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Guest Commentary June 6, 2002
Close Congressional Oversight of the FBI Is Imperative
The Honorable Patrick Leahy
The Judiciary Committee is the standing committee of the Senate responsible for oversight of the Justice Department. We are accountable to the Senate and the American people for ensuring that FBI, the INS and other Department components are effectively organized with adequate resources under proper policies and leadership. This committee considered the nominations of the FBI Director, the INS Commissioner, the Inspector General, and the Attorney General. This committee has a continuing responsibility to examine the stewardship of these agencies.
I noted at our May 8 hearing that the first hearing I announced and chaired as the new chairman of the Judiciary Committee was our June 20 hearing on FBI oversight last year, which began our series of FBI oversight hearings. Now, more than ever, in the age of terrorist attacks on our shores, close oversight of the FBI and our other law enforcement and intelligence agencies is not an option; it is an imperative.
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I wrote to the Attorney General and the Director on October 25 last year, as we were enacting the USA PATRIOT Act, to ask what internal reviews they were conducting in connection with the events of September 11 and counterterrorism efforts. I told both the Attorney General and the Director to preserve documents and information from before September 11 and that they share with us important matters they uncover as they conduct an internal review of the events leading up to the tragedy of 9/11. I was disappointed to learn only this week that the Justice Department Inspector General conducted an inquiry into the FBI’s Phoenix Electronic Communication as early as last October. We will want to hear from Inspector General Fine about the circumstances and results of his earlier inquiry about the handling of the Phoenix E.C.
Even more disappointing was the Justice Department’s failure to advise the Committee that its review of FBI Guidelines after 9/11 had uncovered issues that called for revision. Instead, the Committee is presented with a fait accompli reflecting no congressional input whatsoever. From his comments over the weekend, it seems that Chairman Sensenbrenner and our counterparts on the House Judiciary Committee were likewise surprised by the unilateral actions taken by the Attorney General in revising these longstanding guidelines. ...
No flow chart or press conference can fully reassure the American people that our government institutions are up to the present challenges, particularly in the face of new and daily revelations of past lapses. The job of proving to the American people that our government institutions are up to the job is a process that involves responding to legitimate questions posed by the oversight committees of the Congress.
Patrick Leahy, a Democrat, is a U.S. Senator from Vermont. The above commentary has been adapted from the prepared opening statement of Sen. Leahy at a hearing of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, June 6, 2002. To contact him, Click Here.
The above column has been distributed by PoliticsOL.com.
