Politics & Government

New York Times reports Gowdy under consideration for FBI job

Posted By Bristow Marchant

bmarchant@thestate.com
Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), chairman of the House Select Committee on Benghazi, at a news conference with fellow committee members where they addressed the findings in their final report, on Capitol Hill in Washington, June 28, 2016. Ending one of the longest, costliest and most bitterly partisan congressional investigations in history, the committee issued its report Tuesday finding no new evidence of culpability or wrongdoing by Hillary Clinton in the 2012 attacks in Libya that left four Americans dead.
Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), chairman of the House Select Committee on Benghazi, at a news conference with fellow committee members where they addressed the findings in their final report, on Capitol Hill in Washington, June 28, 2016. Ending one of the longest, costliest and most bitterly partisan congressional investigations in history, the committee issued its report Tuesday finding no new evidence of culpability or wrongdoing by Hillary Clinton in the 2012 attacks in Libya that left four Americans dead. AL DRAGO NYT

U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-Spartanburg, is under consideration to be President Donald Trump’s new FBI director.

The New York Times is reporting that Gowdy is one of about a half-dozen candidates being considered for the job after Trump abruptly fired James Comey as director this week.

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The Times report notes Gowdy’s candidacy may be hurt by perceptions his much-publicized investigation into the 2012 terrorist attacks in Benghazi, Libya, was intended to damage the presidential candidacy of Hillary Clinton, who was secretary of state at the time of the attack.

“Many F.B.I. agents saw that inquiry as a boondoggle and view Mr. Gowdy as highly partisan,” the Times reports.

But Gowdy also has a long history as a prosecutor in South Carolina before he was elected to Congress. That history could count in Gowdy’s favor as a candidate, as at least one S.C. Democrat has voiced support for the congressman getting the job.

Trump is reported to want a director who would be viewed as independent from the White House amid the backlash to Comey’s firing.

Others reported to be in the running are Texas Sen. John Cornyn, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate leadership; former New York City police commissioner Raymond Kelly; former House Intelligence chairman Mike Rogers; and Michael Luttig, a federal appeals judge appointed by President George W. Bush.

Bristow Marchant: 803-771-8405, @BristowatHome, @BuzzAtTheState

This story was originally published May 12, 2017 at 1:37 PM.

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