FBI Director James Comey Pulls Out As Speaker For Austin SXSW Panel Discussion

AUSTIN, TX — FBI Director James Comey is out. Not as head of the intelligence agency, but as a speaker at next week's SXSW after cancelling his appearance, according to a news advisory.

SXSW officials in January announced their first big get in terms of invited guests for panel discussions by alerting they had booked Comey. He was scheduled to speak about cybersecurity, to be joined on the dais by Newseum CEO Jeffrey Herbst.

But that's no longer the case: "FBI Director James Comey will be unable to attend SXSW due to scheduling conflicts keeping him in Washington D.C.," SXSW organizers wrote in a Tuesday advisory. No further details were given.

Taking Comey's place will be FBI General Counsel James Baker. Good news for Newseum fans: Herbst is still on.

Editor's note: This is not James Baker, attorney and statesman, who served as White House chief of staff and secretary of Treasury under President Ronald Reagan and as secretary of State and White House chief of staff under President George H.W. Bush. It's another guy named James Baker, younger than the other James Baker.

Baker (the guy now substituting for Comey) has worked on all manner of national security investigations and prosecutions as a long-serving Department of Justice official, SXSW officials noted. He and Herbst will are scheduled to discuss the intersection of national security, technology and First Amendment rights, according to SXSW officials.

"In light of the Snowden revelations and the FBI vs Apple controversies, the speed at which technology has overwhelmed our regulatory and legal apparatus makes these issues particularly timely to discuss," officials noted.

The Snowden reference relates to Edward Snowden, a computer expert and former CIA worker who copied and leaked information from the National Security Agency in 2013 without authorization. Now in self-imposed exile in Russia, Snowden unleashed an eyebrow-raising Pandora's Box of findings related to global surveillance programs, many run by the NSA and the Five Eyes Intelligence Alliance, with the cooperation of telecommunication companies and European governments.

Related story: FBI Director James Comey Confirmed As Speaker For Upcoming SXSW In Downtown Austin

Newseum's Herbst put a positive spin on the sudden Comey cancellation: “While Director Comey is now unable to attend, we’re still really excited that this important conversation will take place,” he said in a prepared statement.

It's still sure to be an interesting talk, SXSW officials assured: "SXSW looks forward to a thought-provoking discussion."

This Comey-less session will take place on Monday, March 13 at the Hilton Austin Downtown at 5 p.m. and is in partnership with the Newseum, a 501(c)3 public charity.

Comey's understandably has got a full plate. Lately, he's locked horns with President Trump after the president, without evidence, over the weekend accused former President Barack Obama of unilaterally wiretapping the phones at Trump Tower. The accusation was made via Twitter, Trump's preferred mode of communication.

Comey inserted himself in the controversy, assuring the wiretapping never occurred, couldn't occur without a special court order and asking DOJ officials to reject the assertion. In response, Trump reportedly replied he simply didn't believe Comey.

So, yeah, Comey's got a bit on his plate these days.

>>> Photo of Newseum CEO Jeffrey Herbst (left) and FBI general counsel James Baker (right) courtesy of SXSW as is photo of Herbst and FBI Director James Comey