By Philip Bunnell
FBI Director Robert Mueller appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday to testify about his future at the agency. Earlier this year, President Obama asked Congress to sign off on another two-year term for Mueller, who will reach his ten-year tenure limit this year.
While some civil liberty groups have expressed concern over the FBI’s increased surveillance during Mueller’s tenure, and others over the established precedent of ten year terms for FBI directors, the committee seemed warm to another two years for Mueller.
Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said that he was “pleased that Republicans and Democrats have expressed support” for an extension. Al Franken (D-Minn.) raised some concerns over FBI surveillance, but also noted that the President called for Mueller to be extended to a time, “when [Obama] will not be president,” and thanked the Director for his service.
Mueller acknowledged that the surveillance had expanded under his tenure, but that rejected any allegations of abuse. Mueller did say that, initially, the agency did not execute National Security Letters in a constitutional way but quickly remedied that.
The committee’s top Republican, Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), was more reluctant, but still supportive.
Grassley cited J. Edgar Hoover, the controversial FBI director who headed the agency for over 40 years, as a reason that the extension should be considered carefully. However, Grassley continued, “against this backdrop, I joined as a co-sponsor of… a bill that would extend the term of the current FBI Director for two years.”
Grassley later warned that although the bill had wide bipartisan support, “I have resisted efforts to simply pass it with minimal deliberation.”