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morningfog

(18,115 posts)
Thu Jun 20, 2013, 09:46 PM Jun 2013

Obama to Pick Bush-Era Justice Dept. Official (James Comey)to Lead F.B.I.

WASHINGTON — President Obama on Friday plans to announce the nomination of James B. Comey, a senior Justice Department official under President George W. Bush, to become the next director of the F.B.I., according to White House officials.

The Senate, which will not be in session in August, is bracing for a significant fight over nominations in July, and it is not clear whether the administration has allotted enough time for the Senate to confirm him by Sept. 3, when Robert S. Mueller III, the F.B.I. director, is mandated to leave his post.

F.B.I. officials in Washington had expressed concern that if Mr. Obama did not nominate a new director by the beginning of June, the bureau would probably have an interim director for some time.

Mr. Comey is best known for his role in a 2004 incident in which, as the acting United States attorney general, he refused to acquiesce to aides to Mr. Bush, who wanted Mr. Comey to reauthorize a controversial National Security Agency surveillance program.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/21/us/politics/obama-to-nominate-comey-as-fbi-director.html?_r=0

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Obama to Pick Bush-Era Justice Dept. Official (James Comey)to Lead F.B.I. (Original Post) morningfog Jun 2013 OP
NYT is unbelievable! ACLU: "Comey approved some of the worst abuses committed by the Bush admin" Catherina Jun 2013 #1
A few links to DU threads with additional info on Comey Tx4obama Jun 2013 #2
You can't polish this turd. Of all the people out there, this is who Obama chooses. Amazing. morningfog Jun 2013 #3

Catherina

(35,568 posts)
1. NYT is unbelievable! ACLU: "Comey approved some of the worst abuses committed by the Bush admin"
Thu Jun 20, 2013, 09:58 PM
Jun 2013
ACLU: "Comey approved some of the worst abuses committed by the Bush administration"

May 30, 2013

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: 212-549-2666, media@aclu.org

WASHINGTON – Below is a statement from Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, on President Obama's reported plan to nominate James B. Comey as the next director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

"While the ACLU does not take official positions on nominations to appointed office, there are many questions regarding Comey's record that deserve careful scrutiny from the Senate Judiciary Committee. As the second-highest ranked Justice Department official under John Ashcroft, Comey approved some of the worst abuses committed by the Bush administration. Specifically, the publicly available evidence indicates Comey signed off on enhanced interrogation techniques that constitute torture, including waterboarding. He also oversaw the indefinite detention without charge or trial of an American citizen picked up in the United States and then held for years in a military brig. Although Comey, despite tremendous pressure from the Bush White House, deserves credit for courageously stopping the reauthorization of a secret National Security Agency program, he reportedly approved programs that struck at the very core of who we all are as Americans.

"It's critical that the Senate ensures that the men and women of the FBI know that they have a leader who will demand adherence to the rule of law and will hold those accountable who do not, wherever he or she may find them."

http://www.aclu.org/national-security/aclu-comment-possible-nomination-james-b-comey-fbi-director

Tx4obama

(36,974 posts)
2. A few links to DU threads with additional info on Comey
Thu Jun 20, 2013, 10:12 PM
Jun 2013

FBI nominee Comey: The man who told Bush his eavesdropping was illegal

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022925543




Comey: The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022924526



7 Really Awesome Reasons to be Happy about Comey's Appt.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022920529




In March 2004, Comey, Mueller, and several Bush DoJ appointees almost resigned over metadata!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023025949

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