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"The firing of FBI Director James B. Comey should concern everyone," former Detroit federal prosecutor Barbara McQuade writes in a Washington Post commentary.
"It underscores the need to appoint a special counsel to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign and ties to the Trump administration," she adds in Wednesday's guest column.
McQuade, along with most politically appointed federal prosecutors in U.S. District Court regions, was forced to resign in mid-March by the new administration. She was the first female U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan.
Barbara McQuade: "Public trust matters."
She's now a law professor at the University of Michigan. Excerpts from her forceful call to action:
One of the reasons Comey was highly regarded in law enforcement circles is his reputation for straight-shooting, independent action. People can disagree with his handling of the investigation of Hillary Clinton’s emails, but Comey was always his own man.
Although many supporters of both candidates were unhappy with his various public statements, no one who knows him — as I came to, in my 19-year career as a federal prosecutor — ever doubted that he was acting on his best judgment and sincere beliefs based on the facts and the law, and not on partisan politics. . . .
During my career as a prosecutor, I learned that independence is essential in law enforcement. The legitimacy of our justice system depends on public trust that criminal charges and investigations are based on a fair application of the law and not on a political agenda or ideology. Career prosecutors and investigators know that public trust matters, and consequently they zealously safeguard not only their actual independence, but also the appearance of independence.
The task is no easier when the subject of investigation is a member of the same party as the one that appointed you. As a U.S. attorney appointed by President Barack Obama, I was helped make investigative and charging decisions involving public officials from both parties. . . .
Prosecutors and agents invest considerable time and effort in investigations involving public officials to ensure both fair treatment of the defendant and public confidence that the decision to bring or decline charges was made for the right reasons.
This is even more complicated in cases involving national security, as the FBI’s probe of Russia’s activities last year does. . . .
All that is why FBI directors serve 10-year terms. Comey recently demonstrated why the 10-year term is important. He showed that he was not afraid to stand up to his boss when he refuted Trump’s wiretapping allegations in testimony before Congress. People on both sides of the aisle should be heartened by an FBI director who acts on principle and not partisanship.
Comey’s firing calls into question whether those ideals will continue. . . .
FBI agents and prosecutors working on the Russia inquiry will continue to do so with great integrity. But at some point, someone at a very high level will have to decide whether to file charges. We can only hope that the decision will be made by an independent leader.
-- Alan Stamm
