Sens. Patrick Leahy and Chuck Grassley last month announced their plans to introduce legislation to reverse a current policy which prevents the DoJ IG's office from looking into FBI misconduct unless the FBI specifically authorizes the scrutiny.
In a letter sent today to Attorney General Ashcroft, Grassley said their legislation would permanently extend the expanded jurisdiction of the DoJ IG. Ashcroft has modified an internal regulation which severely restricted the oversight ability of the DoJ IG. Grassley asked Ashcroft to provide additional details on how the various investigative and audit entities within the Justice Department, FBI and DEA are to be administered and organized.
"I've said for years that the FBI should not be allowed to police itself, and I'm encouraged by the response of the Attorney General and this important step toward the establishment of a free and independent oversight entity," Grassley said. "There are a lot of details to be ironed out as to the relationship between the Justice Department's Inspector General and the FBI and DEA. I plan to stay on top of the negotiations to ensure the IG can do his job of oversight."
Leahy, who is Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said, "The Attorney General has correctly drawn from the lessons about the flaws in the FBI's management structure that we have been examining. This is a solid step forward in accountability. It shows that the Attorney General is taking seriously the issues raised during our oversight hearings about the problems the FBI has policing itself. We will hear more about these and other FBI managements issues Wednesday at our next hearing. This action to expand the primary jurisdiction of the Justice Department's Office of Inspector General to examine allegations of misconduct by FBI and DEA agents is a significant move in the right direction and one that Senator Grassley and I recommended last month. The new rule also expands the Inspector General's jurisdiction to deal not just with claims of retaliation by FBI agents who have reported misconduct within the FBI, but also to deal with the underlying ?whistleblower' complaints themselves. This is a constructive change that will help ensure the unbiased review of whistleblower complaints that the public expects."
Leahy announced today that the next Judiciary Committee oversight hearing on the FBI will be next Wednesday, July 18, on "Reforming FBI Management: Views from Inside and Out." The committee launched the series of wide-ranging FBI hearings in June.
On Monday, Grassley met with President Bush's nominee for FBI Director, Robert Mueller. Grassley raised his long-standing concerns about the management culture at the FBI, the need to empower the Inspector General at the Justice Department to oversee the FBI, and the need to protect FBI whistleblowers. "I expressed to Mr. Mueller my strong view that the new director needs to act quickly to begin overhauling the agency and confronting what I think will be strong resistance to meaningful changes. Dramatic reforms and accountability are needed to restore the public's confidence in federal law enforcement," Grassley said. As a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, Grassley said he would continue to study the President's nomination through the confirmation process.
Grassley has urged the creation of a Judiciary Subcommittee that would be directly responsible for oversight of the FBI. "Congress has an important responsibility to hold federal law enforcement accountable. A renewed commitment on the part of Congress is a critically important component of the effort that's needed to turn around the FBI," he said.