It’s been more than three weeks since President Trump abruptly fired FBI Director James Comey, and despite promises from Trump and his spokespeople that a new director would soon be chosen, the process is taking longer than expected. And you can place the blame for that on the person at the top.

Three associates of three contenders for the job, all of whom have been interviewed by Trump, said the candidates were summoned to the White House for 10-to-20-minute conversations with Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions. But those interviews were reportedly light on questions or details of where the candidates might stand on the future of the FBI.

One of the sources who spoke to Reuters said in one interview, Trump seemed distracted and talked mainly about himself during the course of the meeting.

At least a dozen names were on the initial list of possibly replacements for Comey. But onetime front-runner Joe Lieberman took his name out of consideration, as did Congressman Trey Gowdy and Texas Senator John Cornyn. Others who have been interviewed include former Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating, acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, and former FBI official Richard McFeely.

All of this chaos in replacing Comey comes as the former FBI chief prepares to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee next Thursday in an open session. He is expected to discuss the details of three meetings he had with the president at which Trump allegedly asked him to end the Russigate investigation. If Comey substantiates those reports, it could set the stage for charging Trump with obstruction of justice.

Also, acting director Andrew McCabe has assured congressional panels that the FBI probe into the Trump-Russia matter is indeed continuing despite the dismissal of Comey from his post.

Meanwhile, Trump spins his wheels, tweets out denials, and retreats further into his own paranoid cocoon.

This article was originally published by the same author at LiberalAmerica.org