Louis Freeh

Former FBI Director Louis Freeh urged graduating students Saturday to give back to their community during a commencement speech at St. Anselm College, the New Hampshire Union Leader reports.

“We should all strive to help create a more perfect union,” said Freeh, who was selected because of his commitment to law enforcement, the Union Leader wrote.

Freeh also remarked about a time when his 2-year-old son pushed his older brother into a pond at the Rose Garden during the nomination process by President Bill Clinton. When the 2-year-old lied and told the president that he didn’t shove his brother, Clinton said the lawyer in the young boy made him proud.

Rep. Mike Rogers

The FBI Agents Association, which represents more than 12,000 active duty and retired Agents, is urging President Obama to pick Michigan Congressman Mike Rogers to replace FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III.

Rogers, a Republican,  is a former FBI agent, who heads the House Intelligence Committee.

In a press release issued Monday,the association’s president Konrad Motyka stated:

“Chairman Rogers exemplifies the principles that should be possessed by the next FBI Director. His unique and diverse experience as a veteran, FBI Agent and member of Congress will allow him to effectively lead the men and women of the Bureau as they continue their work to protect our country from criminal and terrorist threats.”

“Chairman Rogers heads the House Intelligence Committee and is respected by leaders on both sides of the aisle. His background as a Special Agent sets him apart as someone capable of confronting the wide array of challenges facing our country and the Bureau.”

Jana Monroe

Mueller had his 10-year term extended for two years. That is supposed to expire in September.

Patrick Fitzgerald/doj photo

Other names that have surfaced in the rumor mill include: ex-U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald ,  Jim Comey, the former U.S. attorney in Manhattan and Jana Monroe, former head of the Phoenix FBI.

Two years ago, the association pushed for Mike Mason , the former Executive Assistant Director for the Criminal Investigative Division of the FBI, to get Mueller’s job. But in the end, President Obama punted on a replacement and decided to extend Mueller’s reign by two years.

The search for a new FBI director is heating up.

Looking to replace Robert Mueller, whose term has expired, the White House has begun vetting candidates and may be down to a short list of potential successors, NPR reports.

NPR reported that the Obama administration approached Judge Merrick Garland, a federal appeals court judge in Washington D.C., but he didn’t want the job.

That leaves the White House with a short list of candidates, NPR reported, citing anonymous sources.

Among them are Lisa Monaco, a federal prosecutor; Jim Comey, a former U.S. attorney in New York City; and David Kris, a longtime Justice Department lawyer, NPR wrote.

Steve Neavling

Among President Obama’s top choices for replacing FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III is a woman, Sari Horwitz of the Washington Post  reports.

Citing current and former administration officials, the Post wrote that Lisa Monaco, a former senior Justice Department official who became Obama’s top counterterrorism adviser, is among the top contenders.

Mueller, 68, plans to step down Sept. 4 following 12 years on the job.

Obama plans to find a successor soon to make time for the confirmation process before Congress.

“Mueller will leave very big shoes to fill,” said one Justice Department official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press. “Two years ago, he was portrayed as the indispensable man. Now, the FBI is going to have to do without the indispensable man in a matter of a few months.”

Horwitz writes:

Among the names that have surfaced as contenders are Monaco, who oversaw the National Security Division at Justice before moving to the White House; Merrick B. Garland, chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit; James B. Comey, deputy attorney general in the George W. Bush administration; Neil MacBride, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Patrick J. Fitzgerald, former U.S. attorney in Chicago.

 

Louis Freeh

Former FBI Director Louis Freeh, who last year led an investigation into the sexual abuse of Penn State University’s assistant football coach will take over the law firm Pepper Hamilton L.L.P. later this month, the Philadelphia Enquirer reports.

Freeh, who is replacing Nina Gussak, merged his Wilmington-based law firm with Pepper Hamilton last year. 

The idea is to expand the firm’s white collar defense practice, while Freeh also does internal investigative and consulting work, the firm announced Tuesday.

“This is a really interesting new model,” Freeh said told the Enquirer.

Freeh is a former federal judge who oversaw the FBI under President Clinton. In 2006, Freeh opened his own law firm and investigated internal-corruption.

Robert Mueller

 President Obama will soon decide on a successor for Robert Mueller, the longest-serving FBI director since J. Edgar Hoover, the USA Today reports.

Replacing Mueller, who is set to leave in 2013 after Congress extended his 10-year term at Obama’s request, won’t be easy for an agency that investigates crime globally, federal law enforcement analysts told the USA Today.

The FBI Agents Association said new leadership must understand the agency’s many focuses, “from Bloods street gangs to mortgage fraud to Russian sleeper cells.”

Don Borelli, a former assistant agent-in-charge of the FBI’s New York division, said the next director needs to be well-rounded and able to steer a big ship.

“The biggest challenges facing the next director are organizational,” he told the USA Today. “It’s how you direct a large organization, provide it the resources it needs to function. Obviously, you need someone who knows the nuances of politics and could be confirmed (by Congress).”

He added: “No matter who gets the job, though, there is going to skepticism, because agents by nature are skeptical. But what you need is someone who can take over like a CEO of a big corporation.”

Patrick Fitzgerald/doj photo

Once in a while a U.S. Attorney comes along and makes a mark not only locally but nationally.

U.S. Patrick Fitzgerald of Chicago was one of those guys.

Fitzgerald resigned and left office last Friday, leaving behind a legacy that included prosecuting the ever-chatty ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich and Dick Cheney’s right hand guy Scooter Libby.

He left office, offering little reflection last week to the hungry media. He said he has no plans, but hopes to make a decision by Labor Day, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Among the U.S. Attorney’s, he was rock star. In the public’s eye, he was a modern-day Eliot Ness.

Was he perfect? No. But he inspired faith in the system and that the good guys had a strong hand to fight crime and corruption.

He was in Chicago for 11 years as prosecutor.

Whatever he does next — even if it’s going to law firm —  ultimately it would be hard to believe that the 51-year-old won’t end up back in public service, be it as a federal judge or FBI director or governor.

Count on it.

OTHER STORIES OF INTEREST

•  Barclay Chairman Resigns Amid FBI Investigation
• FBI Investigates Proliferation of Gangs in New Hampshire
• Search Is on For Next U.S. Attorney in Chicago
• Students Arrested in Immigration Protest at Montgomery County Jail
• FBI Takes Over Fatal Shooting Case in Ohio
• Deadly ATF Raid Leads to Wrongful Death Suit

Robert Mueller

The Lockerbie plane bombing is a mystery that won’t go away.

SkyNews/News Score reports that FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III and Scotland’s top prosecutor visited Libya in Tripoli to “pave the way for further investigations into the 1988 Lockerbie plane bombing.”

The meeting took place April 25, but was kept secret for security reasons.

According to the news aggency, a spokesman for Scotland’s Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service said, “The Lord Advocate, Frank Mulholland QC, and Robert S Mueller, director of the FBI, met with the Libyan Prime Minister Abdurahim el Keib to discuss the ongoing investigation into the Lockerbie bombing.”