Wray represents best hope to capably lead FBI forward

The medium most assuredly was not the message in President Donald Trump’s announcement Wednesday of his nominee to lead the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Trump took to a decidedly unconventional channel – Twitter – to publicly announce his choice of a man who, by most all accounts, represents a conventional nominee for the post.

That man is 50-year-old Charles Wray, whose firm nuts-and-bolts background in multiple domains of the federal justice system, coupled with his penchant for independent and apolitical thinking, should make him a shoo-in for rapid confirmation in the U.S. Senate.

His work in the mainstream of criminal justice as an assistant attorney general, federal prosecutor and defense attorney makes him a relatively safe selection. His is certainly a more palatable choice than others reportedly considered whose political baggage could have weighed down the effectiveness of the nation’s largest law-enforcement agency as well as its tarnished public image.

A political appointee, several of whom were under consideration, also would have fueled speculation that Trump sought a political ally to tinker with the ongoing criminal probe of the president’s potential ties to Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

Although a staunch Republican, the Yale Law School graduate has never sought public office and has steered clear of party leadership roles throughout his adult life.

We therefore concur with the sentiments of Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, who will question him.

“I’m encouraged that President Trump has nominated someone with significant federal law enforcement experience, rather than a career in partisan politics, as was rumored over the past several weeks.”

STRENGTHS OF WRAY NOMINATION

Besides the selling point of keeping partisanship and politics outside the sphere of influence of the FBI, the nomination of Wray also brings with it several other key assets.

For one, his confirmation process likely would not ignite a long, protracted and divisive battle among U.S. senators who will stand in judgment of him. Throughout Wray’s public-service career, Congress consistently has embraced him.

In 2003, for example, Wray won confirmation unanimously among all Democrats and Republicans for the post of assistant attorney general in charge of the Justice Department’s criminal division.

Another feather in Wray’s cap lies in his talents and experience in both prosecuting criminal behavior on behalf of the state and in refuting criminal charges on behalf of defendants. A sophisticated understanding of both sides of the scales of justice will serve him well.

In addition, Wray likely has great potential to restore morale throughout the 35,000-employee strong bureau. That morale reportedly has been shattered in the wake of the expedient and curious firing of highly respected FBI Director James Comey by Trump last month and the politics many believe are tied to that dismissal.

All of which is not to say that Wray will have a cakewalk during his confirmation hearings. He is likely to face serious questions over his work last year in defending New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie against allegations leveled against him in the “Bridgegate” scandal and over the depth of his ties to the president considering Wray’s legal work for Trump businesses.

Overshadowing those trouble spots likely will be a record of accomplishments that many regard as laudable. As assistant attorney general under former President George W. Bush, for example, he led Justice Department efforts and policymaking to guide a troubled nation in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S.

He also directed aggressive efforts to prosecute white-collar fraud in several big-business scandals. Among them were landmark convictions for several Enron executives who helped orchestrate years of financial deception by the Houston-based energy company.

Given the upheaval surrounding the firing of Comey punctuated by his controversial testimony before a Senate committee Thursday, the FBI is in dire need of sturdy, independent, talented and apolitical leadership at the helm.

Wray appears to fit each of those bills well and therefore deserves serious consideration and swift bipartisan confirmation.