Mark Tyson
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FBI May Get Reins in Explosives Cases
09/16/2003
By Dan Eggen, The Washington Post
The Justice Department is considering a proposal to give the FBI initial control over all cases that involve bombs and other explosives -- a shift that would mark a significant decline in clout for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The ATF, which was transferred to Justice earlier this year from the Treasury Department, only recently added "explosives" to its official name and usually has been considered the lead agency in federal bomb cases.
But an attorney general's directive under consideration at Justice would funnel all explosives cases first to the FBI, which would be the lead federal investigative agency until it "has significantly ruled out a link to domestic or international terrorism," according to a draft provided yesterday by a legislative source.
The proposal has angered many ATF agents, who have had difficult relations with the FBI and opposed the move to the Justice Department. It also prompted criticism yesterday from two senators, who argued in a letter to Attorney General John D. Ashcroft that the arrangement runs counter to the will of Congress and would hinder counterterrorism probes by straining FBI resources.
"It doesn't meet the common sense test to require FBI agents to run through a fire drill of a potential terrorist attack every time a juvenile prankster loads a neighbor's mailbox with firecrackers from the Fourth of July," said Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), who signed the letter to Ashcroft along with Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.).
The FBI and ATF have clashed over turf issues, including disputes during the Branch Davidian siege in Waco, Tex., in 1993 and another over control of the Pentagon crime scene after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. An internal FBI memo leaked last year asserted that the ATF lacked sufficient training to lead investigations and suffered a "lack of strategic vision." FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III quickly discounted that assessment.
Earlier this year, Ashcroft and Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge agreed to give control of all terrorism financing investigations to the FBI, prompting objections from the Secret Service and the former Customs Service, both of which had been moved into the Homeland Security Department.
In the latest dispute, FBI officials have taken the position that the bureau should have initial jurisdiction over all explosives cases because of the threat posed by terrorists. One FBI official said the proposed change also would eliminate the problem of "duplicated resources."
"Following the detonation of or the discovery of a potential explosive . . . it is frequently not clear and not possible to know whether there is a link to international or domestic terrorism," the draft directive says. "Because the prevention and disruption of terrorist threats and activities is the [Justice] Department's top priority, it is essential that any incident which may involve international or domestic terrorism be treated as such an incident until . . . significantly ruled out."
In their letter to Ashcroft, Grassley and Kohl said that less than 1 percent of all explosives cases are linked to terrorism. The ATF has investigated more than 13,000 explosives cases since 1978, and has logged thousands more convictions for terrorism charges than the FBI has, the senators said.
The legislation that resulted in ATF's move to Justice also gave the agency jurisdiction over bombs and explosives cases, according to Grassley and Kohl. The new directive "contradicts clear Congressional intent," the senators wrote.
A Justice Department spokesman did not return calls seeking comment yesterday. An FBI official said the directive was close to approval by Ashcroft. ATF spokesman Andrew Lluberes said the "directive is a work in progress that the Department of Justice is considering and in which ATF continues to participate fully."
09/16/2003
By Dan Eggen, The Washington Post
The Justice Department is considering a proposal to give the FBI initial control over all cases that involve bombs and other explosives -- a shift that would mark a significant decline in clout for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The ATF, which was transferred to Justice earlier this year from the Treasury Department, only recently added "explosives" to its official name and usually has been considered the lead agency in federal bomb cases.
But an attorney general's directive under consideration at Justice would funnel all explosives cases first to the FBI, which would be the lead federal investigative agency until it "has significantly ruled out a link to domestic or international terrorism," according to a draft provided yesterday by a legislative source.
The proposal has angered many ATF agents, who have had difficult relations with the FBI and opposed the move to the Justice Department. It also prompted criticism yesterday from two senators, who argued in a letter to Attorney General John D. Ashcroft that the arrangement runs counter to the will of Congress and would hinder counterterrorism probes by straining FBI resources.
"It doesn't meet the common sense test to require FBI agents to run through a fire drill of a potential terrorist attack every time a juvenile prankster loads a neighbor's mailbox with firecrackers from the Fourth of July," said Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), who signed the letter to Ashcroft along with Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.).
The FBI and ATF have clashed over turf issues, including disputes during the Branch Davidian siege in Waco, Tex., in 1993 and another over control of the Pentagon crime scene after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. An internal FBI memo leaked last year asserted that the ATF lacked sufficient training to lead investigations and suffered a "lack of strategic vision." FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III quickly discounted that assessment.
Earlier this year, Ashcroft and Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge agreed to give control of all terrorism financing investigations to the FBI, prompting objections from the Secret Service and the former Customs Service, both of which had been moved into the Homeland Security Department.
In the latest dispute, FBI officials have taken the position that the bureau should have initial jurisdiction over all explosives cases because of the threat posed by terrorists. One FBI official said the proposed change also would eliminate the problem of "duplicated resources."
"Following the detonation of or the discovery of a potential explosive . . . it is frequently not clear and not possible to know whether there is a link to international or domestic terrorism," the draft directive says. "Because the prevention and disruption of terrorist threats and activities is the [Justice] Department's top priority, it is essential that any incident which may involve international or domestic terrorism be treated as such an incident until . . . significantly ruled out."
In their letter to Ashcroft, Grassley and Kohl said that less than 1 percent of all explosives cases are linked to terrorism. The ATF has investigated more than 13,000 explosives cases since 1978, and has logged thousands more convictions for terrorism charges than the FBI has, the senators said.
The legislation that resulted in ATF's move to Justice also gave the agency jurisdiction over bombs and explosives cases, according to Grassley and Kohl. The new directive "contradicts clear Congressional intent," the senators wrote.
A Justice Department spokesman did not return calls seeking comment yesterday. An FBI official said the directive was close to approval by Ashcroft. ATF spokesman Andrew Lluberes said the "directive is a work in progress that the Department of Justice is considering and in which ATF continues to participate fully."
