From Politico.
Lieberman emerges as front-runner for FBI post
Joe Lieberman, the former Democratic vice-presidential nominee, is the front-runner to be named FBI director, according to several White House officials and advisers.
Senior administration officials have told others in the last 12 hours that Trump is expected to pick Lieberman to replace FBI director James Comey, who was abruptly fired by Trump last week.
A person familiar with Wednesday’s meeting said Trump bonded with Lieberman, and the president left leaning towards the former Connecticut senator, who retired in 2013. Trump has not signaled otherwise that anyone else is the favorite, aides said, and has told one adviser he wants to make an announcement before he leaves Friday on his first foreign trip.
Trump told reporters Thursday afternoon “we’re very close to an FBI director” and that the pick would be announced soon. When asked whether Lieberman was among the finalists, he replied yes.
—snip—
Gotta hand it to him. Trump’s gonna get even no matter what. He drops…or at least threatens to drop… this double/triple agent Dem who has always known on which side his own personal bread is buttered on the FBI and then steps onto Air Force One and flies away.
Can you imagine what a nasty little hustler like this could do to the FBI???!!! First of all, if there any honest and intelligent people left in the FBI they would all tender their resignations and get out while the getting is good. Meanwhile, Lieberman would hustle, tunnel and politic his way into making the FBI totally useless in any political investigation. Trump didn’t even need to ask for Lieberman’s personal loyalty. He was probably too busy trying to fend him off from unzipping the presidential pants even before coffee was served.
Joe Lieberman.
I thought we were through with him.
But NOOOOOoooo…
Here he is again, as groveling and two-faced as he was when he last disappeared.
Disgusting!!!
AG
P.S. I’ll bet he tied his red tie too long just to impress The Man.
I thought it was Mueller?
Keep up. Mueller was appointed by Rosenstein as special counsel on the claim that Russia interfered in the US election and colluded with members of Trump’s team.
The FBI Director slot is open since Comey was fired.
Ailes may now be dead but the DC denizens that we keep thinking have gone away are like zombies. They keep popping up to torture us.
My bad. Of coyse, you are right. But I did hear that he was going to keep the deputy as director. Another statement no longer operative?
Okay, how it appears to work is that in the absence of a FBI Director, the President does appoint an Acting Director. A position that ends upon the nomination and confirmation of a new Director. The convention for some time has been for the Deputy Director to be assigned the Acting position. No Senate confirmation required. The FBI Director, and not the President, selects the Deputy Director, apparently always from the ranks of career FBI employees.
This structure, with a Deputy Director as 2nd in command followed by Associate Deputy Director, Chief of Staff, and Deputy Chief of Staff, was only formalized in the early 1990s. Before then it was somewhat of a muddle. J Edgar Hoover had an Associate Director and after that a Deputy Associate Director. From 1930 to 1972 Clyde Tolson was Associate Director. Hoover appointed Mark Felt Deputy Associate Director in 1971. Hoover died 5/2/72 and on 5/3/72 Nixon named L Patrick Gray as the Acting Director. Tolson had Felt write his letter of resignation/retirement on 5/3/72. Undefined is who, if anyone, promoted Felt to Associate Director in 1972.
Early in 1973, Nixon nominated Gray for FBI Director. (Before confirmation hearings, Nixon had withdrawn Gray’s nomination for Deputy AG in ’72 when he appointed him acting FBI Director.) Gray’s nomination failed during the confirmation hearings. Gray resigned and Ruckleshaus became Acting Director. On 6/7/73 Nixon nominated Clarence Kelly who was quickly confirmed. Mark Felt retired/resigned in between Kelly’s nomination and confirmation.
(heh — and younger people today think the current WH gyrations are unprecedented.)
In retrospect, it seems odd that Nixon didn’t move quickly and nominate Gray when he likely would have been confirmed. Only did so after Gray had demonstrated his loyalty by interfering with the subsequent Watergate burglary investigation. His Senate Judiciary confirmation hearing began on 2/28/72. (Not to be forgotten, Nixon fired the CIA Director earlier that month.)
No, not to be forgotten! Wild days. I was working for the Navy in Hyattsville MD at the time. The Monday morning after the Saturday Night Massacre, I went to work and happened to use the Men’s room. Someone had written in Marker on the wall of the stall. “Nixon is a Cox sacker”. Pretty much tells you what we thought. One of the young guys (hey, I was young too!) ran all the football pools. He started an impeachment pool but closed it down when our GS-16 told him that he turned a blind eye to the sports pools but felt that an impeachment pool was inappropriate for a government office.
Let’s also not forget that Agnew resigned a couple of weeks before the Saturday Night Massacre.
