Why Lieberman cannot be FBI Director

I used to take for granted that people who ran for office or who were appointed to key governmental positions were properly vetted for position. You know, I thought somebody checked their resumes to see if there were any conflicts or a lack of qualifications. Apparently that is not the case. Thus you and me, the American public, need to do it for the politicians.

Reports are that former Senator Joe Lieberman is President Trump's top preference for FBI Director. Now I have nothing against Lieberman personally, he seems like a nice enough guy, that doesn't make him qualified or appropriate as the head of a federal law enforcement agency, something he has absolutely no experience in handling.

But there's another overwhelming problem that immediately jumped out at me as a lawyer. Joe Lieberman is one of Trump's lawyers. That's right, Lieberman works at Kasowitz Benson Torres and Friedman, a law firm that has represented Trump for many years (See more here), even making headlines as recently as during the Trump campaign when its senior partner threatened the New York Times over publication of groping allegations against Trump. (here's the ABA spin on that)

Because lawyers are both required to maintain client confidences and not act adversely to their clients (even their former clients), Trump would most likely have legal grounds to seek disqualification of Lieberman participating in an investigation against his interests. Think that possibility is mere speculation? This precise dynamic is reportedly already at play in an effort to keep Robert Mueller from acting as Special Counsel because his former law firm has previously represented Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump, and Paul Manafort, all key figures in the Trump campaign.

"Within hours of Mueller's appointment on Wednesday, the White House began reviewing the Code of Federal Regulations, which restricts newly hired government lawyers from investigating their prior law firm’s clients for one year after their hiring..."

see Reuters story here

So, Trump's favorite pick for head of the FBI is a guy he can disqualify from investigating Trump? Clever ... or obstruction of justice.