At Senate confirmation hearing, Christopher Wray says he sees ‘no reason to doubt’ Russia meddled in the 2016 election

Donald Trump’s pick to lead the FBI said he did not believe a special counsel investigation into possible coordination between Russia and Trump aides was a “witch-hunt”.

Trump proclaims son 'innocent' victim as Russia scandal intensifies Read more

Christopher Wray also told senators at his confirmation hearing he saw “no reason to doubt” that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election, and would never let politics get in the way of the bureau’s mission.

The FBI’s work will be driven only by “the facts, the law and the impartial pursuit of justice”, the former justice department official said. “My loyalty is to the constitution and the rule of law. They have been my guideposts throughout my career, and I will continue to adhere to them no matter the test.”

Trump has repeatedly derided as a “hoax” and a “witch-hunt” a continuing investigation by the FBI and Robert Mueller, a former FBI director who was appointed as special counsel in May. The president also used the term in a Wednesday morning tweet defending the conduct of his son, Donald Trump Jr, in relation to a June 2016 meeting with a Russian lawyer, regarding the presidential campaign.

Wray, who was selected for the FBI job last month after Trump fired James Comey, made clear that he disagreed with the characterization.

“I do not consider director Mueller to be on a witch-hunt,” he said, under questioning from Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina.

When Graham asked if Trump Jr should have agreed to his meeting with a Russia lawyer, Wray stopped short of answering. Asked if someone should report such a meeting to the FBI, Wray said: “Any threat or effort to interfere with our election by any nation state or any non-state actor is the kind of thing the FBI would want to know” about.

Wray also pledged to lead the FBI “without regard to any partisan political influence” and said he would consider any efforts to interfere with Mueller’s investigation to be unacceptable.

After Trump dismissed Comey on 9 May, the ex-FBI director said the president had asked him to pledge loyalty during a dinner at the White House. He also said Trump had encouraged him to end an investigation into the former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

Questioned by the Vermont Democrat Patrick Leahy, Wray said Trump had made no demand for loyalty from him.

No one asked me for any kind of loyalty oath at any point during this process and I sure as heck didn’t offer one Christopher Wray

“No one asked me for any kind of loyalty oath at any point during this process,” he said, “and I sure as heck didn’t offer one.”

Wray, 50, would inherit thecountry’s top law enforcement agency at a challenging time, given the dismissal of Comey by a president who has appeared to disregard the boundary between the White House and the FBI.

Wray’s career has included a stint as a top justice department official in the administration of George W Bush and white collar work at an international law firm. He served in the government when harsh interrogation techniques were approved for terror suspects captured overseas. Wray said he was never involved in signing off on those methods.

As a candidate, Trump professed support for waterboarding. Wray said he considered torture to be wrong and ineffective. “The FBI is going to play no part in the use of any techniques of that sort,” he said.

Wednesday’s Senate hearing offered the first public, close-up look at the nominee and his background. Several senators stated that they felt he was “the right man for the job”. The Obama administration attorney general Eric Holder and Sally Yates, the deputy attorney general who was sacked by Donald Trump, were among signatories to an open letter endorsing Wray’s selection.

Attorneys and FBI agents who have worked with Wray describe him as a steady hand, dedicated and low-key, seemingly impervious to political influence. An association representing the majority of FBI agents on Monday voiced its support for Wray, saying “he understands the nature of investigative work and the centrality of special agents to the mission of the FBI”.

Bill Mateja, a Dallas attorney who worked with Wray in the justice department, said “he has a great moral compass and he’s no one’s minion”.

Wray also faced questions about his relationships with Comey and Mueller. Trump allies have said Mueller’s closeness to Comey shows he cannot lead an unbiased probe. But Trump nominated Wray despite his having worked with both men.

Wray was at the justice department in 2004 when Comey, then deputy attorney general, was prepared to resign in a dispute with the White House over the reauthorization of a domestic surveillance program. Wray stopped Comey in the hallway one night amid resignation rumors with a particular request, according to a 2011 book by Garrett Graff, The Threat Matrix.

Rightwing media struggles to defend Trump Jr's meeting with Russia lawyer Read more

“Look, I don’t know what’s going on, but before you guys all pull the rip cords, please give me a heads-up so I can jump with you,” Wray is quoted as saying.

Those who know him say that unlike the outspoken Comey, Wray would be a more reserved leader, which could bode well for the agency at a time when its work has been thrust into the center of a political maelstrom.

He has deep experience in Washington, having served as head of the justice department’s criminal division, a position that had him overseeing major criminal prosecutions – such as the special task force investigating the Enron collapse – and also developing the government’s legal response to terrorism and national security threats.

Over the past decade, he has worked in private practice at King & Spalding in Atlanta, where he has defended large corporations and financial institutions in criminal and civil cases. He provided legal services to Johnson & Johnson, Wells Fargo, Credit Suisse and the fantasy sports providers DraftKings and FanDuel, among other big-name clients, according to ethics documents released on Monday.

If confirmed, Wray will have to step aside for a year from matters involving those clients and the law firm. He also assisted the New Jersey governor Chris Christie during the so-called Bridgegate scandal.