Memo r andum for the Attorney General Page Subject: 3 Restoring Public Conf1dence in the Federal Bureau of Investigation past elections." Ayer's l ette r noted, "Perhaps most troub ling ... is the precedent set by depat1ure this from the Department's widely-r espected, non-partisan traditi ons." We should reject the departure and return to the traditions. Although the President has the power to remove a n FBI director, the decision shou be taken ld not lightly. I agree with the nearly unanimous opinions of former Department officials. way The the Dir ecto r handled the co nclusi on of the ema il investigation was wrong. As a result, FBI the is unlikely to re gain public and congressiona l trust until it has a Director who the understands gravity of the mistakes and pledges never to repeat them. Having refused to admit his error the s, Dir ec to r catmot be expected to implement the necessary correc tive actions.