI director


• If approved as expected, Comey will get a 10-year term to succeed Robert Mueller


• Comey masters the art of agreeing with questioners without committing to specifics


• The former deputy attorney general is praised for opposing Bush-era surveillance

Washington (CNN) — His confirmation as the new FBI director seemingly secure, James Comey gave a master class Tuesday on agreeing with his Senate questioners while mostly avoiding firm commitments on pressing issues of national security and law enforcement that he will face.

Time after time, Comey responded to Senate Judiciary Committee members by saying he lacked sufficient information to offer a detailed answer.

He repeatedly said he agreed with specific views or positions declared by senators on sensitive issues such as water-boarding and government surveillance programs, but also made it clear that he was unable to state how he would handle any specific case or situation before he actually faced it.

“I know this will be a hard job,” said the 52-year-old Comey, a former deputy attorney general in the Bush administration who also spent recent years in the private sector. “I’m sure that things will go wrong and I will make mistakes.”

President Barack Obama nominated Comey for the 10-year term to succeed Robert Mueller as head of the FBI, and both Republicans and Democrats indicated Tuesday he would easily win Senate approval.

Comey pledged to lead an independent FBI, free of association from any party or political ideology, and he followed the lead of senators who asked him about high-profile issues, agreeing for example that water-boarding is torture and not “the type of thing we ought to be doing as Americans.”

At one point, Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California read a disturbing description of how detainees on hunger strike at Guantanamo Bay get force-fed through tubes inserted in their noses. She said the practice should be stopped and asked Comey to comment.

“What you’re describing, I frankly wouldn’t want done to me,” he said, but added that he didn’t know enough about the situation to offer an opinion.

Other Democrats praised Comey for his well-publicized opposition to domestic surveillance programs of the Bush administration in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

A bedside showdown with White House officials in 2004, in which Comey helped convince the hospitalized Attorney General John Ashcroft to refuse to extend the Bush-era programs without modification, was praised by panel members on Tuesday.

However, when asked by committee chairman Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, about the recent disclosure of classified details on how the government collects domestic phone records for possible court-approved investigation, Comey avoided a direct answer.

“I’m not familiar with the details of the current programs,” he said. “Obviously, I haven’t been cleared for anything like that, and I’ve been out of government for eight years. I do know as a general matter that the collection of metadata and analysis of metadata is a valuable tool in counter-terrorism.”

Later, Comey said his understanding of the safeguards in the program, including special federal courts that must approve investigations of the phone metadata, “sounded reasonable to me, but I don’t know all the information.”

CNN.com – Politics

Comey moves gingerly toward Senate confirmation

Paul to object to Comey nod

Rand Paul says he will object to James Comey’s nomination as FBI director until he gets answers on domestic drone use.

The Kentucky GOP senator wrote FBI Director Robert Mueller on Tuesday, asking him for more specifics on the domestic drone program. He wrote to Mueller on June 20 as well, giving him a July 1 deadline for a response to his questions about the program.

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Paul’s office says he still hasn’t heard back from the FBI. Until he does, Paul said he will encourage his Republican colleagues to block Comey’s nomination from coming to the Senate floor.

“Legitimate questions on important government functions should not be ignored. These questions are easily answerable and primarily questions of fact, so I respectfully request again that you provide answers to these questions,” Paul wrote. “Without adequate answers to my questions, I will object to the consideration of [Comey’s] nomination and ask my colleagues to do the same.”

Domestic drone use is a pet issue of Paul’s. In March, he filibustered for nearly 13 hours the nomination of CIA Director John Brennan in order to find out if the Obama administration believed it would unilaterally kill noncombatant American citizens with drones on U.S. soil. Attorney General Eric Holder told Paul the day after his filibuster: “The answer to that question is no.”

In his June letter, Paul asked Mueller 11 questions about the use of drones after Mueller indicated law enforcement agencies use drones for surveillance, albeit rarely, during a congressional hearing on June 19. Among the questions Paul wanted answered was how long the FBI has been using drones, what the FBI is doing to protect Americans privacy and whether the FBI would ever arm its drones. Paul said answers to those questions are key so Congress can determine if it needs to further “protect the rights of innocent Americans” from drones.

The Senate Judiciary Committee began to move Comey’s nomination forward on Tuesday, holding a hearing on his Mueller’s successor during which ranking member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) questioned Comey on drone use. Grassley wanted assurances from Comey that he would work “cooperatively” with Congress on answering requests for information.

POLITICO – Congress

Paul to object to Comey nod

Obama nominates Comey to head FBI

FILE – In this May 15, 2007 file photo, James Comey testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. The White House says President Barack Obama plans to announce Friday his new choice to lead the FBI in Comey, former President George W. Bush’s No. 2 at the Justice Department. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

FILE – In this May 15, 2007 file photo, James Comey testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. The White House says President Barack Obama plans to announce Friday his new choice to lead the FBI in Comey, former President George W. Bush’s No. 2 at the Justice Department. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama has named James Comey to be the new FBI director. Comey was the No. 2 Justice Department official under Republican President George W. Bush.

Obama says Comey is a model of “fierce independence and deep integrity.”

Comey gained attention for blocking efforts by the Bush White House to reauthorize a no-warrant wiretapping program in 2004.

If confirmed by the Senate, he would replace Robert Mueller and serve a 10-year tenure.

Obama says Mueller displayed a “steady hand and strong leadership” during his time at the head of the FBI.

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Obama nominates Comey to head FBI