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Speaking of Mueller......Did you know that Boxer backed his nomination to head the FBI?

Did you know that the Judiciary Commitee and the Senate acted on his nomination and confirmation faster than most and confirmed him within a couple of weeks?

Did you know it took over a month to swear him in as FBI director?

Did you know he was Acting Deputy Director of the DOJ from January through May, was gone for 1 month and then nominated to head FBI?

Liberal Senators Back Mueller for FBI; Privacy Advocates Wary

Wes Vernon Friday, July 6, 2001

WASHINGTON - Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., a rival to Sen. Edward Kennedy as the Senate's most reliable leftist, has given a fulsome endorsement to Robert Mueller, President Bush's pick for FBI director. Privacy advocates are withholding judgment.

In a statement faxed by her office to NewsMax.com, Boxer praises Mueller, U.S. attorney for Northern California, as having "all the qualities needed to become an outstanding Director of the FBI." "He has extensive law enforcement experience at every level, from line prosecutor to U.S. Attorney to high level positions in the Justice Department," she added.

"His courage and devotion to his country are unquestioned and were demonstrated early in his career when he become a highly decorated Marine officer."

Speaking of Kennedy, his reaction was to recall that Mueller had "demonstrated considerable skill in the U.S. Attorney's office in Boston and San Francisco, and as head of the Criminal Division in the Department of Justice." Boxer's enthusiasm contrasts with a more "wait and see" approach by privacy advocates.

Noting that Mueller was familiar with technical issues involving the FBI, Lisa Dean, vice president of technology policy for the Free Congress Foundation, expressed the hope that the nominee would have a sense of "balance" between high-technology methods of catching criminals and the privacy rights of Americans.

"I don't know how he comes down on" that "balance," said David Sobel, general counsel of the Electronic Privacy Information Center. He said he had met the nominee in a meeting hosted by Attorney General John Ashcroft. That meeting with law enforcement officials and privacy advocates was to discuss computer crime and related privacy concerns.

Sobel said he did not know Mueller's views on those matters, but "he is certainly knowledgeable about them." Accuracy in Media President Reed Irvine, who has frequently clashed with the FBI over investigations which he believes were either botched or covered up, referred NewsMax.com to a June 11 column by New York Times columnist William Safire.

Recalling that Mueller led the Justice Department's Criminal Division in the senior Bush's administration, the columnist describes him as an "intelligent apparatchik." Apparently, the FBI pick is a survivor of the bureaucratic wars who has managed to avoid rocking boats in the administrations of both Bushes and Clinton. The following are examples:

1 - Mueller "showed a marked lack of interest in the Iraqgate investigation." The accusation in that case was that the Bush administration, having received near-universal acclaim for victory over Iraq in the Gulf War, had stumbled into that conflict in the first place through diplomatic blunders that emboldened Saddam Hussein.

2 - "As Democrat [Eric] Holder moved up the ladder at [Clinton-Reno] Justice, so too did his friend Mueller, and — with strong support from Senator Barbara Boxer - was rewarded with a Clinton appointment as U.S. Attorney in San Francisco."

3 - When Bush the younger arrived, Mueller "spun about and made his bureaucratic expertise known to the knocked about [Attorney General] John Ashcroft." He saw that his old associates in the public integrity section remained secure.

Republican lawmakers are reluctant to publicly criticize their president. But GOP staffers who are up to speed on the thinking inside FBI and Justice Department circles will express their concerns off the record.

'Too Clever'

"This guy's just a little too clever by half," said one, "How can we trust somebody who walks both sides of the street? Didn't we have enough of that with [recently departed FBI Director Louis] Freeh?"

While former FBI directors William Sessions and William Webster were often criticized for naiveté on bureaucratic intrigue, Mueller, as some Washingtonians see it, may have the kind of bureaucratic smarts that are good for him, but not necessarily for the country. On the other hand, another Republican staffer said there was reason to believe that Mueller will be an improvement over Freeh, about whom this source had no enthusiasm.

"You have to remember," he said, "he has the backing of both the president and John Ashcroft. And they're both good guys. If he wants to please them, he'll do the right thing [on privacy]."

Although some may regard that kind of comment as a form of "whistling past the graveyard," rare is the Republican on the Hill ready to go to war over this nomination, at least at this early stage. Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., issued a noncommittal statement noting his panel's planned "oversight hearings" on the FBI, and adding it "will be the committee's job to determine if Mr. Mueller is the right person for the job." The committee's ranking Republican and former chairman, Sen. Orrin G. Hatch, R-Utah, lauded Bush for his "excellent choice" in picking Mueller.

"I am confident that Mr. Mueller's distinguished history of public service and as a federal prosecutor" will provide "dynamic leadership," the Utah Republican declared.

