The man US President Donald Trump has nominated to be the next director of the FBI is promising to pursue justice impartially.
FBI Director nominee Christopher Wray testifies during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Photo: AFP
Under questioning from members of the Senate judiciary committee, Christopher Wray said he had not discussed the investigation into Russian interference in last year's election with anybody in the White House.
"If I am given the honour of leading this agency I will never allow the FBI's work to be driven by anything other than the facts, the law, and the impartial pursuit of justice. Period. Full stop.
"My loyalty is to the constitution and to the rule of law. Those have been my guideposts throughout my career and I will continue to adhere to them no matter the test."
"And nobody asked me for any kind of loyalty oath at any point during this process and I sure as heck didn't offer one."
Mr Wray's ability to remain independent from the president is a key focus of the Senate hearing.
The previous FBI director, James Comey, was fired by the US president on 9 May.
Former FBI Director James Comey giving testimony to the US Senate Intelligence Committee. Photo: AFP
Mr Trump earlier on Wednesday tweeted: "This is the greatest Witch Hunt in political history. Sad!"
Last month, Mr Comey told a congressional hearing that Mr Trump had requested a pledge of loyalty to him, which Mr Comey said he had refused to give.
"I do not consider Director Mueller to be on a witch hunt," Christopher Wray said about the former FBI director who is leading the special investigation.
Mr Wray also told a Senate hearing he would quit if the president asked him to do anything illegal.
Mr Wray told the Senate panel on Wednesday: "Anybody who thinks that I would be pulling punches as FBI director sure doesn't know me well.
The nominee said he was "very committed to supporting" the work of special counsel Robert Mueller.
Mr Mueller, who was described by Mr Wray as "a straight shooter", is a former FBI director who is now leading the special inquiry into alleged Russian attempts to influence the 2016 US presidential election.
Mr Wray also faced questions about emails belonging to Donald Trump Jr - the president's eldest son - arranging a meeting with a Russian lawyer linked to the Kremlin.
The nominee told senators he was unfamiliar with the emails.
Senator Lindsey Graham read out the text of the emails to him and asked if Mr Trump Jr "should have taken that meeting".
"I would think you'd want to consult with some good legal advisers before you did that," said Mr Wray when pressed by the South Carolina Republican.
"Any threat or effort to interfere with our elections from any nation state or non-state actor is the kind of thing the FBI would want to know", he continued.
Mr Wray added that he has "no reason to doubt" the assessment by US intelligence agencies that Russia sought to influence the 2016 election in Mr Trump's favour.
FBI Director nominee Christopher Wray Photo: AFP
Mr Comey had also told senators he was worried about meeting one-on-one with Mr Trump, because he was concerned the president might lie later about their discussion.
When Mr Wray was asked how he would respond to a private invitation from Mr Trump, he said such a meeting would be "highly unlikely".
But he added it would depend on the circumstances and if national security was involved.
Mr Wray also said he would attempt to work with Justice Department to ensure "it's not a one-on-one meeting".
"I think the relationship between any FBI director and any president needs to be a professional one, not a social one," he said.
"And there certainly shouldn't be any one-on-one discussion between the FBI director and any president about how to conduct particular investigations or cases".
If the president ever asked for him to do anything illegal, he told senators, "first I would try to talk him out of it, and if that failed I would resign".
- BBC
