CHRISTOPHER WRAY, TRUMP’S FBI DIRECTOR PICK, IS THE ANTI-COMEY

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Wray Doesn’t Pass the Test

Despite all the plaudits, critics wonder where Wray’s loyalties lie: With the bureau. Or with the president, who appointed him to investigate his own associates. (Wray did not respond to interview requests for this article.)

Part of the concern is party affiliation. The FBI nominee is a Republican, and Federal Election Commission filings show he donated to the presidential campaigns of Mitt Romney and John McCain. Since 2007, he’s also given to seven Republicans running for Congress, including at least two senators who will be voting on his confirmation. Election records show he has requested Republican Party ballots for each primary since 2008. He voted last November, but the records don’t indicate for whom. He is also a member of the Federalist Society, a conservative and libertarian organization whose executive vice president, Leonard Leo, is said to have advised Trump on judicial nominations. But Wray has submitted letters of support to the Senate for presidential appointees of both parties, including former Attorney General Eric Holder and former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates, both Democrats.

The broader issue involves potential conflicts of interest. After returning to King and Spalding in 2005, he represented New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a Trump ally, in the “Bridgegate” scandal. (The Christie administration was accused of closing lanes to the George Washington Bridge in 2013 as an act of political retribution.) King and Spalding also has ties to Trump and Russia. A partner at the firm, Bobby Burchfield, for instance, is the ethics adviser to Trump’s business trust. And the firm also reportedly represents Rosneft and Gazprom, two Russian state-owned energy companies that are under U.S. sanctions.

http://www.newsweek.com/christopher-wray-fbi-director-nominee-hearing-comey-mueller-635224