FBI Director James Comey Cancels SXSW Appearance

FBI Director James Comey was scheduled to attend Texas’ South by Southwest festival next week but canceled unexpectedly.

FBI DIRECTOR JAMES COMEY PULLS OUT OF SXSW FESTIVAL

Comey cited scheduling conflicts in Washington that will keep him preoccupied and unable to attend. FBI General Counsel James Baker will go in his place. Comey was going to deliver a speech about “the tensions between privacy and national security” at the festival.

He became prominent in the media last year when he spoke publicly on multiple occasions about Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton‘s emails.

Jeffrey Herbst, president of DC’s Newseum, will interview Baker about interactive technology on the first day of the festival. Donald Trump recently accused the Obama administration of wiretapping his Trump Tower phones during the election season last year. Trump had asked the Justice Department to investigate. Former Obama administration officials denied the allegations.

Read SXSW’s press release about Comey’s lack of appearance in the tweet below.