Trump says he’s ‘very close’ to naming a new FBI director

Asked whether the 75-year-old was a frontrunner, Trump responded “yes” – confirming Lieberman’s surprise candidacy.

Now, the White House has pulled back that announcement, likely after seeing the incredible anger among Democrats who virulently oppose Lieberman – as they should. Trump said he’d like to name Comey’s successor before he leaves Friday for his first overseas trip as president.

In 1998, Lieberman gave a scathing critique of President Bill Clinton over his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky on the floor of the Senate.

Republicans, by contrast, praised Lieberman. Sen.

Republicans have largely stood behind Trump in the first months of his presidency as the FBI and congressional investigations into Russia’s election meddling intensified.

He failed to state that publicly as he vouched for a pair of top Trump nominees, speaking at confirmation hearings on behalf of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, who was Trump’s longtime attorney and Lieberman’s co-worker.

Lieberman represented CT in the Senate from 1989 to 2013, initially as a Democrat.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., a member of the Judiciary Committee, declined to say whether he would support Lieberman if he becomes the nominee, but said the next Federal Bureau of Investigation director should be someone “without political connections”. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) to Politico.

“It’s a mistake to nominate anyone who’s ever run for office”, Missouri Sen. And he is a politician, which would be unusual for the job. Prior to leading the bureau, Mueller was the US attorney for the Northern District of California and served as an assistant attorney general in between stints in private practice.

President Donald Trump may be seriously miscalculating how much support former Sen.

In order to keep his senate seat in 2006, Lieberman chose to run as an Independent under the “Connecticut for Lieberman” party label.

“Last October, Marc Kasowitz, a partner at the firm, threatened The New York Times with legal action after the newspaper published pages from Trump’s 1995 income tax return”. He also disputed the administration’s characterization of the Russian Federation investigation.

The bigger question is why Trump would bother to push Lieberman at all.

A November 25 news release from Trump’s transition team quoted Lieberman praising Trump’s selection of K.T. McFarland as deputy national security adviser. If confirmed, Lieberman would be in charge of the agency conducting a criminal investigation into Trump’s presidential campaign. Lieberman serves on the board of a DeVos-founded education organization.

Politico also surmises that Democrats are still bitter over Lieberman’s distancing himself from several Obama policies over the last few years, including the Iranian nuclear deal and Obamacare.

According to Politico, if Trump thought that Lieberman would be a choice welcomed by Democrats, he got it squarely wrong.

Apart from Lieberman, other candidates considered included current acting Director Andrew McCabe, former Oklahoma Gov. and FBI Agent Frank Keating, career FBI official Richard McFeely and Texas Sen.

Several other candidates have withdrawn from consideration, including Rep. Trey Gowdy of SC and Sen.