WASHINGTON — As the September retirement date for FBI director Robert S. Mueller III approaches, speculation on his successor continues to make news.
New York’s top cop, Ray Kelly, whose name has surfaced in the past, got a little boost from New York’s Sen. Charles Schumer, who said he believes Kelly is the best candidate, the New York Daily News reported.
“I think the country needs him,” Schumer told the Daily News. “Ray Kelly is a world-class choice, and he’s at the top of the list, whether it’s fighting terrorism, drug crime or street crime.”
Schumer told the Daily News he would promote Kelly as a successor with the Justice Department and the White House.
“He’s the preeminent law enforcement person in the country,” said Schumer. “He knows more about this than anyone.”
Arguments run both ways — pro and con — for installing Kelly in that post.
The upside: He’s a legend in New York law enforcement, and has the credentials. He worked his way up through the police department. He served as chief from 1992 to 1994 and then returned as chief in 2002 and has been around ever since.
He knows how to run a big operation. And he has federal law enforcement experience.
From 1996 to 1998, he was Under Secretary for Enforcement at the U.S. Treasury Department. He supervised the Department’s Customs Service, Secret Service, ATF, the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, and the Office of Foreign Assets Control.
From 1998 to 2001, he served as Commissioner of the U.S. Customs Service, and managed 20,000 employees.
But the argument against him goes like this: It’s 10 year appointment. He’s 69, which would make him 79 at the end of his term. Some think that’s too old.
Plus, he’s not exactly beloved at the FBI. He’s butted heads with the agency over the years.
Other names for successor include John Pistole, the former number two person at FBI headquarters, who left to become head of the Transportation Security Administration and Chicago U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald.
Reader Comments
Comment from fedupgman | [e]
Time March 14, 2011 at 12:21 am
Just what the FBI needs…a director who has taken every opportunity that he can to stiff arm the FBI and run his own game–even at the cost of blowing a huge terrorism case.
No thanks, Chuckie–you keep him in NY where he can continue to play the role of big city chief.
Just what the FBI needs…a director who has taken every opportunity that he can to stiff arm the FBI and run his own game–even at the cost of blowing a huge terrorism case.
No thanks, Chuckie–you keep him in NY where he can continue to play the role of big city chief.