Trump should not avoid FBI scrutiny of Cabinet picks, two former Senate aides say

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Two former US Senate aides are urging President-elect Donald Trump and officials not to avoid FBI background checks on incoming cabinet picks.

Former officials made the suggestion in a New York Times opinion piece published on Friday.

Some officials have suggested allowing private investigators to vet high-level nominees instead of the FBI, while some Republicans oppose the idea, Hill reported.

“Without nominees vetted by the FBI, the danger is that neither lawmakers nor the public will know whether they are trustworthy or have problems that could compromise their ability to do their jobs or their loyalty to the United States,” said former aides — Noah Bookbinder, who served as counsel to Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee from 2005 to 2013, and Gregg Nunziata, who served as counsel to GOP members of the committee in 2005 to 2008 – wrote in the newspaper.

As of last week, Trump’s team had not signed the necessary documents that would allow the Justice Department to conduct background checks on candidates, according to Hill.

“Efforts to bypass FBI background checks and even Senate confirmation through mass recess appointments made by the president when the Senate is not in session would never have flown with previous iterations of the Judiciary Committee, regardless of which party was in charge.” the men wrote. “The Senate should not stand for this now.”

Shortly after winning the election, Trump advocated for recess appointments to get his picks in earlier than usual, forgoing Senate confirmation, a process that usually involves congressional hearings. If successful, Trump could trigger a constitutional crisis.

“During our time on the Judiciary Committee, we reviewed hundreds of nominations. Many nominees, like many Americans, had minor problems — isolated drug use, fights, bad employment experiences — but most of these incidents, while not ideal, never rose to the level of further investigation,” Bookbinder wrote. and Nunziata.

Several of Trump’s choices have been analyzed. Shortly after winning the election, Trump announced that Fox News host Pete Hegseth was his choice for Secretary of Defense and then-Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz as his pick for US Attorney General.

Both men faced allegations of sexual abuse. Gaetz was charged with having sexual relations with a minor in 2017, and Hegseth was charged with assaulting a female that same year. Both men deny the allegations and any allegations of wrongdoing. Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration last week.

The writers concluded by urging officials to force nominees to go through the background check process before confirmation can proceed.

“At a time when there are fewer and fewer meaningful checks on presidential power, the need for rigorous Senate vetting of nominees is all the more important. Without it, the president and his appointees could get away with government and American lives unchallenged,” the two wrote.