Lieberman added to the list of potential Comey replacements

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FBI director search continues amid Comey firing fallout

Chief congressional correspondent Mike Emanuel reports from Capitol Hill

President Trump was meeting Wednesday with former Sen. Joe Lieberman and several other potential candidates to replace fired FBI Director James Comey.

Lieberman, a Democrat turned independent from Connecticut and a former attorney general for the state, just entered the candidate mix Wednesday.

The others scheduled to meet with Trump were acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe; former Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating; and Richard McFeely, an FBI official.

Some Republican senators called the idea of Lieberman replacing Comey “intriguing.”

Others on the lengthy roster of potential Comey replacements include former NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly; former House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Mich.; Mayor of Colorado Springs John Suthers; former federal appellate court judge and now EVP of Boeing John Luttig; Director for the FBI’s Criminal, Cyber, Response and Services Branch Paul Abbate; Associate Judge for the New York Court of Appeals Mike Garcia; and Larry Thompson, former deputy attorney general under President George W. Bush.

Former Assistant Attorney General Alice Fisher, who was interviewed at the Department of Justice on Saturday, has withdrawn her name from the shortlist, according to a source familiar with her conversations.

"Alice had productive discussions, and is honored and humbled to have been considered. She has a tremendous respect for the Justice Department and will support the president's nominee, but has determined that she will not proceed," the source told Fox News.

Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., and former President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland also recently withdrew themselves from the process.

“Now more than ever, the country needs a well-credentialed, independent FBI Director,” Cornyn said in a statement on Tuesday. “I’ve informed the Administration that I’m committed to helping them find such an individual, and the best way I can serve is continuing to fight for a conservative agenda in the U.S. Senate.”

A White House official told Fox News last week that they are working “quickly and expeditiously” and doing their “due diligence.”

“We’re not going to cut any corners,” the source told Fox News.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters on Monday that Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, whose memo on Comey’s handling of the Hillary Clinton email case was cited by the White House as rationale for his firing, were heading the process of finding a replacement.

Fox News’ John Roberts, Brooke Singman and Mike Emanuel contributed to this report.