By Allan Lengel
Ex-FBI Director James Comey speculated Tuesday night that his replacement Christopher Wray has stayed out of the limelight recently so as not to agitate President Trump in the final days of the administration and risk being fired.
Comey, who appeared virtually on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” says Wray is being prudent and is trying to stay on the job for the continuity of the bureau. There had been rumors in recent weeks that Trump might fire Wray, who was appointed to the post in 2017 after Comey’s firing. The post is for 10 years, but a president can fire the director as Comey learned.
“I speculate because I don’t know, I haven’t spoken to him,” he said. “He is a person of great integrity trying to stay in the job and not to give an unstable president an excuse to decapitate the FBI in the middle of a crisis. That’s just speculation, but it’s informed speculation. I could imagine him wanting to be careful not to antagonize the man in the White House for another eight days.”
Earlier on Tuesday, the Justice Department and FBI held a press conference to talk about the investigation into the Capitol riot that resulted in five dead including a Capitol Police officer. Wray did not appear at the press conference. Instead, career FBI agent, Steven M. D’Antuono, who heads up the Washington Field Office, spoke.
Comey also said he was disturbed and puzzled about the inadequate security at the Capitol on Jan. 6 when things got out of control.
Comey was on the show promoting his new book, “Saving Justice, Truth, Transparency, and Trust.”
