Leahy, Grassley Ready To Introduce FBI Oversight Legislation

Thu Feb 28, 2002
Leahy, Grassley ready to introduce FBI oversight legislation
By JE esse J. Holland, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - Two senators are pushing a plan to improve monitoring of the FBI, including a provision to let Justice Department investigators independently look at the agency and to protect whistle-blowers.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Sen. Charles Grassley (news), R-Iowa, plan to announce their ideas Thursday. They will say they intend to introduce a legislation to make clear that the Justice Department's inspector general has jurisdiction over the FBI.

Grassley and Leahy's representatives would not talk Wednesday about the proposed legislation.

Last year, however, after a series of FBI oversight hearings in the Judiciary Committee, the senators said they would introduce the measure. They said their legislation would guarantee in law inspector general's authority, even though Attorney General John Ashcroft made the same move administratively.

In the past, the inspector general could investigate the FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration only when ordered to do so by the attorney general or his deputy. Ashcroft gave the inspector general authority in July to investigate problems at the FBI without his permission.

"We should not leave matters in a position where the inspector general's important role in performing FBI oversight could once again be frustrated by the stroke of a pen by a future attorney general," Leahy said in July.

The FBI has been under fire for what critics have called a cover-up-the-mistakes mentality and a series of missteps going back over the years. Among more recent problems are the loss of weapons and computers; failure to provide thousands of documents to lawyers for Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh; discovery of a spy, Robert Hanssen, at the heart of the bureau; the Branch Davidian and Ruby Ridge standoffs; and the botched investigation of former nuclear scientist Wen Ho Lee.

Leahy's committee plans additional FBI oversight hearings this year, some to include questions about why America's intelligence agencies were not more prepared for the terror attacks of Sept. 11.

The bill also will increase the protection of FBI whistle-blowers, Grassley said Wednesday.

FBI "agents who blow the whistle about problems or wrongdoing didn't have the same protection as others in government," Grassley said in a speech at the National Whistleblower Center.

"We're going to fix that with FBI reform bill that Senator Leahy and I will be introducing."

Grassley has long been an advocate of whistle-blowers and their protection. The Justice Department inspector general last year began an investigation of allegations of retaliation against agents assigned to look into the bureau's handling of the 1992 standoff with white separatists in Ruby Ridge, Idaho.

Grassley has worked to protect government whistleblowers for years. As for co-signing a bill to improve the FBI, let's face it, this is needed. After 8 years of Clinton corruption, which infected even the FBI, along with every other government agency, this is long over-due. We know Leahy wouldn't be doing it if he couldn't use it to slam the current administration, but Bush can handle that.

"For Immediate Release
Friday, January 14, 2000
Grassley Comments on Airline Whistle-Blowers

Sen. Chuck Grassley today made the following statement regarding the Clinton Administration's plan to grant airline personnel immunity for reporting operational errors to the Federal Aviation Administration.

"This is a good first step," Grassley said. "But to ensure public safety, Congress needs to enact full whistleblower protection for all airline employees."

Grassley is noted on Capitol Hill for promoting whistle-blower protection legislation and he has a provision in the current FAA Reauthorization Bill in conference between the Senate and House."

"The FBI has been under fire for what critics have called a cover-up-the-mistakes mentality and a series of missteps going back over the years."

Hmmm, mistakes and missteps. We can only look at history.

GOVERNMENT TERRORISM - From Ruby Ridge To Waco And Beyond

Waco Fire Expert - The Government Burned Them To Death

THE SENATE - "I don’t care if you have proof that he raped a woman, stood up and shot her dead, you’re still not going to get 67 votes."

The Justice Department - Attorney General John Ashcroft Picks Arthur Andersen For FBI Review
Note: Arthur Andersen’s Contract to Audit FBI Unaffected by Mounting Evidence of Criminal Activity

George W. Bush To Name Justice Department Building After Kennedy

A Better Understanding of the FBI

George W. Bush policy could foil suits on FBI dealings - Executive Privilege block getting information on Murders

George W. Bush White House Pushes for FOIA Carve-Outs

Defend The Constitution? - Sorry, You're A Terrorist To The FBI

Hello, My Name Is Asa Hutchinson, I'm in Charge of the DEA, and I Shut Down The Largest Drug Trafficking Investigation In The History Of The Republic

Iran-Contra Figure Poindexter Now Heading New Pentagon Office

The Oklahoma City Bombing - The Government Coverup

Oklahoma City Bombing - 36,000 Pages of Undisclosed Evidence - Sorry About That

TWA Flight 800 - Downed By A Missile and the Government Coverup

Say it ain't so, Jim - The James Kallstrom Lies and Coverup

O'Reilly - Bush Justice Dept. Hamstringing Pardongate Probers

Trulock Case Against Wen Ho Lee Dismissed At Request of President Bush

Bush Administration Lawyers Defending Hillary

Bush Administration Lawyers Defending Hillary - Gratis

U.S.Securities and Exchange Records - George W. Bush Disregarded Federal Statutes

