Donald Trump's shortlist for FBI Director includes a former Democratic senator
Mr Trump is interviewing former Senator Joe Lieberman for the role, says White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer
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Your support makes all the difference.One week after his surprise firing of FBI Director James Comey left Washington reeling, President Donald Trump has announced his candidates for Mr Comey’s job.
Mr Trump will interview acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, former Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating, former FBI Executive Assistant Director Richard McFeely, and former Senator Joe Lieberman for the role, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer announced.
The announcement whittles down the list of potential candidates that had been floated since Mr Comey’s departure, which included Senator John Cornyn and Judge Merrick Garland.
The addition of Mr Lieberman to the list of candidates surprised many. The former senator, who ran for vice president on the democratic ticket in 2000, resigned his Senate seat in 2011 amid growing unpopularity.
He returned to the Senate floor in January to introduce Education Secretary Betsy DeVos for her confirmation hearing. At the time, he did not disclose that his law firm, Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman LLP, had represented Mr Trump since 2001.
Many in Washington are hoping for a non-partisan appointment to the position, to ensure ongoing FBI investigations into the Trump campaign will continue unhindered. As FBI alumni, Mr McCabe and Mr McFeely would fit the bill, but Mr Lieberman and Mr Keating would not.
Several Democrats have suggested they will not vote on any candidate for the role until a special prosecutor for the Russia investigation is appointed.
"To have that special prosecutor, people would breathe a sigh of relief because then there would be a real independent person overlooking the FBI director," Senate Minority Leader Schumer told CNN's "State of the Union".
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