Comment of Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee,
On The Situation Involving FBI Special Agent Jane Turner
Tues., Oct. 22, 2002

"I am concerned by a report that personnel actions have been initiated against FBI Special Agent Jane Turner.  The timing raises troubling questions about whether this is a retaliatory action by FBI management, since this action comes shortly after she informed both the U.S. Senate and DOJ's Office of Inspector General of thefts from Ground Zero by other FBI Agents.  Those serious and embarassing allegations led Senator Grassley and I to seek assurances in writing from the FBI Director that there be no retaliation.  Situations like this are precisely why we tried in the FBI Reform Act to strengthen whistleblower protections and why I introduced the Congressional Oversight Protection Act to offer a remedy to employees who provide information to Congress and suffer retaliation as a result."

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The FBI Reform Act is S.1974 and was unanimously approved by the Judiciary Committee in April.  The FBI whistleblower provisions in the bill were drafted by Leahy and Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa).  The bill is still pending a vote by the full Senate but has faced an anonymous hold since April.  Leahy's newly introduced Congressional Oversight Protection Act is S.3137.