[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 6389]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   DIRECTOR MUELLER SHOULD STEP DOWN

  (Mr. GOHMERT asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, regarding the recently revealed abuses of 
power and process by the FBI, Director Mueller has now indicated that 
he should have provided adequate training, experience and oversight. He 
is right.
  But it also ignores what may have been one of the underlying 
contributors to the ultimate problem now revealed. Director Mueller has 
for some time now changed personnel policies at the FBI that he knew 
would drive out some of his best agents with the most and best 
experience to handle such very sensitive PATRIOT Act powers. When a 
director decides that his policies are far wiser than others, even as 
he sees that he is driving many of his best, most experienced agents 
and employees out of their supervisory roles, he has an even greater 
burden to see that his agents are trained.
  Some tried to advise him of the damage to the ranks of experience 
that he was causing by what he thought to be innovative personnel 
management. He did not listen, and he did not ensure that the turnover 
he was creating left adequately trained personnel.
  It is a wonderful thing when a leader goes against all the critics to 
do what he knows to be right, and he is, in fact, right. However, when 
a leader goes against critics who tried to tell him he was wrong, and 
he is later proved to be quite wrong, he should do the noble thing and 
step down without further ado.
  Director Mueller has stated himself he must take the responsibility, 
and he is right. He must and he should. He should step down.

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