Former Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) is no longer under consideration to replace James Comey as director of the FBI. The reason: the optics surrounding a conflict of interest.
NBC News editor Bradd Jaffy tweeted:
Indeed, Lieberman has been working at the Kasowitz, Benson, Torres law firm for quite some time. Marc Kasowitz from the firm has served as President Trump’s attorney “for over 15 years” and, per Jaffy, will be representing Trump during the Russia investigation.
According to Axios, members of the White House were concerned that appointing Lieberman would create the appearance of the president attempting “to install an ally at the top of the bureau.”
It’s also worth noting that David Friedman, Trump’s ambassador to Israel, was part of the same law firm, although Friedman is definitely a fantastic choice for that role. His confirmation by the Senate resulted in the law firm changing its name from Kasowitz Benson Torres & Friedman to Kasowitz Benson Torres.
The law firm was also hit financially in 2016:
According to the Am Law Daily, in 2016, the firm’s gross revenue decreased by 7.5 percent to $217 million, its net income decreased by 10.5 percent to $72.5 million, and its headcount decreased by 6.7 percent, dropping from 282 to 263. This is the second year in a row that the firm’s financial metrics have declined.
On Thursday, Trump claimed he was “very close to an FBI Director” and confirmed that Lieberman was among the finalists, meaning that the members of the White House who were concerned about the optics of the move won Trump over in the end.
The prospect of naming Lieberman as FBI director certainly seemed to be perplexing since he has zero experience and at the age of 75, would be 85 years old if he were to serve the full ten-year term for the position. The bad optics of appointing Lieberman to the position when he has been working at the law firm that represents Trump only add to the reasons why installing him as FBI director would have been a bad move.
After the ensuing negative stories following Comey’s firing, Trump needs an FBI director who is committed to upholding the law and is not seen as Trump loyalist. Lieberman would not have fit that bill.