Candidates Interviewed For FBI Director's Post, But Comey Firing, Russia Investigation Not Discussed: Report

The search for FBI director is on after Donald Trump fired James Comey from the post May 9. Multiple candidates have been interviewed for the position and the meetings did not focus on Comey or Russia, CNN reported Tuesday, citing sources.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein interviewed several candidates for FBI director, sources told CNN, adding the interviews stretched about an hour and were business like. Topics such as terror threats and cybersecurity and fighting violent crime in the U.S. were discussed in the interview, the report added.

Read: Comey Firing Poll: Only 29% Of Americans Approve Of Trump's Actions

One source told CNN the Department of Justice officials did not ask the candidates if they would pledge of loyalty to Trump.

"Definitely not. And it's fortunate they did not ask for that," the source told the news outlet.

Trump had asked Comey to pledge loyalty to him, the New York Times reported May 11. However, Comey reportedly hesitated to give a direct response.

The interviews for Comey’s replacement began May 13 after he was dismissed from his position due to his handling of the investigation into Democrat Hillary Clinton’s email scandal. However, speculation arose whether his firing had anything to do with the fact he led investigation into Trump’s associates having Russian links.

Trump said he and his team are working to get a new FBI director likely by May 19 before he leaves for his first foreign trip since assuming the office. Reporters asked him if an announcement relating to the FBI director should be expected by Friday and he replied: “Even that is possible.”

“I think the process is going to go quickly. Almost all of them [the candidates] are very well-known,” Trump said. “They’ve been vetted over their lifetime essentially, but very well-known, highly respected, really talented people. And that’s what we want for the FBI.”

Among those interviewed was Texas Sen. John Cornyn. However, on Tuesday he told the Trump administration he is no longer interested in the role.

“I have always considered public service to be a great privilege,” Cornyn said, adding: “Now more than ever the country needs a well-credentialed, independent FBI director. I’ve informed the administration that I’m committed to helping them find such an individual, and that the best way I can serve is continuing to fight for a conservative agenda in the U.S. Senate.”

Similarly, appeals court Judge Merrick Garland was not keen either to join to the FBI as its director, two sources told Reuters on Tuesday. The chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, told people he "loves his job and is not interested in leaving the judiciary," one of the sources told the news agency.

Earlier in the day, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told Bloomberg on Tuesday the president should choose an "apolitical" FBI director.

"I think the most important thing is for the president to pick somebody who’s apolitical, who clearly has a deep law enforcement background," McConnell told Bloomberg.

Someone like Garland would "create a kind of wow factor that the president fully understands the role of the FBI director," McConnell added.

"Historically it’s been a solid law enforcement professional without a background in elective office," McConnell said. "That’s the kind of person who ought to be in the job and I think it would also make an important statement about the president himself," he said.