MEET THE NEW FBI

By Alexandra Davidson, Editorial Intern, The Commonwealth

As we go to press, new revelations over how much was known by government officials about the terrorist threat before September 11 continue coming to light. In the wake of persistent questions came the May 29 press conference by FBI director Robert S. Mueller III and Attorney General John Ashcroft on the reorganization of the FBI. Among the changes Mueller outlined were the need to redefine the relationship between headquarters and the fi eld and to establish flying squads to coordinate national and international investigations. In itsemphasis on analysis, Mueller said the bureau needs to "develop the capability of looking around corners."

Mueller acknowledged two of the most damning pieces of the FBI's failure to follow up on evidence it could have prior to 9/11: the "Phoenix Memo," from an agent in Arizona that "an unusual number of Arab students" were enrolling in flight schools, but which was buried in summer 2001 paperwork; and a 13-page memo from Minnesota FBI agent Coleen Rowley, criticizing bureau HQ for thwarting the investigation into so-called twentieth hijacker Zacarias Moussaoui's computer files.

BY THE TIME THEY GOT TO PHOENIX

Mueller acknowledged that the Phoenix memo should have been shared with other agents in the field, where dots might have been connected prior to 9/11. The Arizona agent suspected that the influx of students "had been sent there in a coordinated plot by Osama bin Laden."

Speaking to the Senate Judiciary Committee weeks earlier, Mueller was frank: "Do I wish we had more aggressively followed up on that suggestion at the time? Yes."

At the press conference on May 29, Mueller also cited Minnesota agent Colleen Rowley by name, saying that as Rowley wrote, a different approach was unquestionably needed. Rowley's memo to headquarters was made classified by the FBI, but Time magazine obtained a copy and has already published it.

Mueller has said the priority now is to examine flaws in the intelligence network and work towards eliminating them so that America is better prepared in the future.

FBI AGENTS ON THE WEB

The day after the bureau announced reorganization, Attorney General Ashcroft announced new guidelines for the FBI in investigations which, while they sound innocuous to some, have others – including ranking House Judiciary Committee Democrat John Conyers – warning of infringements of citizens' constitutional rights. FBI agents are now permitted to enter any public place (including attending public meetings) for the purpose of investigation, and online they may use commercial data-gathering services and conduct research even when it is not linked to an investigation. The rationale behind the changes is that they will enable FBI agents to be more proactive in their work.

MATERIAL WITNESS WARRANTS

On May 8 a federal judge in Brooklyn delivered a ruling that may be a serious setback for the Justice Department's post-September 11 investigations. Judge Shira Scheindlin ruled that the testimony of Osama Awadallah before a grand jury was inadmissible and charges of perjury resulting from the testimony should therefore be dismissed. Awadallah's name and contact details were found in a car belonging to two September 11 hijackers. The problem, according to the court, was that he was detained as a material witness, an abuse of the statute.

The material witness statute is used by the Justice Department to detain people whose testimony is believed to be material in a criminal trial. Since 9/11 the FBI has held over 1000 suspects believed to pose a threat to national security. The easiest way for law enforcement agencies to detain people with suspected terrorist connections has been to rigidly enforce immigration laws. In such cases the Justice Department remains within constitutional boundaries and cannot be accused of detaining suspects illegally. But those people who have not violated immigration law (or any other criminal laws) have been detained as material witnesses.

According to Scheindlin, "Relying on the material witness statute to detain people who are presumed innocent under our Constitution in order to prevent potential crimes is an illegitimate use of the statute." Various law enforcement officials disagree, including U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft: "Numerous other judges have authorized the use of the material witness warrants in the settings that we have been using them, and the use of such warrants have been validated at the appellate level." While not binding on other judges, Scheindlin's decision could be influential in other rulings.

A SPY WITHIN THE FBI

By Clare Martens, Editorial Intern, The Commonwealth

Former FBI agent Robert P. Hanssen, who betrayed American secrets to the Russians for some $1.4 million overthe course of 21 years, was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole on May 10. His actions resulted in the executions of two KGB double agents as he turned over to Moscow more than 6,000 pages of U.S. highly classified documents, including details of America's preparations for nuclear war. Arrested in February 2001 after the FBI got hold of a KGB dossier implicating him, Hanssen pleaded guilty in July to 15 counts of espionage.

FBI Director Robert Mueller reportedly was in favor of the death penalty for Hanssen. But a plea bargain was reached in July 2001 with Hanssen agreeing to cooperate with federal authorities. Mueller welcomed the April findings of the Webster Commission set up to investigate how Hanssen was able to operate undetected since 1979. The report blamed the FBI's "pervasive inattention to security," particularly in relation to its computer systems. The bureau needs to "make security as much a part of our culture as any other daily business that we do," said on April 4, while admitting that the future possibility of another Hanssen at the FBI couldn't be "completely" eliminated.

A movie about Hanssen is already in the works, based on the bestseller The Bureau and the Mole by Washington Post reporter David Vise.

BANK ROBBERIES UP, BUT…

By Alexandra Davidson, Editorial Intern, The Commonwealth

The Christian Science Monitor recently reported that while bank robbery is on the increase in the U.S., the FBI is under pressure to devote more time and energy to the fight against terrorism at the expense of other law enforcement issues. The Police Executive Research Forum, for one, has beenurging the Bureau to reduce or abandon its efforts in fighting traditional crimes such as bank robberies, and to devote more time and resources to improving co-operation with local police in dealing with the terrorist threat.

Some argue a reduction of emphasis on investigating more traditional crimes by the FBI will encourage better law enforcement at a local level. This observation has been incorporated into the argument of those who advocate a change in the role of the FBI.

Robert Mueller reiterated on May 8 before the Senate Judiciary Committee that the FBI is undergoing phases of reorganization, and said the FBI is developing "a comprehensive strategy to permanently shift resources" in the interest of national security.

Reorganization of the bureau comes at an awkward moment. As USA Today noted as well in March, the number of bank robberies has increased in recent years and are likely to increase further this year. Given this, the American Bankers Association wonders if now is the time for the FBI to reduce its efforts in this area.