FBI director Jim Comey suggested on Wednesday that he’s not leaving the bureau anytime soon, at least not on his own accord.
“You’re stuck with me for about another six and a half years, and so I’d love to be invited back again,” Comey said during a speech at the Boston Conference on Cyber Security at Boston College.
Politico first flagged Comey’s remarks at the conference.
Comey’s job status became an open question over the weekend after President Trump claimed on Twitter that former President Obama ordered wiretaps of the billionaire’s phones at Trump Tower.
Comey was reportedly upset with the claim to the point that top FBI officials asked the Justice Department to publicly rebut Trump’s claim. According to The New York Times, Comey was frustrated because he thought that Trump’s tweets implied that the FBI broke the law.
Asked Tuesday whether Trump still has confidence in Comey, White House press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters he had no information to suggest otherwise.
The FBI is reportedly conducting an investigation into whether any Trump campaign officials coordinated with the Russian government to influence the presidential campaign.
Investigators have reportedly gathered evidence of conversations between former Trump advisers and Russian government figures. But it is unclear what methods were used to obtain that evidence. Some outlets have reported that the FBI obtained a warrant in federal court to conduct surveillance of two Russian banks.
It is not entirely clear why Trump took to Twitter to accuse Obama of ordering wiretaps against his phones. The most likely theory is that Trump reached that conclusion after reading an article posted on Breitbart News on Friday.
Comey did not address Trump’s claims during Wednesday’s speech. He also did not discuss the investigation. He is expected to testify at a hearing for the House Intelligence Committee on March 20.
