Lieberman on Dropped FBI Bid: It Would've Looked 'Terrible'

He wants to avoid appearance of conflict of interest
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted May 26, 2017 2:00 AM CDT
Joe Lieberman Withdraws From FBI Consideration
Former Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman waves to members of the media as he leaves the West Wing of the White House in Washington on May 17, 2017.   (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Joe Lieberman, who was at one point considered the front-runner for FBI director, has dropped out of the running. The former senator said he wanted to avoid the "appearance of a conflict of interest" after President Trump hired Marc Kasowitz, who works at the same law firm as Lieberman, to help the White House deal with the Russia investigation, reports the Wall Street Journal. Other candidates, including former Assistant Attorney General Alice Fisher, have also withdrawn from consideration, but the Justice Department has continued to interview candidates while Trump is on his foreign trip, including former NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly and Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers, reports the Washington Post.

Lieberman told MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace Thursday that it wouldn't have looked good if he had taken the job, NBC News reports. "With everything swirling in Washington, you can't have a director of the FBI coming from the same law firm as the president's private lawyer. It looks terrible," he said. (More Joe Lieberman stories.)

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