California's other liberal Democrat senator, Dianne Feinstein, praised the selection of Mueller, Fox News Channel reported Thursday evening.

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Congressional Record: August 2, 2001 (Senate) Page S8680-S8691 robert s. mueller, iii, to be director of the federal bureau of investigation Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, I have moved swiftly in the Judiciary Committee to consider and move forward the nomination of Robert S. Mueller, III, to be Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

His nomination was sent to the Senate on July 18 but his paperwork was not completed until July 24. Less than one week later, we held 2 days of hearings, on July 30 and 31, and made sure that the committee considered his nomination the same week, on August 2, in order to ensure committee and Senate consideration of this important nomination before the August recess. The committee unanimously and favorably reported this nomination. I thank the Democratic and Republican members of the committee for their cooperation and attention in allowing this nomination to move forward on an expedited basis. Mr. Mueller has had an outstanding career in law enforcement, serving as a Federal prosecutor in three different United States Attorneys' Offices and in Main Justice under both Republican and Democratic administrations. As he testified at his confirmation hearing, he has ``either personally prosecuted or supervised the prosecution of just about every type of Federal Criminal offense, including homicide, drug trafficking, organized crime, cyber crime, major frauds, civil rights and environmental crime.´´

Mr. Mueller was the only witness at his hearings. The committee did not call other witnesses we are in the midst of intensive and ongoing FBI oversight hearings. These FBI oversight hearings were an integral part of the committee's preparation to consider the nomination of a new FBI Director, and Mr. Mueller's opening statement at his confirmation hearings specifically addressed significant issues raised in the prior hearings.

At the oversight hearing on June 20, 2001, the committee examined both outside oversight mechanisms and methods to restore confidence in the FBI.

Witnesses included former Senator John C. Danforth, who investigated the events at Waco as Special Counsel to the Attorney General; the Honorable William H. Webster, former FBI and CIA Director, currently heading a review of FBI security in the aftermath of the Hanssen espionage case; Glenn A. Fine, current Inspector General of the Department of Justice; Michael R. Bromwich, former Inspector General of the Department of Justice; and Norman J. Rabkin, Managing Director, Tax Administration and Justice Issues, General Accounting Office.

At the oversight hearing on July 18, 2001, the committee considered the reform of FBI management with views from inside and outside the FBI. Witnesses included Raymond W. Kelly, former New York City Police Commissioner and Commissioner of the U.S. Customs Service; Bob E. Dies, FBI Assistant Director for Information Resources; Kenneth H. Senser, Acting FBI Deputy Assistant Director for Security Programs and Countermeasures; John E. Roberts, Unit Chief, FBI Office of Professional Responsibility; John Werner, former Supervisory Special Agent, FBI Office of Professional Responsibility; Frank L. Perry, Supervisory Senior Resident Agent, Raleigh, North Carolina, and former head of the Office of Law Enforcement Ethics at the FBI

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WASHINGTON (CNN) Mueller confirmed as FBI chief

August 2, 2001 Posted: 9:15 PM EDT (0115 GMT)

-- The Senate voted unanimously Thursday to confirm Robert Mueller as FBI director.

The Senate vote was 98-0 to approve Mueller for a 10-year term, the same day the Senate Judiciary Committee recommended his confirmation. The 56-year-old veteran prosecutor was President Bush's pick to lead the bureau. He told the Judiciary Committee during a two-day confirmation hearing that his top priority would be to "restore the public's confidence in the FBI, to re-earn the faith and trust of the American people."

Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, the Judiciary Committee's chairman, said Mueller should be prepared to "clean house if necessary."

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Mueller assumes the helm of FBI September 5, 2001 Posted: 10:52 AM EDT (1452 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Robert Mueller took charge of the FBI Tuesday, becoming the sixth director of the United States' top law enforcement agency, which has been plagued by a recent series of blunders. Justice Department and FBI officials said Mueller was sworn in during an early-morning, private ceremony in Attorney General John Ashcroft's office across the street from FBI headquarters. Bush nominates Robert Mueller as head of FBI

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Washington, July 5 US PRESIDENT George W Bush on Friday nominated Justice Department veteran Robert Mueller as head of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), an administration official said.

His task is to restore prestige of FBI, which has suffered from a string of embarrassments ranging from bungled documents to the discovery of a spy for the Russians in its midst, the official said. The news follows intense speculation about whom Bush would pick to replace Louis Freeh, who announced his resignation on May 1, well in advance of the end of his term set for 2003.

Mueller, who served as acting deputy attorney general from January to May, serves as US Attorney in San Francisco. He had previously headed homicide division of the US Attorney's office here.

If confirmed by the Senate, Mueller gets a ten-year t