Sen. Biden Urges Nonpartisan for Director of FBI

The new chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee said Wednesday that “I hope to God the Administration doesn’t send us a political appointment” to succeed FBI Director William H. Webster, who must give up his post by early 1988.

Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.), reflecting on the committee’s role in examining the FBI nominee, said in an interview that by “political” he meant “a Casey or a Meese,” as opposed to “a Carlucci or a Webster.” He referred to CIA Director William J. Casey, Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese III and National Security Adviser Frank C. Carlucci.

“Send us Carluccis, people who are not viewed as partisans,” Biden said, noting that he regards the FBI appointment as one of the key nominations that will come before the panel he now heads. But he conceded that he has no illusion about the limits on the power of the Judiciary Committee chairman in handling an Administration nomination and made no prediction that such an appointment could be blocked.

Could Have Jurisdiction

On the Iran- contra scandal that has dominated Washington for more than two months, Biden asserted that his committee “clearly” could have jurisdiction in the matter but said he would oppose any such move.

“The best way to serve the country is to quickly and thoroughly investigate and bring to a close this affair,” Biden said. He added that he had “absolute faith” in Sen. Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii), chairman of the Senate select committee created to conduct the inquiry.

Biden lavished praise on Webster, a Republican who was named to head the FBI in 1978 by President Jimmy Carter, saying that he has “done a phenomenal job in restoring the FBI’s integrity and honor.”

Nevertheless, Biden said, he would oppose extending Webster’s 10-year term in an effort to avoid filling the powerful law enforcement job on the eve of a presidential election year. “The FBI is an institution that should be made up of rules--not men,” he said.

‘Don’t Get in a Box’

At the same time, he added, it would be wise for the Administration “to begin to give some signals” on a nominee “so they don’t get in a box.” But it is not crucial whether Webster’s successor comes from inside the FBI or outside, in the model of Webster, a former federal appellate judge, Biden said.

Associate Atty. Gen. Stephen S. Trott, a former U.S. attorney in Los Angeles who is often mentioned as a leading candidate for the job, “has carried political water more than most” others who have been cited as possibilities, Biden said. But he said he would consider the nomination of Trott “with an open mind.”