FBI Agents Association Backs Mike Rogers To Replace James Comey

Former Michigan congressman Mike Rogers has the backing of a group of current and former FBI agents to replace fired director James Comey as head of the agency. Rogers is said to be on President Trump’s short list to replace Comey, who he fired Tuesday.

Rogers, a retired special agent with the FBI and the respected leader of the House Intelligence Committee when he was in Congress, “exemplifies the principles that should be possessed by the next FBI director,” Thomas F. O’Connor, the president of the FBI Agents Association, said in a statement Saturday.

“It is essential that the next FBI director understand the details of how agents do their important work,” the statement continued. “Mike Rogers’ background as a special agent, veteran of the armed forces and former member of Congress sets him apart as someone capable of confronting the wide array of challenges facing our nation help ensure that the bureau remains the world’s premiere law enforcement agency.”

O’Connor cited Rogers’ leadership in Congress, saying that he “showed a commitment to confronting threats to our country in a nonpartisan and collaborative manner.”

“Rogers’ unique and diverse experience will allow him to effectively lead the men and women of the bureau as we work to protect our country from criminal and terrorist threats,” O’Connor said.

Rogers’ name was among several that surfaced as a possible replacement for Comey last week after Trump fired him, citing the embattled director’s handling of the investigation of Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server during her term as secretary of state.

Sources not authorized to discuss administration deliberations told Patch that Rogers, 53, has several notable backers in the White House and Justice Department. As a former member of Congress — he retired after seven terms in 2015 to become a national security commentator on CNN and radio talk show host — he would not have trouble being confirmed, the sources said.

They also said the former House Intelligence Committee chairman, who advised the Trump transition team on national security issues, should not have been included in the purge of people who were associated with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, whose credibility was damaged in the Bridgegate scandal. Rogers was replaced by Michael Flynn, the retired Army lieutenant general who misled the White House about his discussion of U.S. sanctions against Russia with that country’s envoy, Sergei Kislyak. Flynn was subsequently fired.

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