FBI nominee faces questions from lawmakers, weighs in on Trump Jr’s emails

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FBI Director nominee Christopher Wray listens to closing remarks after testifying on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, July 12, 2017, at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

In the U.S., President Donald Trump’s nominee for FBI Director faced tough questions from lawmakers. Did President Trump in fact collude with the Russians during last year’s presidential election?

CGTN’s Jessica Stone has the latest on the investigation.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s pick to be America’s top cop said he’d rather resign than allow interference in one of his investigations.

Fifty year old Christopher Wray, the nominee to lead the FBI, took questions from lawmakers, Wednesday, over how he would handle the Russia probe: one of the most consequential investigations in decades.That probe – includes the White House and accusations that the presidential campaign of Donald Trump colluded with Moscow during the 2016 race.

Trump has questioned the unanimous assessment of the U.S. intelligence community that the Kremlin tried to interfere in the election.

“I have no reason to doubt the conclusions of the intelligence community,” Wray testified. “I think an effort to interfere in our elections is an adversarial act.”

Wray’s confirmation hearing comes one day after Trump’s son, Donald Jr., released an email exchange with a music publicist setting up a meeting with a Kremlin-connected Russian attorney.

One email sent June 3, 2016 to Trump Jr.  offers him information that would incriminate Trump’s opponent, Hillary Clinton, and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father. It goes on to say, “This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government’s support for Mr. Trump.”

Donald Jr.’s response, minutes later: “…If it’s what you say I love it especially later in the summer.”

More than a year later, he’s changed his mind:

“In retrospect, I probably would have done things a little differently,” said Donald Trump Jr. in a FOX News Channel interview on the Hannity show, Tuesday night. “I don’t even think my sirens went up or the antennas went up at this time because of it, because it wasn’t the issue it was made out to be over the last nine months.”

Asked:”Did you tell your father anything about this,” Donald Trump Jr. responded: “It was such a nothing, there was nothing to tell.”

Wray said Trump Jr. made the wrong call.


Harlan Ullman discusses the legal issues plaguing the Trump administration

To discusses the current issues happening in the Trump White House, including the leak from Donald Trump Jr of emails with a Russian lawyer, CGTN’s Mike Walter spoke to Harlan Ullman, a senior advisor at the Atlantic Council.