Reagan era Director of the FBIThe CIA, and later the CIA, is urging the Senate to reject two of President-elect Donald Trump's picks for top law enforcement and intelligence positions.
In a letter to senators on Thursday cited by Politico, former FBI and CIA Director William Webster wrote that Kash Patel and Tulsi Gabbard are not qualified to serve as FBI director and director of national intelligence, respectively.
Webster, who is 100 years old, is the only person to have led the FBI and CIA. The senators warned that Patel's personal loyalty to Trump could conflict with the FBI's duty to uphold the rule of law.
“His record of carrying out the president’s directives suggests loyalty to individuals rather than the rule of law, a dangerous precedent for an agency charged with impartially enforcing justice,” he wrote, according to Politico.
Photo of William H. Webster from the 1980s. William Hedgecock Webster (1924-) is the former director of the FBI and CIA, and the only man to ever hold both positions. (World History Archive/World Image Collection via Getty Images)
As for GabbardWebster criticized her “profound lack” of intelligence experience and said an experienced leader was needed for the DNI position.
“Effectively managing our intelligence community requires unparalleled expertise to navigate the complexities of global threats and maintain the confidence of allied nations,” he wrote. He added: “Without this trust, our ability to protect sensitive secrets and cooperate internationally is severely diminished.”
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Judge William Webster, former director of the FBI and CIA, looks on before a game between the Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on August 7, 2018, in Washington, D.C. (Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
Trump's transition team defended the president-elect's selection of Patel to lead the FBI.
Alex Pfeiffer, a spokesman for Trump's transition team, said: “Kash Patel is loyal to the Constitution. He served under Presidents Obama and Trump in key national security roles.”
Another transition official, Alexa Henning, noted that Webster supported President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris against Trump.
“Lt. Col. Gabbard is an active member of the military and has served in the Army for more than two decades and in Congress. As someone who has consumed intelligence at the highest levels, including during war, she understands the importance of partnerships with allies. To ensure close coordination to maintain the safety of “The American people.”
Patel and Gabbard have proven to be two of Trump's most controversial nominees for key positions in his next administration.
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President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Kash Patel to serve as FBI Director. (Getty Images)
Patel was the lead investigator in the congressional investigation Alleged collusion between Trump and Russiaand revelations about the abuse of government surveillance that led to the hiring of two special counsels who determined that there was no collusion at all and that the premise of the FBI's original investigation was false. He has raised alarm among senior law enforcement professionals with his outspoken criticism of the FBI and the Justice Department, accusing them of partisanship.
Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman and military officer from Hawaii, is also under scrutiny after she met since-deposed Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in 2017, who was accused of using chemical weapons against his citizens during the country's civil war. Gabbard refused to call him a war criminal during her 2020 presidential campaign, and said she was skeptical that his government committed a chemical weapons attack earlier that year that killed dozens of Syrians. However, she later described Assad as a brutal dictator.
Tulsi Gabbard, Donald Trump's pick for Director of National Intelligence, arrives to meet with several Republican senators on Monday, December 16, 2024, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Jack Gruber/USA Today Network via Imagen Images)
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Webster was appointed to run the FBI by President Jimmy Carter in 1978, and remained at the head of the bureau during President Ronald Reagan's two terms in office. In 1988, Webster became Director of the CIA under President George H. W. Bush and remained in his position until 1991.
“I urge you to balance the critical importance of leadership and nonpartisan expertise,” Webster wrote. “The safety of the American people — and your families — depends on it.”
Fox News' Brooke Singman and Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.
