Committee on the Judiciary United States

Confirmation Hearing on the Nomination of James B. Comey, Jr., to Be Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Committee on the Judiciary United States

When James Comey, Jr., now under consideration to be the seventh Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, appeared before the Committee on the Judiciary in 2007, he described a dramatic hospital bedside confrontation with senior White House officials who were trying to get an ailing John Ashcroft, who was in the hospital, to reauthorize an NSA surveillance program that the Justice Department had concluded was illegal. As Deputy Attorney General, Mr. Comey showed courage and independence by standing firm against this attempt to circumvent the rule of law. Since the terrorist attacks of September 11th, the FBI has dramatically increased its national security and counterterrorism efforts, but that is a transition that has not been without problems. From National Security Letters to the revelations about the use of PATRIOT Act surveillance authorities, we have not yet struck the right balance between the intelligence-gathering needs of the FBI and the privacy rights of Americans. The FBI must have the tools necessary to help keep us safe from terrorism, but that should not come at the expense of our constitutional rights. During Mr. Comey's tenure as Deputy Attorney General, he approved a legal memo that authorized the use of waterboarding and other techniques long recognized as torture under both domestic and international law. If we learned nothing else from those years following the September 11th attacks, it is that who leads our Nation-at all levels of Government-matters. We need strong, ethical leaders who will steadfastly adhere to the rule of law.