Trump considering Pistole, Wray in search for FBI chief
Effort to replace Comey picking up
President Trump will interview former deputy FBI director John Pistole and former assistant attorney general Chris Wray as candidates to take over the FBI, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said.
Pistole and Wray are meeting with Trump on Tuesday afternoon at the White House, Spicer said, suggesting the search for a new director was accelerating.
Pistole and Wray are the latest possible nominees to emerge in the search to replace James Comey, who was fired by the president earlier this month as he was running the FBI investigation into possible collusion between Trump’s campaign and Russia.
Pistole worked at the FBI from 1983 until 2010, serving in his final six years as deputy director. He later served as director of the Transportation Security Administration, leaving that post in 2014.
A former chief of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division from 2003 to 2005, Wray served during the administration of President George W. Bush. Wray was a member of the Corporate Fraud Task Force and oversaw prosecutions of former executives at Enron.
Pistole is the highest ranking former FBI official to be considered for the job. And his tenure as deputy director placed him in close proximity to then-FBI director Robert Mueller, appointed earlier this month to oversee the bureau’s investigation of Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Pistole praised the choice of Mueller in an interview with USA TODAY earlier this month, saying his appointment could be “the best thing for the FBI, to get to the bottom of everything and bring some closure, whatever the outcome.”
Since Comey’s dismissal May 9, five people who were on the short list to replace him have taken themselves out of the running. They include former senator Joe Lieberman, Rep. Trey Gowdy and Sen. John Cornyn.
Pistole’s name surfaced early in speculation of who might be tapped because of his extensive law enforcement experience and strong reputation across both sides of the political aisle. But it was unclear if Pistole, now president of a Christian university in his hometown of Anderson, Ind., would want the job. He’s previously declined media interview requests about the post.
Jay Abbott, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Indianapolis office, said that the job would be extremely difficult but that Pistole would have broad support within the agency.
“He was known as the gentleman deputy director,” Abbott said. “Rarely would his temperature rise. He pulled out the best in people.”
President Barack Obama named Pistole director of the TSA after struggling for more than a year to fill the top job at the agency that oversees security at the nation’s airports.
Pistole was widely credited with boosting the agency’s professionalism.