FBI director James Comey has announced that he’s canceling a planned address at SXSW, citing scheduling conflicts. Comey had been slated to be interviewed at the festival by Newseum CEO Jeffrey Herbst.
Stepping into replace Comey at the event will be former FBI General Counsel James Baker.
Comey has been front and center in American politics in the last year, first with the politically charged investigation of former Sec. of State and 2016 Democratic Presidential nominee Hilary Clinton’s private email usage. Then, in October, Comey threw a wrench into the election when he raised questions about Clinton’s email again, apparently without any justification. Now, after the election, he’s been pulled into the debate about President Trump’s apparently baseless charges that former US president Barack Obama wiretapped Trump’s campaign.
Media reports have stated that Comey has privately asked the U.S. Justice Department to dispute Trump’s claims.