Obama: New FBI director comey will lead struggle against terrorism

President Barack Obama on Monday praised incoming FBI Director James Comey as a former prosecutor in the front line against terrorism who "will lead in that struggle." Obama spoke at the swearing-in ceremony for Comey, who succeeds longtime Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Robert Mueller. Comey was a decorated assistant US attorney in New York and Virginia, US attorney for the Southern District of New York and deputy attorney general under Attorney General John Ashcroft in the George W. Bush administration. Addressing the employees at FBI headquarters, Obama noted that the FBI "joins forces with our intelligence, our military and homeland security professionals to break up all manner of threats, from taking down drug rings to stopping those who prey on children to breaking up Al-Qaeda cells and disrupting their activities, thwarting their plots. And your mission keeps expanding because the nature of the threats is always changing." In his remarks following those of the President, Comey said the FBI must abide two obligations at the same time. "First, the FBI must be independent of all political forces or interests in this country," he said. "In a real sense, it must stand apart from other institutions in American life. But second, at the same time, it must be part of the United States Department of Justice and constrained by the rule of law and the checks and balances built into our brilliant design by our nation's founders." Comey added that "without integrity, all is lost. ... The FBI's reputation for integrity is a gift given to every new (FBI) employee by those who went before, but it is a gift that must be protected and earned every single day."