White House "Why FBI Director's Term Is 10 Years"...Criticism of Trump's detour

[Anchor]
The White House has indirectly criticized U.S. President-elect Trump's announcement of the replacement of the FBI director.

The controversy continues as only loyalists are appointed to positions such as attorneys general to maintain neutrality, although the 10-year term of the FBI director must be guaranteed to maintain political neutrality.

This is Washington correspondent Hong Sang-hee.

[Reporter]
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the FBI director's term is 10 years and he wants to pay attention to what the Biden administration has done.

[Jake Sullivan/U.S. National Security Adviser: (FBI Director) is appointed to a 10-year term, not during his presidency. FBI Director Christopher Wray was actually appointed by President Donald Trump, and President Joe Biden did not fire him.]

When Trump nominated Kathy Patel as FBI director to announce the replacement of the current director, he stressed that term guarantees are a bipartisan tradition for FBI neutrality.

[Jake Sullivan//U.S. National Security Adviser: I want to make sure that the FBI remains an independent institution from politics.]

Cathy Patel, a former lawyer, is a close loyalist who has argued for political retaliation against the man who prosecuted Trump in the past.

During the 2016 presidential election, he criticized the FBI for investigating allegations that Russia helped Trump win the election, and also called Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential election a "fraud."

[Cathy Patel/U.S. FBI Director Nominee (last May): It's an honor to stand in support of Donald Trump. Trump is being sacrificed, and as a nation we are being victimized even more by the unconstitutional weaponization of justice.]

This is why there are criticisms and concerns that it is inappropriate to head the FBI, which requires political neutrality due to a wide range of investigations such as terrorism, corruption, and cybercrime.

Following Trump's nomination of Pam Bondi, who defended the impeachment prosecution during his presidency, as attorney general in 2019, the controversy over neutrality in the Senate confirmation process is expected to spread further as he also appointed loyalists to the head of the FBI, the top U.S. investigative agency.

In addition, Trump, who named his in-laws Charles Kushner to the French ambassador, said he would also appoint his daughter Tiffany Trump's father-in-law, Masad Bullos, as his adviser on Arab Middle East affairs.

I'm Hong Sang-hee from Washington.


Video Edit Song Bo-hyun