Former Sen. Joe Lieberman on Thursday withdrew his name from consideration to replace James Comey as director of the FBI.
In a letter to President Donald Trump, Lieberman said it was “a great honor” to be considered but cited Trump’s reported retention of Marc Kasowitz as outside legal counsel to help the President navigate the federal investigation into potential collusion between his campaign officials and Russia.
Lieberman said “it would be best to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest,” given that he is a partner at the same law firm as Kasowitz.
“I have decided to withdraw my name from consideration for this nomination,” he wrote. “I wish you the very best in identifying the right person to lead this most important law enforcement agency in the future.”
Joe Lieberman withdraws his name from consideration as FBI director pic.twitter.com/tTjGLjOOUV
— NBC Politics (@NBCPolitics) May 25, 2017
