Blumenthal Statement On Senate Confirmation Of James Comey To Head The FBI

(Washington, DC) – Today, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) issued the following statement after the Senate voted 93-1 to confirm James Comey to head the FBI. Before the vote, Blumenthal delivered a speech on the Senate floor in which he urged his colleagues to confirm Comey. Production quality video of the floor speech is here, YouTube video of the floor speech is here.

“Jim Comey is a man for the modern FBI – an agency that faces new threats and responsibilities daily. As second in command at the Department of Justice, he demonstrated unbelievable dedication to the rule of law in standing up to his superiors and in speaking truth to power on constitutional rights, which, at the time, were being threatened.

“In my conversations with him, he’s committed to aggressively addressing gun violence by effectively enforcing existing laws and improving laws on background checks, straw purchases, and illegal trafficking. He has also committed to combating the scourge of human trafficking, which forces innocent victims – including children – into malicious modern-day slavery.

“Jim Comey is truly a prosecutor's prosecutor – a man whose life’s work has been about law enforcement – and he will make an excellent director of the nation’s premier criminal investigative body.”