FLASHBACK–Comey on Taking FBI Directorship: ‘Dangers in Becoming Untethered to Oversight and Accountability’

At an October 2013 ceremony at FBI headquarters where James Comey was installed as the agency’s new director, Comey warned about the “dangers” of lack of oversight and accountability, including how the FBI wiretapped the communications of civil rights icon Martin Luther King, Jr.

“As I think about the unique balance represented by fidelity to independence on the one hand, and the rule of law on the other, I think it also makes sense for me to offer those in training a reminder closer to our own history,” Comey said. “I’m going to direct that all new agents and analysts also visit the Martin Luther King Memorial here in Washington.”

“I think it will serve as a different kind of lesson — one more personal to the Bureau, of the dangers in becoming untethered to oversight and accountability,” Comey said.

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump announced that he was terminating Comey, whose tenure included ongoing controversy over communications investigated by the agency, including then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server to send classified information and the alleged connection between Trump’s presidential campaign and Russian officials.

A statement from the White House press office said Trump acted on the recommendation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Borenstein.

“The FBI is one of our Nation’s most cherished and respected institutions and today will mark a new beginning for our crown jewel of law enforcement,” Trump said in a statement announcing Comey’s termination.

In installing Comey, President Barack Obama praised the qualities needed in an FBI director, including a “moral compass.”

“That’s why it’s critical that we seek out the best people to serve — folks who have earned the public trust; who have excellent judgment, even in the most difficult circumstances; those who possess not just a keen knowledge of the law, but also a moral compass that they — and we — can always count on,” Obama said.