Top tier: Mark Filip, Michael Luttig, John Pistole, Mike Rogers, Ken Wainstein, Fran Townsend.
Middle tier: Kelly Ayotte, Dana Boente, Alice Fisher, Chuck Rosenberg, George Terwilliger, Larry Thompson.
Bottom tier: Chris Christie, John Cornyn, Rudy Giuliani, Trey Gowdy, Ray Kelly, Amy St. Eve.
May 13, 2017
David Lat puts 18 candidates for FBI Director into 3 tiers.
Details on the candidates here. Final slotting into tiers:
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87 comments:
David Clarke must be in the ultra-top tier.
Need four levels.
The new Director needs to have been an agent. I still favor Louis Freeh.
"Pistole" -- perfect for the G-Man!
So many heads popping if it were Rudy you'd think Bubble Wrap.
Washington State's Congressman and former police detective, Dave Reichert, was said to be under consideration. Other than that possibility, I favor Trey Gowdy.
mockturtle,
I think Gowdy is too much identified with Republican/Democrat skirmishes in Congress. I'm still hoping for an accomplished senior agent of no discernible politics.
I'm surprised not to see Hillary on the list. She's had a lot of experience with investigations -- I mean security reviews.
Blogger The Godfather said..."I'm surprised not to see Hillary on the list. She's had a lot of experience with investigations -- I mean security reviews."
Nah, she has no experience with a real investigation.
Blogger JPS said...
mockturtle,
I think Gowdy is too much identified with Republican/Democrat skirmishes in Congress. I'm still hoping for an accomplished senior agent of no discernible politics.
So you mean a Democrat.
More dishonesty and plain bad journalism from the NY Times.
Today they have this article in the Politics section:
‘Looking Like a Liar or a Fool’: What It Means to Work for Trump.
So which Trump staffer said that working for Trump meant 'looking like a liar or a fool'?
None of the them. The quote is from Obama staffer David Axelrod.
Merrick Garland for FBI Director? Welcome to the most amazing Republican troll job yet.
"bi-partisan" support...on what planet?
Lewis Wetzel reports: The quote is from Obama staffer David Axelrod.
Appropriate, since Axelrod is both liar and fool.
Could Dalwick's article be any more full of strawmen and canards?
I especially enjoyed this mother-of-all-howlers:
"...Deploying the same impeccable logic that allowed the White House to convince itself that Democrats would celebrate the firing of Comey because they like Hillary Clinton more than the rule of law..."
I saw someone suggest Merrick Garland. It was a troll of the GOP, but it's really a terrific suggestion. Everyone would trust him, and no-one could argue Trump is looking for a cover up. Plus, a vacancy to fill! Never happen, but can you imagine Feder's head if it did?
I like Rudy but a politician would be a catastrophic error.
Mike Rogers'll be the Man.
I'd prefer a cop, rather than a lawyer. How about Bo Dietl?
Gowdy is too strange looking and partisan. Trump should look for someone in the mode of the first Director, J Edgar Hoover. Chelsea Manning is out of Leavenworth soon and Caitlyn Jenner is also available.
Pistole is a bible thumping Hoosier, friend of Pence, and worked for Obama. I would bet on him.
Judge St. Eve would be a fantastic choice -extremely bright, accomplished and beyond reproach. It would make me ill, however, to see how the left would try to drag her good name through the mud.
It will be a lot more peaceful if the next chief comes from within the FBI.
But not McCabe; any connection to Terry Mc Awful, even secondhand, is disqualifying.
Gowdy.
I worked for Mark Filip and found him to be the most intelligent lawyer I had ever met. Also I would bet my life on his good values and integrity. He'd be an excellent choice.
Amy St. Eve would also be amazing.
But like the previous commenter said, it would wreck me to see what the media would do to them.
Why not Chelsea Clinton?
It would be nice if someone with a modicum of honesty and honor was selected to head the Bureau, which has not had any such leadership in its entire existence.
Do not forget that the only president to resign in office was taken out, secretly, by the FBI second-in-command. For petty, spiteful reasons, too.
nsspinelli retorts: Gowdy is too strange looking and partisan. Trump should look for someone in the mode of the first Director, J Edgar Hoover.
Right. Nothing strange looking about Hoover.
Christie and Giuliani are non-starters so for them it's just an Honorable Mention.
No one on the list represents the last straw. Which leads one to believe that the name of Trump's final pick has yet to be mentioned. Because he or she would be viewed as so outrageous on the left, the name itself would telegraph Trump's intention to once again implement his this-is-the-last-straw strategy.
Stay tuned.
Oso Negro,
"So you mean a Democrat."
No. If I'd meant that, I would have written, "I'm still hoping for a Democrat."
I would bet 4 figures whoever it is, will be shorter than Trump.
Hows about Joe Biden, he's smart, like Fredo?
