After ten years as head of the FBI, current director Robert Mueller III faces mandatory retirement in September and the search has begun for his replacement, reports the Washington Post. Among the leading candidates are Michael Mason, a 23-year veteran of the FBI who has the backing of the FBI Agents Association and would be the first African American to lead the agency. Other candidates are federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, known for investigating the leak of the identity of former CIA agent Valerie Plame and New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly. Mueller started at the agency just a week before the 9/11 attacks and is credited with transforming the bureau into an agency with a focus on preventing attacks.
