Southern Judge Removes Self for FBI Post

WASHINGTON — William Wilkins Jr., a federal circuit court judge in Greenville, S.C., who had been considered a leading candidate to become head of the FBI, today withdrew his name from consideration for the post.

In announcing Wilkins’ action, presidential spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said, “He was not offered the position but he was interviewed and was a candidate that we were considering.”

A source said Wilkins took his name out of consideration because he wanted to remain on the bench.

The withdrawal of Wilkins, currently on the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, was confirmed by Mark Goodin, spokesman for Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Qualifications Doubted

Wilkins, 45, who also heads the U.S. Sentencing Commission, had been heavily promoted for the FBI job by Thurmond, despite charges by critics within the sentencing commission that he was not qualified for the post and would have trouble winning Senate confirmation.

Wilkins met with Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese III this week about the FBI job and had been considered a leading candidate to fill the vacancy created when William H. Webster left the FBI to take over the CIA.

No Candidate in Sight

The withdrawal of Wilkins leaves no apparent candidate for the top FBI job despite a search for a successor to Webster now more than four months old.

His critics had suggested Wilkins, a former aide to Thurmond and one-time law clerk to Appeals Court Judge Clement Haynsworth Jr., could come under fire during nomination hearings for a management style and ethics that have been harshly criticized by others on the sentencing panel.

The nomination of Wilkins was seen as a possible attempt to appease Thurmond, who had asked the White House to pick a Southerner to succeed retired Supreme Court Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. Instead, appellate Judge Robert H. Bork was nominated.