[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 21 (Tuesday, February 25, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1547-S1548]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     MANAGEMENT FAILINGS IN THE FBI

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, reports of alleged mismanagement within 
the Federal Bureau of Investigation have been in the news, recently. 
Most of the reports reflect issues in the FBI's vaunted crime lab. 
These allegations of mismanagement come on the heals of FBI management 
disasters with Waco, Ruby Ridge, Filegate, and Atlanta, as well as 
others.
  The average citizen is wondering if this premiere law enforcement 
agency is out of control. The deputy director of the FBI, Weldon 
Kennedy, understands the significance. Two weeks ago, he said the 
following:

       The single thing most responsible for the success of the 
     FBI is that ``people are confident that if they come to the 
     FBI, the matter will be handled professionally and well. If 
     that trust ever breaks down, not only is the FBI in trouble, 
     but the American people are in trouble.

  Mr. President, that is the issue. Weldon Kennedy hit the nail 
squarely on the head.
  The issue is trust and confidence in the Nation's No. 1 law 
enforcement agency. And in the context of other, recent management 
fiascos at the FBI, skepticism is validly the order of the day.
  Indeed, allegations of problems in the FBI lab are troubling. I have 
been working, parallel to the Justice Department's inspector general, 
to find out if the allegations are true or not. The IG's report is due 
for public release on or about March 14.
  So far, the FBI has responded to the allegations in a less than 
credible way. First, they shot the messenger--Dr. Frederic Whitehurst, 
the lab scientist who first raised the allegations.
  Next, the FBI used the typical ``everything's okay'' strategy to make 
the public think there was no problem. But that was contradicted by the 
facts. Weldon Kennedy said the problems in the lab wouldn't compromise 
any past, present, or future case.
  That statement raised a lot of eyebrows. The deputy attorney general, 
Jamie Gorelick, refused to confirm Mr. Kennedy's wild optimism. Her 
refusal to do so totally undercut Mr. Kennedy's statement. Mr. 
Kennedy's credibility came into question. Even Mr. Kennedy had to back 
off his own statement. On February 6, he admitted, ``Maybe I was 
overstating the case.''
  But then, in a letter to me dated February 21, Mr. Kennedy went right 
back to defending his wildly optimistic statement--that no past, 
present or future case is in danger. In my view, Mr. Kennedy is playing 
fast and loose with reality, with a purpose to mislead the public, and 
mislead Congress. The simple fact is, it is much too premature for Mr. 
Kennedy to be making groundless predictions. For him to do so anyway 
shows a strategy to mislead.
  Third, I have learned that it is not just Dr. Whitehurst who has 
alleged wrongdoing in the FBI crime lab. Others have as well. So in the 
near future, I will resume speaking to my colleagues about this issue, 
Mr. President. At that time, I intend to discuss a very specific case 
with specific allegations of alleged wrongdoing. Today, however, I 
intend for my remarks to remain general.
  Finally, I fear the FBI has covered up the lab's shortcomings. The 
FBI has been aware of many of these specific problems for more than 10 
years. Yet, there have been few, if any, fixes to the problems. I 
suspect the reason is that the obvious solution is for the lab to be 
accredited; but the lab is so poorly configured and maintained that it 
can't be accredited. So instead, the FBI calculated that it's better to 
``cover it up''

[[Page S1548]]

until the new lab is constructed down at Quantico in the year 2000.
  If true, Mr. President, this decision by the FBI would be appalling. 
I am not prepared at this time to conclude that this is the FBI's 
intent. But if it is, not only is the FBI in trouble, so are the 
American people, as Mr. Kennedy so aptly put it. Because if this is 
true, it is not just a problem with the FBI crime lab; it's a problem 
with the FBI's overall leadership.
  As I mentioned, the IG report will be released to the public no 
sooner than March 14. Meanwhile, the FBI is out there spinning. In Mr. 
Kennedy's February 21 letter, he says the IG report, once we all read 
it, will ultimately reveal no problems. Here's what he says:

       [T]he Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General 
     found no instances of perjury, evidence tampering, evidence 
     fabrication, or failure to report exculpatory information.