Perfect opportunity for Trump to troll some more. Leak Biden's name, then when asked, say he won't discount it.
Normally, FBI directors since Hoover have been non-partisans with FBI/Federal Prosecutor experience. I think that rules out any current/past Senator or Congressman or Giuliani/Christie.
Of course, any Trump nominee has to get past the obstructionist Democrats.
Also, if you don't want a showboat, you'd better avoid Rudy, Christie, or a Senator/Congressman.
It'd be great if someone from Trump's Press office would save all the insane tweets/comments from the MSM and various columnists over the past week over the Comey firing.
These people have zero credibility, and it shouldn't be forgotten. I for example wonder why anyone takes David Frum seriously after he tweeted "Its a Coup" after Comey was fired.
The smartest thing Trump did was choose Sessions as AG.
"Amy St. Eve would also be amazing."
Wasn't she a Bond Girl?
I stand with Fran. She will take no bullshit from anyone.
" I for example wonder why anyone takes David Frum seriously after he tweeted "Its a Coup" after Comey was fired.~"
There may be a coup going on, but by whom and against whom?
"David Clarke must be in the ultra-top tier."
The Black Donald Trump. Sorry. One is enough. (And I admire Clark.)
ockturtle quipped: Right. Nothing strange looking about Hoover.
Agree. You can't really dress up Hoover's looks.
"Hows about Joe Biden, he's smart, like Fredo?"
There's a reason Washington pols have drivers, otherwise they'd never find their way to the office.
Mike Rogers just got a key endorsement.
What makes David Lat's opinion more valid than anyone else's? He is just a blogger.
Brian Lamb is a great interviewer, and unlike Terry, doesn't push his agenda into the interview. Unlike Gross, Brian is respected on both sides of the aisle.
Chickelit quips: You can't really dress up Hoover's looks. ;-)
David Frum like Dahlia Lithwick is a Canadian, hence they speak American politics as a second language, always a little off.
Anybody on that list but McCabe.
Pistole is the only name on that list that I think is in the running. Most likely, the pick will not come from that list. Just my opinion.
You can't really dress up Hoover's looks.
I've always heard rumors about Hoover's cross-dressing. I was surprised to discover just how poorly sourced these rumors are.
Funny, John Pistole was my stage name when I was banging chicks in porno flicks.
Tom Cotton.
That would be a nice feather in his cap before he becomes a Supreme Court Justice.
On paper, you could hardly do better than Mike Rogers. His CV is perfect; his political position is ideal. He's a former FBI agent. He's the right age.
But he's been fired by Team Trump once already:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2016/11/15/why-mike-rogerss-departure-from-the-trump-team-is-alarming/?utm_term=.761b0c2a8c47
I actually think that if offered, Mike Rogers might turn them down.
Luttig I would like. He's made his fortune now thanks to Boeing after having been a superstar judge on the Fourth Circuit. And being financially secure now, this is one of the very, very few ways he would re-enter public life.
Or, Trump could make the ultimate bi-partisan move and nominate Comey, the new-found hero of the Democrats (but only if Comey promises undying loyalty and to re-open and pursue the Hillary email investigation to a successful prosecution)! I mean, its not like Trump can't fire him if he proves unsatisfactory again.
I think John Cornyn would be the best possible pick. He is a get-down-to-business guy and Obama has already politicized the FBI with McCabe. If the Republicans want to survive they have to fight fire with fire and someone like Cornyn in there. He should be confirmed because of Senatorial courtesy and his replacement should be Gov. Abbott.
"But he's been fired by Team Trump once already:"
I forget the details and am not interested enough to look for them but he was fired for cause.
He would be the last guy Trump should appoint to such a post.
None of those candidates are acceptable. I hope the Senate rejects any candidate who says he (or she) is loyal to President Trump. While I think the president is entitled to loyalty from all the other executive branch chiefs, I don't think that's the case with the head of the secret police because the potential for abuse is just too high. The FBI chief should be non-partisan, above reproach, and owing no political loyalty to anyone.
Who's the shortest of the eighteen?
Could be that DJT is subconsciously assuming shorter dudes have smaller hands, and such.
DJT should go w/ the dude w/ the smallest hands, to make himself feel better.
Or, a chick.
Or.......an Asian.
Douglas, the United States does not have a secret police.
Douglas, granting your premise, it is even more dangerous for a director of the "secret police" to instead have loyalty, declared or implicit, to a counter-faction diametrically opposed to the president/his party.
This really needs to be a cop or former agent. No more prosecutors pretending to be the AG. And no more politicians, even pretty good ones like Gowdy.
Chuck: "On paper, you could hardly do better than Mike Rogers. His CV is perfect; his political position is ideal. He's a former FBI agent. He's the right age"
Except he is also known for issuing "definitive" reports without bothering to interview key witnesses.
I don't think that is a resume bullet we want in someone for this position.
There are better candidates.
