Durbin Urges President-Elect Trump To Follow Precedent And Require All Nominees To Complete FBI Background Investigations

Floor Speech

“President-elect Trump has the right to nominate his preferred candidates for Justice Department and judicial vacancies. But the Judiciary Committee plays a critical role in offering advice and consent on nominations, which includes receiving and reviewing the results of FBI background investigations. After weeks of reports that President-elect Trump planned to bypass the FBI entirely, I was relieved to hear that the Trump transition team had finally signed an agreement to allow the FBI to conduct background investigations. But I remain concerned about whether President-elect Trump will require all his appointees to undergo the process.

“If President-elect Trump’s nominees are not required to submit to the same FBI vetting procedures as previous nominees, it makes you wonder what they are hiding. The practice of the FBI conducting background investigations isn’t a new idea …[it] dates back 70 years to the Eisenhower Administration. And it applies to every Senate-confirmed position, including more than 1,200 positions in the executive branch, nearly 900 federal judicial nominees, 93 U.S. Attorney nominees, and 94 U.S. Marshal nominees.

“By design, positions that require Senate confirmation are of great importance. These individuals make critical decisions that protect America, our national security, and affect many Americans’ lives, including who is investigated, who is charged with a crime, and how the justice system operates. It is absolutely critical that people nominated to these positions are upstanding citizens who can be trusted with sensitive life or death government information, people who will be immune to blackmail or foreign influence, and who are truly loyal to the United States.

“That is unacceptable for basic reasons. First, when nominees submit their paperwork to the FBI as a part of their background investigations, they are on notice that lying or concealing material facts is a felony. The same goes for individuals who agree to speak with the FBI about nominees’ character and fitness. In comparison, there will be no penalties for misleading a private firm. Second, the FBI’s resources in determining if a nominee poses a risk far outweigh any private firm’s capabilities. Seasoned agents at FBI field offices nationwide are deployed to pull records, interview individuals, and report their findings. Finally, any private firm paid by the Trump transition team would have an unavoidable conflict of interest. They would have an incentive to clear the backgrounds of nominees so they would get more business from the transition team. By contrast, the only motive for FBI agents is honoring their oath to the Constitution.

“It is the duty of President-elect Trump to pick nominees of his choosing. It is also the duty of the Senate under the Constitution to carefully examine the record of each nominee before this body. To fulfill our constitutional duty of advice and consent on nominations, the Judiciary Committee must continue to receive background investigations conducted by the FBI for every single nominee. We owe the American people a transparent transition of power, but that is only possible if the incoming administration follows longstanding, established practices, ensuring that the President’s nominees can be trusted in positions of power.”

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