"Part of the reason the FBI hasn't been effective is structural, and some important changes will be made by the plan announced today. The FBI needs to focus and do its part in preventing terrorism while letting other law enforcement agencies carry out their missions. It needs to be ?game over' for the FBI's PacMan mentality of gobbling up the jurisdiction of other agencies.
"Reorganization plans come and go. And new charts and graphs about who is in charge of what won't correct a management culture that's focused on headlines over the nuts and bolts of investigative work. So this new plan warrants even more oversight from Congress. We need to make sure changes are real and that old FBI offices and functions aren't simply being re-adorned with new names and descriptions.
"For example, I'm concerned that the Bureau is creating an entirely new Cybercrime Division when we already have two agencies ? the Secret Service and U.S. Customs Service ? who devote significant resources to these kinds of high-tech crimes. The new law enforcement coordination office could be a good thing and improve information sharing. But to make sure law enforcement agencies at every level get the information they need, concrete accountability measures, and consequences, are needed."
October 23, 2001
The Honorable Robert Mueller
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Washington, D.C.
Dear Director Mueller:
For several years now, I have drawn attention to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) encroachment into areas properly belonging to other federal law enforcement agencies. This PacMan-like activity ? gobbling up the responsibilities of other law enforcement agencies ? has resulted in a broadening of the FBI's scope of responsibility and consequently has weakened its effectiveness in its primary role. This PacMan mentality dilutes FBI resources and keeps the FBI from focusing on the work they do best, fighting complex white collar crime and terrorism. It is for this reason that I have long advocated cutting back on the number of crimes that the FBI has the primary responsibility for investigating. I would note that the FBI is not solely to blame for this vast expansion of FBI authority, Congress also has been eager to expand FBI authority.
As you may recall, I raised this concern of the FBI being overextended in my meeting with you prior to your confirmation as Director of the FBI. I am encouraged that you have decided to limit the FBI's investigatory scope and hopefully make it game over for the PacMan at the FBI. This is a good step in efforts to end the culture of arrogance at the FBI that has concerned me ? I commend you for this effort. In light of recent events and realities they present, the FBI should focus on investigating federal terrorism crimes and either end or scale back its involvement in a wide array of crimes.
It is my hope that by curtailing and ending certain FBI activities, you will also send a positive signal in dealing with other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies on the war on terrorism and other issues. This reorganization of agency resources should go hand in hand with a comprehensive plan to coordinate the efforts of your partners in state, local and federal law enforcement. Certainly the events of September 11th and its aftermath have shown that the entire law enforcement community need to be full partners in the war on terrorism ? and that the sharing of information is vital.
Because of my long-standing interest in addressing this problem at the FBI, I would appreciate it if you would send me the details of your plan to refocus the resources of the FBI on investigating federal terrorism crimes. I would like to know what specific areas the FBI will either end or scale back. Further, in conjunction with those decisions, I want to know what steps are being taken to ensure a smooth transition or transfer of these responsibilities to other federal law enforcement agencies and state and local government.
It is my view that as the FBI brings a stronger focus on terrorism and curtails involvement in other areas this will free up significant FBI resources. These newly-available resources should be the first source for the necessary manpower for the war on terrorism. It is only after the FBI has exhausted these current resources that Congress should entertain the possibility of increasing the FBI's resources.
Thank you for your time and assistance on this matter. I would ask for a response by December 3rd.
Cordially yours,
Charles E. Grassley
United States Senate
cc: The Honorable Thomas Ridge
Attorney General John Ashcroft