Why not pick from a list generated by Democrats? Let them put their skin in the game. This position should be 100% non political, Let the Dems pick, and if their choice goes off the rails, President Trump can fire him/he, and blame the Dems for installing such an ideologue.
Whoever gets the position needs to have some law enforcement experience. Law enforcement is, we might remember, the function of the agency.
Ayotte is a disappointment. Went to Washington with a good line, was immediately taken on a boat ride with newbies and Schumer, and lost her religion.
Please, God, no!
With due respect to Mr. Lat, his personal opinions on the tier rankings, unsupported by any facts or analysis, wasn't worth the mouseclick to me.
Can't seem to get too excited over this subject. It is such an utter banality and distraction. The Russia investigation is a complete waste of time and resources. The #1 thing the FBI should be doing right now is providing additional law enforcement resources to those urban areas that have seen a spike in homicides over the last couple of years thanks to the so called "Ferguson effect."
One of the errors of the constitution is that the executive is simply too powerful. If the federal government were kept to its constitutional limits, it would not be much of an issue. But now that we have accepted an essentially omnipotent federal government, the head of that government (the unitary executive) simply wields more power than can be effectively managed. I think it would be preferable to divide the executive into at a president, an attorney general, and a chief financial officer, and have each position nationally elected. In that system, the attorney general would have ultimate authority over the Justice Department.
Who Trump picks I haven't a clue but I hope he picks one with the fortitude to go after high level corruption on government starting with the Clintons and their enablers in the Obama Administration. He should also fire McCabe who appears to be compromised.
I agree McCabe should be fired. That's a no-brainer. McCabe is like Yates, a Dem political hack controlled by the Clintonistas (VA Governor Terry McAuliffe who should be investigated for illegal foreign fundraising).
But more than that, there have been 8 years of political appointments all throughout the bureaucracy and these people are surfacing time after time to thwart the Republican agenda. Because of this politicization, Republicans must appoint loyalists, not "non-partisans," in an effort to achieve some kind of control. There are no "non-partisans" these days.
All hacks must be fired. Yes - anyone tainted with Clinton/ McAuliffe slime cannot be trusted.
McCabe must go.
Drudge has a stupid link as his main this AM. The title teases the idea of Trump cleaning house by removing all the entrenched Obama-hires and corruptocrats that infest our bureaucracies. Hope!? Nope. Instead it's expected angry internal house cleaning. Fire everyone but the family...
and probably fake news.
It is no business of the police to "enforce the law."
Police arrests suspected malefactors, prosecutors prosecute them, juries determine if the prosecution is justified, and then it is up to the judge to "enforce the law."
Hagar, the Bureau defines itself as a law enforcement organization.
A little perspective:
http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2017/05/russian_hacking_and_collusion_put_the_cards_on_the_table_.html
Trump should go for MARK FELT
WP - how-mark-felt-became-deep-throat
Then every day we can be reminded what the Bureau REALLY does via a recent Leader/Hero.
Blogger Hagar said...
and you could argue that judges only get to decide if the law should be enforced; there is still the Department of Corrections with its parole board, not to mention that these days presidents and governors are not bashful about issuing directives modifying the judges' sentences.
He was not a hero, he was a passed over senior bureaucrat who leaked grand jury transcripts to Woodward and Bernstein, ironically this caused chain reaction that put him in the dock, for managing operations against the weatherman terrorists. Reagan ultimately parsinec him before it went to trial
Well, mockturtle, if it is so that James Comey said and did all those things on his own hook (Which I still find difficult to believe), that notion of the FBI may be why he did that.
So where is he now?
Max Holland's bio, of felt, which was not th consulted for the film with Liam needs in shows everything Bob Woodward made up,
For the book and film.
My point, Hagar, is that the FBI has been doing everything BUT law enforcement. Which is why I favor former prosecutor Trey Gowdy.
And my point is that enforcinng the law is none of the FBI's business. It is a police agency.
I think you are viewing law enforcement too narrowly.
Mike Rogers did a terrible job on Benghazi. I guess we could omit "Investigation" from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and just shorten the whole thing to FB. I think they are called Fee Bee's in some quarters already.
Is Mark Felt still available?
If Merrick Garland accepted the FBI job and gave up his judgeship, I think he would be too stupid to be FBI Director. I'm sure he's disappointed that he lost out on the Supreme Court, but trading a lifetime judicial appointment for this mess? I would be surprised and dismayed. Aside from his bad haircuts, I think Trey Gowdy is right where he belongs. The FBI Director need not be a clever lawyer but rather someone who can restore dignity and stability to that office.
By the way, I won't plug one of my books by name but in it, my character befriends a stray Boston Terrier and names him J. Edgar because of his looks and because, whenever J. Edgar enters a room, he sniffs around every corner and then lies down and sleeps with one eye open watching the door. Ever vigilant.
And the nominee is Christopher Wray.
missed it by that much
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