Intelligence

DATE=07/30/01

TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT

TITLE=F-B-I NOMINEE

NUMBER=5-49877

BYLINE=JIM MALONE

DATELINE=WASHINGTON

INTERNET=YES

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: President Bush's choice to head the Federal Bureau of Investigation says his top priority is to restore public confidence in an agency plagued by some high-profile mistakes in recent years. Robert Mueller made the comments during the opening of Senate confirmation hearings Monday, and National Correspondent Jim Malone has a report.

TEXT: The president's choice of Robert Mueller to head the F-B-I has been praised by Republicans and Democrats alike. And Mr. Mueller sought to build on that support Monday, as he set out priorities for a law enforcement agency that has come under fire in recent years for some highly publicized blunders:

/// 1ST MUELLER ACT ///

If I have the honor of being confirmed by the Senate, I will make it my highest priority to restore the public's confidence in the F-B-I, to re-earn the faith and trust of the American people.

/// END ACT ///

Public confidence in the F-B-I has been slipping in recent years, due to a series of investigative and bureaucratic mistakes. These include the recent failure of the F-B-I to provide documents to lawyers for Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, resulting in a one-month delay in his execution.

Other incidents that have tarnished the F-B-I's once sterling reputation include the revelation that former high-level F-B-I agent Robert Hanssen was a spy for Russia and the bungling of the investigation into the espionage case involving former nuclear scientist Wen Ho Lee.

/// OPT /// In addition, the F-B-I remains on the defensive for its conduct in two armed standoffs in the early 1990's, one in Ruby Ridge, Idaho and the other at the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas. /// END OPT ///

Robert Mueller says if confirmed as the next F-B-I Director, he will insist on openness about the bureau's shortcomings:

/// 2ND MUELLER ACT ///

We must tell the truth and let the facts speak for themselves. The truth is what we expect in our investigations of others and the truth is what we must demand of ourselves when we come under scrutiny.

/// END ACT ///

Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee seemed pleased with what they heard from Mr. Mueller. Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (Vermont Democrat) says there is no question that Mr. Mueller faces a difficult task:

/// LEAHY ACT ///

We have long thought that the F-B-I was the crown jewel of law enforcement agencies. Some of that jewel has lost some of its luster and we want to restore it. So frankly, Mr. Mueller, you have both a great challenge and a great opportunity to restore public confidence in the bureau and it is safe to say that all of us want to do that.

/// END ACT ///

/// OPT /// Mr. Mueller's predecessor, Louis Freeh, was popular with members of Congress. But that did not stop lawmakers from complaining about what they saw as a culture of arrogance at the F-B-I, that seemed to insulate the agency from congressional and public criticism.

Iowa Republican Senator Charles Grassley is urging Robert Mueller to make sweeping changes:

/// GRASSLEY ACT ///

The F-B-I is in desperate need of a director who will make drastic changes to the bureau's management culture. This person must be able to sweep out the culture of arrogance and replace it with a culture dedicated to truth and honorable service to the American people.

/// END ACT //END OPT ///

Robert Mueller is a career prosecutor who has handled some high-profile cases for the Justice Department. He oversaw the investigation into the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Scotland and the prosecution of former Panamanian President Manuel Noriega who was convicted on cocaine trafficking charges in 1992.

The Senate is expected to confirm Mr. Mueller as the F-B-I's sixth director sometime in the next few weeks. (Signed)

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