The Premier, the Attorney-General and the Opposition Leader are all united in thinking former Supreme Court justice John McKechnie is the best person to lead WA's anti-corruption watchdog.

Mr McKechnie was also described as the "outstanding candidate" by a nominating committee, on which the Chief Justices of the Supreme and District courts sit.

After taking on the job following a period in which the Corruption and Crime Commission (CCC) spent three rudderless years without a permanent leader, the watchdog has exposed a series of highly damaging scandals under Mr McKechnie's watch.

These have ranged from the MP expense saga, to allegations of millions of taxpayer dollars being squandered from the Department of Communities.

It probably sounds to most like it should be a straight-forward process, but it has turned out to be anything but.

WA Corruption and Crime Commissioner John McKechnie's reappointment was unanimously supported by the state's Chief Justices. ( ABC News: James Carmody )

Mr McKechnie is out of a job in 10 days unless something changes drastically, with the Government running out of options to get its preferred candidate another five-year term.

McKechnie always the top choice

While the world's eyes are almost exclusively focused on the COVID-19 pandemic, the re-appointment of WA's top "corruption buster" has turned ugly — dominated by a week of bitter political games.

Mr McKechnie made clear that he wanted the job months ago, but a formal re-appointment process is required.

The nomination panel put forward three names, but — according to the Government — made clear that Mr McKechnie was the top choice.

Then the Premier put Mr McKechnie's name forward to the four-member parliamentary committee overseeing the CCC, seeking the bipartisan and majority support required to reappoint him.

For reasons still unclear, that was not given — leaving the Government in a pickle.

It instead sought to re-appoint the CCC boss through new legislation it admitted was unprecedented, but that is now all but doomed to fail in the Upper House with the Liberals, Nationals and key crossbenchers all opposed.

Former Upper House MP Phil Edman was revealed by the CCC to have used an electorate allowance to pay for strip club visits and speeding fines. ( ABC News: Andrew O'Connor )

Now, the matter is at an ugly standoff — with time running out to avoid the Commissioner departing amid a pandemic he has warned leaves the state vulnerable to corrupt public service practice during the disruption.

Secret deliberations under fire

The political blame game has been fierce, but both sides have been left with questions to answer about their handling of it.

Committee deliberations are supposed to be secret, but Upper House Liberal Jim Chown has been publicly named by the Premier, the Attorney-General and others as the dissenting voice.

Mr Chown is barred from defending himself or even confirming that it was him, due to strict parliamentary rules, but his alleged vote has thrust the Liberals into an awkward position.

Under Mr McKechnie's watch, the CCC alleged that Phil Edman, a Liberal MP from 2009 to 2017, used a taxpayer-funded allowance to pay for strip club visits, speeding fines and interstate travel to meet women for sex.

An investigation is ongoing into alleged broader misuse of entitlements, with Mr Edman's laptop at the centre of it — with the perception other upper house Liberals are in the CCC's crosshairs.

Attorney General John Quigley alleged this week the Liberals have decided to get rid of Mr Kechnie. ( ABC News: Hugh Sando )

Now, some Liberals are worried they are being seen to be blocking the re-appointment of a man who exposed one of their own and is still looking through their backyard.

"[Upper House Liberals' have obviously delivered their verdict to Mr Chown and said: 'Get rid of that McKechnie, get rid of him behind closed doors'," Attorney-General John Quigley alleged this week.

Opposition Leader Liza Harvey at first baulked at showing public support for Mr McKechnie but explicitly did so this week, urging the Premier to attempt to persuade the committee to change its mind.

Political bickering draws fire from both sides

While the Liberals have faced some intense scrutiny, Labor's handling of the matter has hardly won universal acclaim either.

It used a public health update about COVID-19 on Tuesday, being broadcast live by multiple television networks, to instead switch to intense politicking about the CCC issue and allegations about Liberals.

It attempted to force through Mr McKechnie's re-appointment within a matter of days with "unprecedented legislation" changing the process, but found those hopes dashed when MPs across the political spectrum fiercely complained.

The stoush has left opposition Leader Liza Harvey in an awkward position. ( ABC News: Armin Azad )

Then committee member and Labor backbencher Matthew Hughes shared an account of matters on social media that appeared to reveal committee deliberations and publicly criticise a fellow member, actions strictly prohibited by parliamentary rules.

"What bothers me, as a member of the [committee], is that there was no requirement for the dissenting voice to provide documented justification for that dissent," Mr Hughes wrote on Facebook.

Mr Hughes is now facing calls to resign from the committee, but the Government maintains he did nothing wrong.

Tension on the committee nothing new

While this is the first time a stand-off over a CCC appointment has turned into a public brawl, a committee rejecting a preferred candidate has happened before.

Upper House MP Nick Goiran chaired the committee for eight years and highlighted this week that a fight over a CCC appointment was the source of a "tense" relationship he shared with former premier and fellow Liberal Colin Barnett.

In one case during that time, the committee rejected a Barnett Government recommendation for a CCC position due to a "specific operational reason".

John McKechnie has warned the coronavirus pandemic leaves the state vulnerable to corrupt public service practice. ( ABC News: James Carmody )

Running out of options to get Mr McKechnie the job, the McGowan Government has gone back to the committee in the hope it will change its mind.

If it refuses, Mr McKechnie's tenure looks to be coming to an end.

Regardless of the political fight along the way, the public is likely to be left scratching its heads about how a highly-acclaimed legal mind with the support of so many key decision-makers is set to lose his job at a time already dominated by uncertainty.