US President Donald Trump is expected to keep James Comey in his post as Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director.
According to reports, Trump has asked Comey to stay in his post, despite criticism for his actions during the presidential election which many Democrats say damaged Hillary Clinton's candidacy.
FBI Directors are appointed to 10-year terms intended to carry across presidential administrations, even when a new party takes over the White House.
Comey, who was appointed by President Barack Obama, is in the fourth year of his term and has spoken publicly about his enthusiasm for remaining in the job.
The development is important because Trump had criticized the FBI during his campaign for its decision not to recommend charges against his Hillary Clinton over her use of a private email server as Secretary of the State. He had called the bureau's decision a ‘horrible mistake’.
In a CBS ‘60 Minutes’ interview after the election, Trump had said that he hadn't decided whether to keep Comey on, though he did appear to greet the FBI Chief warmly last weekend at a ceremony for law enforcement officials.
Although an FBI director can be fired by the President, only one since 1976 has been removed prematurely — Reagan appointee William Sessions by Bill Clinton in 1993.
Comey's name was included on a Justice Department document listing ‘career, term and similarly designated component heads’ unaffected by the presidential transition. The Associated Press also confirmed that the Trump administration planned to keep Comey as FBI director.
The New York Times reported that Trump told Comey during their first meeting at Trump Tower in New York earlier this month that he hoped he would
remain in office.
"And Mr Trump's aides have made it clear to Mr Comey that the president does not plan to ask him to leave," the paper added at the time.
Comey had first angered Republicans in July by recommending that Clinton not be prosecuted Clinton, though he called her actions ‘extremely careless’.
Eleven days before the November 8 election, he prompted more shock and dismay, this time among Democrats, by informing Congress that the FBI was reopening the inquiry into Clinton after some of her emails were discovered on the computer of an aide's estranged husband. Two days before the vote, the FBI said the emails contained no new relevant information.
Clinton and many other Democrats blame Comey's 11th-hour revelation for her defeat.
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