The Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (I) is appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The statutory basis for the present nomination and confirmation process was developed in 1968 and 1976 and has been used since the death of J. Edgar Hoover in 1972. Over this time, five nominations have been confirmed and two have been withdrawn by the President before confirmation. The position of FBI director has a fixed 10-year term; the officeholder may not be reappointed. There are no statutory restrictions on the authority of the President to remove the FBI director. One director has been removed by the President since 1972. The current FBI director, Robert S. Mueller III, was confirmed by the Senate on August 2, 2001. This report will not be updated.
The Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The statutory basis for the present nomination and confirmation process was developed in 1968 and 1976, and has been used since the death of J.Edgar Hoover in 1972. Over this time, five nominations have been confirmed and two have been withdrawn by the President before confirmation. The position of FBI Director has a fixed 10-year term, and the officeholder may not be reappointed. There are no statutory conditions on the President's authority to remove the FBI Director. The current FBI Director, Robert S. Mueller III, was confirmed by the Senate on August 2, 2001, and his term of office is set to expire in September 2011. In May 2011, President Barack Obama announced his intention to seek legislation that would extend Mr. Mueller's term of office for two years. On May 26, 2011, Senator Patrick Leahy introduced S. 1103, a bill that would extend the term of the incumbent Director of the FBI. This report provides some legislative history surrounding the enactment of the 1968 and 1976 amendments to the appointment of the FBI Director, as well as information on the nominees to the FBI Directorship since 1972. It then discusses precedent for lengthening the tenure of an office and the constitutionality of extending the tenure of the Directorship for the current incumbent, and addresses whether it would be necessary for Mr. Mueller to be appointed a second time. Table. This is a print on demand report.
When James Comey, Jr., now under consideration to be the seventh Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, appeared before the Committee on the Judiciary in 2007, he described a dramatic hospital bedside confrontation with senior White House officials who were trying to get an ailing John Ashcroft, who was in the hospital, to reauthorize an NSA surveillance program that the Justice Department had concluded was illegal. As Deputy Attorney General, Mr. Comey showed courage and independence by standing firm against this attempt to circumvent the rule of law. Since the terrorist attacks of September 11th, the FBI has dramatically increased its national security and counterterrorism efforts, but that is a transition that has not been without problems. From National Security Letters to the revelations about the use of PATRIOT Act surveillance authorities, we have not yet struck the right balance between the intelligence-gathering needs of the FBI and the privacy rights of Americans. The FBI must have the tools necessary to help keep us safe from terrorism, but that should not come at the expense of our constitutional rights. During Mr. Comey's tenure as Deputy Attorney General, he approved a legal memo that authorized the use of waterboarding and other techniques long recognized as torture under both domestic and international law. If we learned nothing else from those years following the September 11th attacks, it is that who leads our Nation-at all levels of Government-matters. We need strong, ethical leaders who will steadfastly adhere to the rule of law.
The rights of all Americans are at stake in the selection of an FBI Director. He has extraordinary power to affect the lives of ordinary Americans. By properly using the investigative powers, the FBI can protect the security of all of us to combat sophisticated crime, espionage and terrorism. But these same powers the FBI has, if they are unchecked, they can undermine our civil liberties, our freedom of speech and association, and the right to privacy. If the FBI leaks information, they can destroy the lives and reputations of people who have not been charged or had a trial. And, worse, such leaking can be used for political intimidation and coercion. By respecting constitutional safeguards for criminal suspects, the FBI can help ensure that persons accused of Federal crimes receive a fair trial and that justice is served. The paramount standard for evaluating a new Director is his demonstrated adherence to the Constitution as the bulwark of liberty and the rule of law. Many in our country have lost some confidence in the Bureau. That is more than just a PR problem, because if you erode public trust, then you erode the ability of the FBI to do its job.
