FBI Director James Comey Scheduled To Speak This Week At University Of Texas-Austin

AUSTIN, TX — FBI Director James Comey will be featured in an upcoming symposium centered on key national security challenges at the University of Texas at Austin on Thursday, school officials confirmed.

The Intelligence Studies Project at The University of Texas at Austin and the Business Executives for National Security will host a symposium to discuss key national security challenges facing the U.S. intelligence community and law enforcement agencies in detecting and disrupting terror attacks inside the U.S., university officials said.

Titled "Intelligence in Defense of the Homeland," the talk will take place at the Etter-Harbin Alumni Center Ballroom at 2110 San Jacinto Blvd. from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. It's open to the public, but advance registration is required for each session.

The aim of the symposium "...is aimed at promoting the exchange of well-informed views on critical security issues and policies," university officials explained. Comey is scheduled to deliver his keynote remarks at 10:30 a.m., but will not be taking questions from the media per a university advisory.

Comey's upcoming presence in Austin comes after he abruptly bowed out of attending SXSW, where he was scheduled to be part of a panel discussion. Comey had been scheduled to speak during the Austin conference on March 13 in a conversation moderated by Newseum CEO Jeffrey Herbst. But citing scheduling conflicts, Comey pulled out of his scheduled appearance and FBI General Counsel James Baker was recruited to fill in for him at the last minute.

The arrival of Comey also comes on the heels of his historic congressional testimony on Monday during which he confirmed the falsehood of a tweeted assertion made by Donald Trump accusing former President Barack Obama of having ordered the wiretapping of Trump Towers. Comey confirmed that no president would have the ability or authority to unilaterally order such wiretapping to take place.

At that same hearing, Comey confirmed the intelligence community is actively investigating interference by Russia in the November presidential elections, including potential communication members of Trump's campaign team may have had with Russian officials prior to the general election.

Related stories: Watch Replay: FBI Director James Comey Confirms Probe Into Russian Interference, Trump Links

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Like Monday's hearing, the symposium is expected to be live streamed. University officials said they would release more details on that streaming availability at a later time. In addition to Comey, other intelligence officials are slated to speak:

• Thomas Bossert, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism.
• Adm. Kurt Tidd, Commander, U.S. Southern Command
• Lt. Gen. John Bansemer, Assistant Director of National Intelligence.
• Steve McCraw, Director of the Texas Department of Public Safety.
• William McRaven, Chancellor of the University of Texas System.

The full list of speakers and the symposium agenda along with event times can be found here. The event is co-sponsored by the Robert Strauss Center for International Security and Law, the Clements Center for National Security and the LBJ School of Public Affairs.

The Clements Center is a nonpartisan research and policy center drawing on expert insights into diplomatic and military history to train the next generation of national security leaders, according to university officials. For its part, the Strauss Center integrates expertise from across the university, as well as from the private and public sectors, in pursuit of practical solutions to emerging international challenges, school officials added.

>>> Photo of James Comey via FBI website