Chris Christie's Attorney Tapped for FBI Chief

President Trump has tapped criminal defense attorney Christopher A. Wray to head the FBI after James Comey's abrupt firing in May. Given Wray's background in federal law enforcement, the New York Times calls it "a safe, mainstream pick" that is likely to soothe those who feared Trump "would try to weaken or politicize the FBI." More recently, the partner at law firm King & Spalding also served as lawyer for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie during the Bridgegate scandal, report NBC New York and the Washington Post. In a tweet announcing his pick Wednesday, Trump described Wray as "a man of impeccable credentials."

After graduating from Yale Law School in 1992, Wray served as a federal prosecutor in Atlanta before joining the Justice Department as an associate deputy attorney general in 2001. He then headed the Department's criminal division from 2003 to 2005. NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly and Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers were also interviewed for the post after Joe Lieberman dropped out of the running. (More FBI stories.)