U.S. SENATOR PATRICK LEAHY

Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.)
On The Unclassified Executive Summary
Of OIG Audit Of FBI Translation Unit  

September 27, 2004

“Three years after the worst terrorist attack on American soil, the overall effectiveness of a major investigative tool in our anti-terrorism arsenal is still in doubt, and the office overseeing it is in seeming disarray.

“This report shows that despite concerns expressed for years by those of us in Congress, by former FBI contractors and by others, the FBI foreign language translation unit continues to be saddled with problems across the board, including growing backlogs, too few qualified staff and an astounding lack of organization.

“What good is taping thousands of hours of conversations of intelligence targets in foreign languages if we can not translate promptly, securely, accurately and efficiently? The Justice Department’s translation mess has become a chronic problem that has obvious implications for our national security. The Administration has shirked its responsibility to shape it up and dodged its own accountability to the public and to Congress for this enormous failure. The Administration has a responsibility to explain why it has repeatedly failed to take the necessary steps to fix it. We need to know, once and for all, and sooner rather than later, what steps will be taken to get this job done.”


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[NOTE: On Monday, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of the Department of Justice (DOJ) released an unclassified executive summary of an audit of the FBI’s language translation unit. The summary was released in response to a request by Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), who asked in July that an unclassified version of this report be made available to the public. The summary shows that reforms within the beleaguered unit have been slow in the three years since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. At the time, Leahy, the ranking Democratic member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Grassley, a member of the panel, also asked that the OIG release unclassified versions of two other reports that had been requested and deemed classified – one on allegations made by a former FBI contractor regarding problems in the translator unit and another on information obtained by the FBI prior to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Below is the letter requesting that the reports, or some version of them, be made available.]



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July 9, 2004



The Honorable John Ashcroft The Honorable Robert S. Mueller, III
Attorney General Director
United States Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigation
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. 935 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington D.C. 20530 Washington, D.C. 20530



The Honorable Glenn A. Fine
Inspector General
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Suite 4322
Washington, D.C. 20530



Dear Attorney General Ashcroft, Director Mueller, and Inspector General Fine:

It is our understanding that the Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the Department of Justice has completed two investigations and is near completion of a third on issues that we have followed closely. These investigations relate to the following topics:

(1) Specific allegations made by a former contract linguist, Sibel Edmonds, about problems in the FBI translation program. Sens. Leahy and Grassley requested that the OIG investigate these allegations in a June 19, 2002, letter.

(2) An audit of the FBI’s overall translation program, initiated by the OIG after its review of the allegations made by Ms. Edmonds was underway; and

(3) Information obtained by the FBI and other federal law enforcement agencies prior to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, that was not acted upon, or not acted on in the most effective and efficient manner. We understand that this report includes a focus on the FBI’s handling of the so-called “Phoenix memo”; the FBI’s handling of information about Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person who has been charged in connection with the 9-11 attacks; and the FBI’s investigation of and handling of information about two of the 9-11 hijackers, Nawaf Alhazmi and Khalid Almihdhar, about whom both the FBI and CIA had information regarding their links to terrorism. Sen. Grassley, in a May 15, 2002, letter to Inspector General Fine, requested that his office investigate the FBI’s handling of the Phoenix memo.

The Justice Department and FBI, as the agencies of origin for the information in the reports, decide what information is classified in such reports. We have been informed that all three of these reports are classified and that there are no plans at this time for the OIG to release to the public any unclassified information about these reports. As a result, the information gathered in these investigations, which is of significant public interest and is critical to effective Congressional oversight of the FBI and other Federal agencies, will not be made available to the public.

We understand that the OIG has shared its findings with the 9-11 Commission, an action we suggested earlier this year, and one that we commend. Nonetheless, we respectfully request that these reports be released in some form to the public. If the reports must remain classified for security reasons, we request that one of the following steps be taken, and we present the following options in the order of preference: release an unclassified version of each of the reports, release a redacted version of each of the reports, or release an unclassified summary of each of the reports.

The importance of these investigations to the relevant oversight committees of Congress—particularly the Senate Judiciary Committee, which held hearings on the FBI’s handling of pertinent information collected prior to 9-11—cannot be overstated. Indeed, in recent months questions have been raised by ourselves, by the 9-11 Commission, and by the media about the competency and abilities of the translation program at the FBI—concerns that should reverberate in the highest levels of the Department of Justice and the FBI. The FBI itself has provided alarming information about problems in the translation program during briefings to congressional staff. Yet two years after the allegations made by Ms. Edmonds triggered two investigations, we are no closer to determining the scope of the problem, the pervasiveness and seriousness of FBI problems in this area, or what the FBI intends to do to rectify personnel shortages, security issues, translation inaccuracies and other problems that have plagued the translator program for years. The findings of the investigation into pre-9-11 intelligence are of equal importance as we strive to understand how important clues were overlooked and how we can protect Americans by preventing such failures from occurring in the future.

While we recognize that information is designated as classified because government officials believe its disclosure could harm national security, a serious and open-minded consideration of declassification, to some degree, is in order. The Justice Department and FBI have declassified information related to the 9-11 terrorist attacks and other national security issues numerous times over the past few years. The following are examples of such declassifications.

During the Senate Judiciary Committee’s review of the FBI’s Moussaoui investigation, in particular, and the process of obtaining Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrants, in general, the Justice Department and FBI declassified the procedures, known as the “Woods Procedures,” used by the FBI to process FISA applications.

In 2002, the Justice Department and FBI declassified a letter by FBI Special Agent Coleen Rowley to FBI Director Mueller. This letter raised concerns about the handling of the Moussaoui case at FBI headquarters and regarding official FBI statements about the case.

The Justice Department and FBI also agreed to declassify information in the Joint Intelligence Inquiry report of its investigation into the 9-11 attacks. This report contains an extensive discussion of the three issues examined in the OIG review of the FBI’s handling of information and investigations prior to the 9-11 attacks.

More recently, in April 2004, the Justice Department declassified memos and documents written by then-Deputy Attorney General Jamie Gorelick, regarding “the wall” restricting communication between agents investigating criminal violations and agents investigating intelligence and terrorism matters. These documents and memos were released in the course of a 9-11 Commission hearing and posted for a period on the Justice Department’s Web site.

While the needs of national security must be weighed seriously, we fear that the designation of information as classified in some cases serves to protect the executive branch against embarrassing revelations and full accountability. We hope that is not the case here. Releasing declassified versions of these reports, or at least portions or summaries, would serve the public’s interest, increase transparency, promote effectiveness and efficiency at the FBI, and facilitate Congressional oversight. To do otherwise could damage the public’s confidence not only in the government’s ability to protect the nation, but also in the government’s ability to police itself.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this serious matter. While we understand that declassification can require a lengthy review process, we ask that you at least reply by July 15, 2004, indicating whether you intend to release declassified versions of the reports, parts of the reports, or to provide classified summaries.

Sincerely,


PATRICK LEAHY                         CHARLES GRASSLEY
Ranking Democratic Member         United States Senator


cc: The Honorable Orrin G. Hatch, Chairman
Chairman Kean and Vice Chairman Hamilton,
National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon The United States


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