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By Walter Dellinger By Walter Dellinger May 16

Walter Dellinger, a lawyer in Washington, is the Douglas B. Maggs professor emeritus of law at Duke University and a former assistant attorney general.

The single best way to maintain the essential credibility of federal law enforcement would be for President Trump to name a Democrat to run the FBI.

There is a rich tradition of hiring someone from the opposition party. Democrat Jimmy Carter named Republican Judge William H. Webster to head the bureau in 1978. In the shadow of the Watergate scandal, Carter correctly concluded that naming a director from the other party would provide needed public confidence that the FBI was above politics.And so it would today.

Democrat Bill Clinton named Republican Louis Freeh as his FBI director. Vice President Al Gore would probably have continued that trend had he become president. (I know from working on transition planning that he was considering three Republican judges as possible heads of the FBI.) Gores judgment, like that of Carter and Clinton, was that having a Republican FBI director would preventany suggestion of partisan favoritism and lend credibility to any investigation that rejected allegations against his administration. And, of course, President Barack Obama extended the term of one Republican FBI head, Robert Mueller, and replaced him with another Republican, James B. Comey, who had served as deputy attorney general in the preceding administration of George W. Bush.

This same logic would also be appropriate for any selection of a special counsel.Attorney General Janet Reno, for example, wisely chose a Republican attorney, Robert B. Fiske Jr., to lead the investigation into the Clintons Whitewater issues.

Of course, there are many nominees from both parties who could inspire confidence: President Gerald Ford, for example, restored confidence in the Justice Department in the aftermath of Watergate by naming as attorney general someone who, although a fellow Republican, was seen as far above politics, University of Chicago President Edward H. Levi. But if there was ever a time it would be useful to continue the tradition of naming an FBI director from outside the presidents party, it is now. A president who has admitted demanding to know from the FBI director whether he was under investigation has created an urgent need for someone to assure the country that he or she could not be a partisan for the president.

On this score, the list of names supposedly under consideration could give pause. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.), for instance, may well be an honorable and able legislator, but why pick someone for FBI director who has been an active political supporter of thepresident, whose campaign is under FBI investigation? Why not a senior judge who is not of the presidents party, or a former solicitor general such asSeth Waxman or a former national security official such as Lisa Monaco? Why not former prosecutor and Republican-appointed Judge David Levi, dean of Duke Law School, a Republican most of his life and now a registered independent (who also happens to be the son of Edward Levi)?

Its true that everything we know about Trump suggests that he isunlikely to appoint someone who doesnt show loyalty to him. But if Americans dont believe Trump can be trusted to make major decisions about an FBI director or other matters in a thoughtful and disinterested way, were lucky to live in a nation of checks and balances.

A half-dozen principled Republican senators can, to a significant degree, influence the direction of the executive branch. Some among them could choose to join with the Senate minority and preclude passage of legislation or confirmations. (They should have, for example, declined to confirm any attorney general nominee without first insisting upon the appointment of a special counsel for the Russia investigation.) And they can, even now, create a list of outstanding men and women from whom the president would be urged to nominate an FBI director. By being passive, these senators own what Trump is doing.

In ordinary times, deference to a presidents choice of executive branch officials is appropriate, and practices such as senatorial courtesy are understandable. But these are surely not ordinary times: Is there any thoughtful person Democrat or Republican who does not fear that our democratic republic may be veering toward a crisis?

The Senate, with its six-year terms, is expected to be a moderating influence that would keep the national government from spinning out of control. Attention Sens. Susan Collins, John McCain, Bob Corker, Jeff Flake, Mike Lee, Lisa Murkowski, Lindsey Graham, Richard Burr, Rob Portman, Ben Sasse, Tim Scott, Lamar Alexander, perhaps others: This is your moment. This is your legacy. This is why we have a Senate.

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Trump should appoint a Democrat to run the FBI - Washington Post - Washington Post

As it stands, the Senate rules allow the FBI director nominee to be confirmed with just 51 votes, so Republicans can confirm any selection with zero Democratic help.

At this point, it's far from a sure-thing strategy -- while there is no shortage or Republicans who have expressed problems with how and when James Comey was fired from the FBI's top spot, there has been no rush to embrace Democratic calls for a special counsel.

"The key here, of course, is getting some of our Republican colleagues to join us," Schumer said. "We're hoping. We're waiting. We understand it's difficult, but I think patriotism and the needs of this country demand it."

