"Ms. Rowley had the courage to put the good of the country before her own interests and took an enormous personal risk in laying out what went wrong before September 11," Grassley said. "Her courage, patriotism and integrity will help the FBI improve in the long run, even if the revelations are painful or embarrassing in the short term."
Grassley made his request to Mueller at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing to review the events leading up to September 11 terrorist attacks. Grassley is a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee where he has been an outspoken watchdog of the nation's largest law enforcement agency since 1996.
"Over the last eight years, we've seen serious problems with the FBI, but there's do doubt what happened at FBI headquarters leading up to September 11 is the most serious problem yet," Grassley said. "We can't afford to repeat the same mistakes again. The security of our nation is at stake."
Grassley said that lack of cooperation between headquarters and field offices, poor communication inside the organization and risk aversion are major issues that need to be addressed by the bureau. "The FBI's culture is at the heart of the problem," he said.
Rowley, an Iowa native from New Hampton, also testified at Thursday's hearing. Grassley questioned both Rowley and Mueller about FBI operations leading up to September 11 and whether recently announced organizational changes at the bureau will help fix the cultural problems.
Grassley said that while he appreciates Mueller's leadership, he is not fully satisfied with the changes. Grassley is concerned the bureau is still placing too much emphasis on headquarters operations over field investigations and that not enough resources are going towards counter-terrorism operations.
"Preventing terrorism must become the FBI's top priority," Grassley said. "Reorganizing the bureau won't make much difference if the FBI doesn't hold accountable its senior management, including those responsible for the mistakes surrounding September 11."
Grassley commended Mueller for publicly thanking Rowley last week for her actions. "I've protected whistleblowers in Washington for 22 years and this is the first time I've heard an agency head publicly acknowledge a whistleblower, let alone thank the person. It's a step in the right direction."
Rowley has worked for the FBI for 21 years and has been with the Minneapolis division since 1990. She is a graduate of Wartburg College and the University of Iowa Law School.
"Agent Rowley is a dedicated public servant who tells it like it is," Grassley said. "She's wanted to be an FBI agent since she was five years old growing up in Iowa. Her years at the bureau are stellar."