WASHINGTON (AP) — While Democrats may trot out any number of demands or maneuvers to influence the selection of the next director of the FBI, here’s a reality check: Republican President Donald Trump fired James Comey, and he and his party will decide who’s next.
And they’re not wasting time. Trump said Monday the selection process for a nominee for FBI director was “moving rapidly.”
But Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), vice chairman of the Senate intelligence committee, told WTOP’s Dave McConnell on Monday, “Before I support a new FBI director, I would like to see a special prosecutor named so that there is an independent investigation.”
In an initial statement made the same day of Comey’s firing last Tuesday, Warner had said, “Now more than ever, it is vital that our ongoing investigation is completed in a credible and bipartisan way.”
Warner also told WTOP on Monday that the special prosecutor would not slow down the investigation and would give “one more level of independence.”
And while Warner does support other options such as an independent commission or counsel, he said those options might take more time because of new legislation that would have to be passed.
“I support any one of these options that will help us maintain the independence and not slow down the investigation,” he said.
Democrats irate over Comey’s abrupt ouster, and concerned by the inclusion of politicians on the list of possible replacements, are demanding Trump not select a partisan leader.
“What I want to see for the next FBI director is someone who’s got a long-term law enforcement background. I don’t think this is the time to put in a political person,” Warner said.
Although Democrats are likely to mount considerable pressure before and during the confirmation process, they don’t control enough votes to influence the outcome since Republicans hold a 52-seat majority in the Senate.
“If they can keep all 52 together, then it won’t matter,” said Michael Gerhardt, a constitutional law professor at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. If Republicans “start to lose a couple, or two or three look like they’re not on board, that could create more pressure on the majority leader and the president to perhaps do something other than what they were planning on doing.”
The next director will immediately be confronted with oversight of an FBI investigation into possible coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign, an inquiry the bureau’s acting head, Andrew McCabe, has called “highly significant.”
The person also will have to win the support of rank-and-file agents angered by the ouster of Comey, who was broadly supported within the FBI. And the new director will almost certainly have to work to maintain the bureau’s credibility by asserting political independence in the face of a president known for demanding loyalty from the people he appoints.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein interviewed eight candidates Saturday, including some who were not among the names distributed a day earlier by the White House. The list includes current and former FBI and Justice Department leaders, federal judges and Republicans who have served in Congress.
Among those interviewed was McCabe, though it’s not clear how seriously he’s being considered.
It’d be unusual for the White House to elevate an FBI agent to the role of director, and McCabe during a Senate hearing last week broke with the White House’s explanations for Comey’s firing and its dismissive characterization of the Russia investigation.
FBI directors have predominantly been drawn from the ranks of prosecutors and judges. Comey, for instance, was a former United States Attorney in Manhattan before being appointed deputy attorney general by George W. Bush. His predecessor, Robert Mueller, was a U.S. attorney in San Francisco.
One contender who could prove politically palatable is Michael Garcia, a former U.S. attorney in Manhattan with significant experience in terrorism and public corruption investigations. He was appointed by FIFA in 2012 to investigate World Cup bidding contests. He later resigned after he said the global soccer organization had mischaracterized a lengthy investigative report he had produced.
The FBI Agents Association has endorsed former Republican congressman Mike Rogers, an ex-FBI agent and former chair of the House intelligence committee who had collegial relationships with his Democratic counterparts.
Senate Democrats have insisted that Trump should not pick a politician as the next FBI director. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday that the choice should be “certainly somebody not of a partisan background, certainly somebody of great experience and certainly somebody of courage.”
One Republican whose name had been mentioned as a possible candidate, Rep. Trey Gowdy of South Carolina, said Monday that he had taken himself out of the running.
Given the partisan uproar over Comey’s firing, Democrats seem unlikely to support any FBI candidate put forward by Trump. But the nominee will require only a simple majority vote in the 100-member Senate, meaning Republicans can use their 52-48 majority to confirm the next director without needing Democratic votes.
Democrats are demanding appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate Russia’s involvement in the 2016 election and ties to Trump’s campaign, and have discussed trying to slow down the confirmation process or other business of the Senate as a way of drawing attention to the demand.
Senate rules requiring unanimous consent or 60-vote thresholds on various procedural or legislative steps give Democrats the ability to slow the Senate to a crawl and delay committee hearings.
Given the Republicans’ narrow Senate majority, the larger consideration for the White House is that some GOP senators also insist on a non-partisan choice as the next FBI director.
GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said on “Meet the Press” that Trump has is obligated “to pick somebody beyond reproach outside the political lane.” Graham said under the circumstances he wouldn’t be able to support his colleague Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, the No. 2 Senate Republican, who is under consideration.
Some House Republicans, who technically have no role in the pick, have spoken out about the need for non-partisanship and independence.
“The FBI is America’s pre-eminent law enforcement agency. As such, it needs to be led by a person of unquestioned character and completely divorced from partisan politics,” GOP Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma wrote in an opinion column circulated Monday.
House Democrats are weighing their own steps related to the firing. Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is asking House Speaker Paul Ryan to join in a call for Rosenstein to brief House members, as he will do for senators Thursday. Democrats will also try to use a procedural maneuver to force a vote on legislation calling for an independent commission to investigate Russian election interference, although they’re unlikely to prevail.
WTOP’s Teta Alim and Dave McConnell contributed to this report.
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