The ranking Democrat of the Senate intelligence committee, Mark Warner, made a similar pledge last week.

"If (Rosenstein) doesn't (name a special prosecutor), then I think it's going to be very difficult to solicit a lot of support from Democrats and support from Democrats -- in terms of whoever the President picks to be a permanent FBI director," the Virginia Democrat told reporters Friday.

Another alternative Democrats could pursue is essentially shutting down the Senate -- refusing to grant unanimous consent for hearings to continue or occur two hours after the Senate convenes or grinding floor proceedings to a halt through procedural mechanisms. But at this point, the aide says, that is not the path they are working on.

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Democrats' strategy to block FBI pick: GOP help - CNN

A second House Democrat called for President Donald Trump to be impeached, and he's even come up with a "mantra" to push the cause.

Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, released a statement on Monday declaring Trump should be charged by the House over his decision to fire FBI Director James Comey as well as his recent tweet that suggested the president recorded his conversations with Comey.

Green said that by firing Comey, Trump is obstructing the investigation "of the president's campaign ties to Russian influence in his 2016 presidential election." He said Trump has committed acts that "amount to intimidation and obstruction."

Green said Democrats can succeed at pressuring the GOP-led House to take up impeachment proceedings if the public joins in. "Our mantra should be "I.T.N. Impeach Trump Now," Green wrote.

Green appears eager to spread the word about his proposal. His statement includes a line in red encouraging the recipient to "forward this email to others who may be interested."

Green is not the first Democrat to call for impeachment. Rep. Maxine Waters, of California declared on Twitter in April that she would "fight every day until he's impeached," although she later denied calling for Trump's impeachment.

The House has impeached two presidents; Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998.

Read more from the original source:
Second House Democrat calls for Trump impeachment - Washington Examiner

CHARLES CITY | Iowa Rep. Todd Prichard, an Iraq War veteran and rural lawyer, will announce his candidacy for governor Tuesday in Charles City, saying he intends to fight for economic prosperity for all and appeal to places in the state that have not always been hospitable to Democrats.

Prichard, who was elected to the legislature in 2013, will join a growing field of Democrats seeking their party's nomination.

The 42-year-old, who grew up in Davenport, has been exploring a campaign for weeks, and after his announcement he plans to embark on a tour through the state.

"I love Iowa and I'm concerned about the direction that the state has taken over the last few years under the Branstad administration and during my time in the legislature," he told the Quad City Times on Monday. "I know that we can do better. We've left a lot of Iowans behind."

He said working for higher wages and an expanding middle class will guide his efforts.

Prichard said he would focus on improving educational opportunities in the state, including a state program to pay for community college costs that aren't covered by other financial assistance programs.

He also says he would push for a higher minimum wage and redirect state incentives to parts of the state he says haven't received enough.

He cited an $18 million state incentive to help move a corporate headquarters two years ago from West Des Moines to Des Moines.

"We're not investing resources into the rest of Iowa," he said.

Even with 13 months to go before the primary, the Democratic field is growing.

Former Iowa Democratic Party Chair Andy McGuire, former Iowa DNR Director Rich Leopold, Sen. Nate Boulton and former Des Moines School Board President Jon Neiderbach have all launched campaigns.

John Norris, who was a top aide to former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, and Des Moines businessman Fred Hubbell also are considering running. There are others said to be thinking about it, too.

Prichard hopes to set himself from the others with his military record and his rural background. "I'm not from Polk County," he says. Others in the race all hail from the Des Moines area.

Prichard says that his upbringing and familiarity with the west side of Davenport and Charles City (which has a population of about 7,500 people) give him a broad understanding of Iowa others will find hard to match.

Politically, that could be helpful to Democrats. The party has acknowledged it needs to do better in rural parts of the state.

Prichard is married with three children.

He won the House seat in a special election in 2013 after the previous officeholder, also a Democrat, resigned to take another job.

He is the ranking Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee.

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Charles City Democrat launches governor bid - Mason City Globe Gazette

Maine Democrat proposes internet privacy regulations News & Observer A Maine Democrat says her bill would ban internet service providers from selling their customers' online browsing data to third parties without explicit consent. Roughly a dozen states have taken up measures in the last two months to enhance internet ... and more »

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Maine Democrat proposes internet privacy regulations - News & Observer