Maybe we should list all the high level government officials that were out and had to be replaced in that period from April ’72 through July ’74. Were any military scalps taken during that period? heh — Kissinger was probably secretly running the whole damn government.
The Nattering Nabob of Negativity?
Yeah, taking delayed payoffs from his Baltimore County days right in the Veep’s office. Baltimore County may be worse than Cook County IL, but only “may”.
IIRC, three Maryland governors in a row were caught taking bribes. Including Marvin Mandel whose wife kicked him out of the Governor’s Mansion during their divorce. I forget the name of the third governor.
Most states suffer along with incompetent (TX) to dreadful (currently KS, WI, and several others) and mediocre governors. Then there’s IL. (It’s safe to say that Illinois has set a standard that’s hard to match — three governors convicted of felonies since the late 1980s, beginning with Democrat Daniel Walker, who went to prison in a savings and loan scandal.)
Here’s the List of American state and local politicians convicted of crimes. Our criminal justice systems have either gotten much better at going after crooked politicians or more and/or dumber crooks have been getting elected. My guess is that it’s the latter beginning after WWII. A societal ethical decline combined with public office more a path to wealth and status than public service as honorable.
Then there those that escaped the short arm of the law for elites or resigned for non-criminal ethical failings.
From List of American federal politicians convicted of crimes, it increased with Nixon and hasn’t declined. No handy-dandy list of local, state, and federal judges but it’s not insignificant.
You write:
All of the above, Marie.
All of the above, with the “more crooks” idea in the lead. Both parties are now owned by criminal conspiracies in corporate clothing.
Ergo…more crooks are being elected.
AG
Perhaps, but as those aren’t the ones being busted, we only have the data on lower level federal officials and state and local officeholders to consider. Those numbers have increased but their criminal acts are the low rent stuff that’s existed for well over a hundred years. Nothing even close to being as widespread and organized as Teapot Dome and Tammany Hall.
I disagree.
The criminal conspiracies that are plainly in charge in…oh, in say Washington DC and Moscow…make the ones you reference look like tempests in a teapot.
AG
Wait until they find out about Pelosi!!!
AG
But she’s California. Bay Area, not so? I’m sure Marie can tell us a lot about her.
No, she’s old Baltimore political power. Herfather and brother were Baltimore mayors involved with the mafia.
Old style-Tammany Hall ward politics.
Crooked as a snake with a broken back.
AG
Represents California’s 12th District
California 12
i don’t care who she “represents,”, Voice. I only care how she does it. She has climbed the DemRat power ladder using the tactics she learned at her father’s feet.
Bet on it.
AG
P.S. I know that Archibald Cox was the special prosecutor not FBI director. Your post just jogged my memory of the whole era.
…an impeachment pool was inappropriate for a government office.
LOL. You guys were way ahead of the curve. Expect impeachment/resignation pools in Brazilian and US government offices are flourishing today.
But the Saturday Night Massacre in October ’73 was late in process of Nixon’s implosion. Amazing then and still today that Nixon didn’t go down right after the Senate Watergate hearings in June ’73. The young’uns eagerly anticipating the impeachment/resignation of Trump fail to see that they aren’t even at the stage of June ’72 with burglars tied to the Oval Office caught red-handed.
Nixon wasn’t too popular with the Navy. We were hurting for funding. Carter was partial to the Navy and was very popular with us, especially the Southerners.
Yahoo – Rachel Maddow On the Passing of Roger Ailes: ‘I Considered Him to Be a Friend’
That will not impinge on the brains of partisan Democrats. They’ll just go — la la la, Putin-Russia-Putin.
Who’s the partisan here? Folks who have been demanding a transparent investigation into Russian govt involvement in influencing the US election and possible Trump campaign-Putin collusion (two separate things) or people who dismissed the possibility since July, 2016 and continue to dismiss it.
Second.. what the hell does Rachel Maddow’s friendshp with Ailes have to do with Putin-Russia? Sean Hannity considers Julian Assange a friend. Does this have any bearing on you?
Again.. partisanship is not limited to party.
The Guardian has put together a handy chart on all the known related investigations: The investigations swirling around Donald Trump – a short guide
Politico on Lieberman For once, I agree with Durbin.
11/27/13 – Politico – Lieberman to represent Libyan politician — Brown upped to partner at 38 North — Terps get a lobbyist — Talking turkey lobbying. PDQ to get on that expected (manufactured with the help of warmonger Joe) new gravy train.
October 2009 – The American Prospect – House Approves Lieberman’s Torture Photo Supression Amendment.
Gee, who controlled the US House in 2009? thinking, thinking, …