Obama Nominates Comey to Head FBI

President Obama  nominated Bush-era U.S. prosecutor James Comey to head the  FBI  when Robert Mueller steps down from his post in September, the FBI announced Friday.

When serving under President George W. Bush, Comey won praise from Democrats for his attempt to stop the reauthorization of a warrantless eavesdropping program in 2004 as a high-ranking Department of Justice official.

After serving as deputy attorney general from 2003 to 2005, Comey took a positions as general counsel of defense contractor Lockheed Martin and later at investment firm Bridgewater Associates. This year he joined Columbia University's law school as a senior research fellow and joined the board of international banking giant HSBC.

Comey must be confirmed by the Senate.