Did We Know What Was Coming? Yes, and the Government Did Nothing

Here We Go Again - The government agency claims American Airlines Flight 587 just fell apart in the sky inexplicably Nov. 12, over Belle Harbor, New York. No explosions. No evidence of sabotage

Bush asks Daschle to limit Sept. 11 probes

Dick Cheney asks Daschle to Limit Sept. 11 probes

US agents told to back off bin Ladens after George W. Bush Became President

The White House connection: Saudi `agents' close Bush friends

Ex-CIA Official to Head Sept. 11 Probe in Congress(What else did you expect?)

Cover Up:Senate-House Investigation of Intelligence Failure led by Tenet's Long-time Subordinate

Tenet Must Go

Ridge: Gov't might need reorganizing

Why are U. S. Government Agencies Importing and Protecting Suspected Middle Eastern Terrorists?

Obstruction in 9-11 Terror Investigation

David Schippers represents several FBI agents who state that they are not being permitted to arrest certain terrorists. The agents and Jayna Davis had knowledge of the 9/11 attacks on Manhattan, prior to the attack, and attempted to provide that information to Attorney General John Ashcroft, but were unable to get past staffers and Ashcroft did not return calls to Schippers

Obstruction in terror investigations - FBI agent alleges feds stopped probes that may have prevented 9-11

Congressman: FBI Ignored Repeated Warnings

Al Qaeda terrorist worked with FBI - Ex-Silicon Valley resident plotted embassy attacks

The Justice Department Facilitates The Deaths Of Thousands Of Americans

Mueller ran Justice's criminal division under the last Bush administration and drew fire for being too lax in probing the BCCI banking scandal. It was under Mueller that Radek, then deputy chief of the unit, became a section chief for the first time.

Bush To Name Mueller As FBI Head

FBI should be polygraph-tested

John Magaw - George W. Bush Appoints Magaw as Under Secretary of Transportation Security at the Department of Transportation created in the wake of 9-11

Webster pulled plug on polygraph tests? Ex-agent: Former FBI chief heading up post-spy review killed security program
Obstruction in terror investigations? - FBI agent alleges feds stopped probes that may have prevented 9-11
Congressman: FBI Ignored Repeated Warnings
FBI FOREKNOWLEDGE: Laden Suspect (Moussauoi) in OKC Bombings and WTC Attacks Identified &Jailed
FBI COVER-UP OF CHINESE INFILTRATION OF WHITE HOUSE
The Government Mafia
Criminal Laws Implicated by the Clinton Scandals
OVER 2,000 PEOPLE, ORGANIZATIONS, AND CRIMES CONNECTED TO THE CLINTONS
Bush Justice Department Seeks to Halt Wen Ho Lee Testimony
Bush vows to review Clinton's actions, But Can't Find A Thing
BUSH JUSTICE DEPARTMENT BLOCKS RENO DEPOSITION
Bush Limits Access to Reagan Papers, Draws Criticism
Does Ashcroft Know About Miquel Rodriguez and Vincent Foster?
Ashcroft Orders Full FBI Review And Then The FBI Terrorists Can Proceed As Normal
Ashcroft Winding Down Justice Department Chinagate Probe
Breaking: US Congress Subpoena Orders Ashcroft To Release Clinton Evidence on Sept. 11, 2001
Bush action gives safe harbor to FBI 'terrorists'
DOJ Under Janet Ashcroft - Has Anything Changed?
Eyeing What You Read: FBI in Libraries and Bookstores
Operation Magic Lantern
Spy Network #188 #189
The Bush administration is pushing Congress to act on the president's plan for granting amnesty to millions of Mexican workers living and working illegally in the United States - February 15, 2002

Democrats hail Bush's immigrant-amnesty plan

The Bush administration proposed today to restore food stamps to legal immigrants, whose eligibility for benefits was severely restricted by the 1996 welfare law
Food stamps for immigrants is 'troubling'
Bush's food stamp plan called ethnic pandering
President Bush urged Congress to extend a deadline for illegal immigrants to remain in the United States while they pursue legal residency.
Bush blasts anti-immigrant forces .....wants more immigration
WAS RON BROWN ASSASSINATED? Yes.
THE CRIMINAL RON BROWN INVESTIGATION AND COVERUP - Kathleen Janoski
THE ASSASSINATION OF VINCENT FOSTER

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT CONSPIRACY - Remarks By U.S. Rep. Bob Barr

POLICE STATE

The Fall of the Republic

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.