Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) said he is visiting the White House on Thursday but denied reports he’s on the shortlist to replace ousted FBI Director James Comey.
“I’m not a candidate for FBI director,” he said in a New York Magazine story published Wednesday. “I am not. The president’s not gonna ask me, and I’m not gonna be FBI director.”
He declined to say whether he is meeting personally with President Trump on Thursday, saying: “If I am, I wouldn’t say.”
Giuliani added that he approves of Trump’s decision to fire Comey.
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“I think the president made the right decision,” he said. “I think everything the president does creates political blowback, because I think the president is treated quite unfairly.”
“[Comey] worked for me for three years when I was U.S. Attorney, but I feel he made a number of bad judgments over the last year and the president was correct in removing him and trying to get the FBI better leadership,” he continued.
Giuliani, a strong Trump supporter, also criticized Comey during Trump’s campaign regarding the FBI’s investigation of Hillary Clinton’s email practices as secretary of State.
A source close to Trump told the magazine that Giuliani was under consideration to lead the FBI.
The White House announced Tuesday that Trump had fired Comey on the recommendation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and his deputy, Rod Rosenstein.
The Justice Department on Wednesday began its search to find someone to temporarily lead the bureau.
Session reportedly interviewed four interim candidates while the Trump administration weighs a permanent replacement for Comey.
The candidates included three officials from within the FBI: Michael Anderson, special agent in charge of the bureau’s Chicago division; Paul Abbate, executive assistant director for the FBI’s Criminal, Cyber, Response and Services Branch; and Adam Lee, who oversees the agency’s Richmond field office.
William Evanina, the director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center — part of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence — was also interviewed.
Andrew McCabe, the FBI’s deputy director and current acting director, is purportedly also in the running.
Trump’s firing of Comey stunned Washington, with many questioning the timing of the dismissal.
Comey announced in March that the FBI was investigating Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential race, including possible ties between Moscow and Trump’s campaign.