  That's true, but irrelevant. Mr. President, never in my 16 years of 
sitting on the Judiciary Committee have I found a more misleading 
statement by an official of the FBI. It has a designed purpose of 
making the public think everything is under control at the FBI crime 
lab.
  Well, everything is not under control. The fact of the matter is--and 
the FBI is well aware of this, which is why Mr. Kennedy made this 
statement--the IG did not investigate to determine if there were any 
crimes committed by FBI agents--like, perjury, evidence tampering, 
evidence fabrication, or failure to report exculpatory information. The 
IG's charter was to determine management problems and administrative 
problems--not crimes.
  The criminal investigation comes next. Because the IG also has the 
right the refer issues for possible criminal referral. And I predict, 
Mr. President, that the FBI will have to back off of that statement as 
well, when all of this is over.
  Mr. President, what we're seeing in the FBI lab issue is systemic. It 
reflects a culture that says the FBI is more interested in a conviction 
than they are in the truth. They don't reveal all the facts. Only 
enough to make their case. This is what I intend to show in a future 
statement before this body. The issue will be the FBI shaving evidence 
to get a prosecution.
  That's not cricket. It's not American. And it can't be tolerated. I 
grew up the son of a farmer. My father taught me to be proud of the 
FBI. Its image was that it could do no wrong. A whole generation of 
people like me grew up believing the FBI could do no wrong. Now, that 
confidence, that trust, has been shaken.
  Finally, Mr. President, let me send a shot across the bow. There are 
rumors I'm hearing that the FBI intends to fire Dr. Whitehurst right 
after the IG report is released. My message today to the Bureau is, 
``you fire Dr. Whitehurst, and you will cause a protracted battle with 
the Congress over the integrity of the FBI's leadership.''
  In the end, it will be shown that the standards of the FBI crime lab 
have been far short of their vaunted reputation. It will be shown that 
the FBI was well aware of these problems, but chose to do little, if 
anything, to fix them. It will also be shown that the problems, would 
not have been addressed by the IG were it not for the courage of Dr. 
Whitehurst.
  This is a wake-up call to the FBI. The public will not tolerate an 
arrogant response by the FBI in this matter. Too much is at stake; 
namely, the integrity of the criminal justice system in America. I 
intend to keep this issue before the American people. I will make sure 
they understand they have a choice between an FBI with integrity, and 
an FBI that plays fast and loose with the truth.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Weldon Kennedy's February 
21 letter be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                            Department of Justice,


                              Federal Bureau of Investigation,

                                Washington, DC, February 21, 1997.
     Hon. Charles E. Grassley,
     U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Grassley: The Attorney General shared a copy 
     of your February 13th letter with me. While the Department of 
     Justice will respond directly to you, because you suggested 
     that I misled you and the public I am compelled to respond to 
     the inferences which you have raised about my personal 
     integrity.
       First, let me state that I share your belief that any 
     public servant who misleads the public or Congress should be 
     held accountable regardless of his rank or position. As not 
     only a career civil servant but a sworn law enforcement 
     officer with more than thirty-five years of service to this 
     Nation, I hold dear not only my personal reputation for 
     integrity but also my duty to uphold and defend the 
     constitution. As one who has been charged with the 
     responsibility to investigate the alleged criminal acts of my 
     fellow citizens, I assure you that I am extremely sensitive 
     to my own responsibility, as well as that of other 
     governmental officials such as you to avoid rash judgments 
     and to devote every effort to insure the accuracy of my 
     conclusions.
       I remain convinced everything said during our briefing of 
     you is accurate. I further do not believe what Ms. Gorelick 
     said is inconsistent with our position, a position fully 
     supported by the facts.
       If you recall from our briefing, Mr. Maddock explained in 
     great detail about how every allegation with even the 
     slightest potential for Brady implications was referred to 
     the appropriate prosecutor to determine if the information 
     should be supplied to the defense counsel. This process has 
     been ongoing for more than a year and was undertaken out of 
     an abundance of caution to ensure there is no doubt we have 
     more than met any legal obligation to disclose even 
     potentially exculpatory information to criminal defendants. 
     The fact that information is provided to defendants ensures 
     their right to a fair trial, but is does not mean that a 
     defendant is not guilty or that a successful prosecution 
     will not or should not be brought. That is the process to 
     which Ms. Gorelick referred and which the FBI fully 
     supported.
       What I said during our briefing and to the public was that 
     no prosecutions have been compromised. That remains as 
     accurate today as when I said it. No past or current 
     prosecutions have been compromised and we know of no 
     information that indicates a future case will be compromised. 
     There is no basis to conclude otherwise in spite of 
     journalistic sensationalism which has misled you and the 
     public to believe the contrary.
       Through a series of malicious leaks and gross speculation 
     by the press and other uniformed persons, doubt has been cast 
     on the whole of the FBI Laboratory. As I reported to you, 
     after 16 months of intensive investigation, the Department of 
     Justice Office of the Inspector General found no instances of 
     perjury, evidence tampering, evidence fabrication, or failure 
     to report exculpatory evidence. Neither did the inquiry find 
     any support for spurious allegations charging systemic 
     evidence contamination or improper evidence handling.
       I believe when you are afforded the opportunity to review 
     the report including our lengthy response, the basis on which 
     I made the statement will be apparent. I also hope this helps 
     you understand why the comments by Ms. Gorelick are not ``at 
     odds'' with what I said either to you or to the public.
           Sincerely yours,
                                                Weldon L. Kennedy,
     Deputy Director.

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