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by Ian Christopher
McCaleb
Thursday, May 30, 2002
FOX News
WASHINGTON — A
government watchdog and FBI counter-terrorism agent are accusing the
agency of prohibiting him from conducting his probe into terror financing
activities because he complained about obstruction by bureau superiors.
Chicago-based FBI
Special Agent Robert Wright, who worked in counterterrorism from
1993-1999, said the recent trajectory of his FBI career has taken a
downward spiral since he complained about two incidents that inhibited his
ability to continue terror funding and money laundering probes of members
of Islamic terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah.
Wright, who is filing
a complaint through his counsel Judicial Watch, said in documents that the
FBI would not provide him decent computer equipment, a problem that has
been acknowledged by the FBI as being a bureau-wide problem.
He also said that he
was prevented from pursuing an investigation after an unnamed Muslim
special agent refused to wear a wire during a probe because, as the Muslim
agent allegedly said, "Muslims don't record other Muslims."
The complaint comes
the same week that the attorney general and FBI director announced a
series of changes at the Federal Bureau of Investigation aimed at beefing
up the bureau's ability to move from a law enforcement agency to a
domestic intelligence agency whose primary goal is to prevent terrorism.
The Justice Department
also unveiled a series of draft guidelines that will encourage aggressive
pre-emptive investigative techniques and analysis by field agents, a
dramatic change from the practice of investigating and prosecuting crimes
after they have been committed.
"We have to do a
better job at collaborating with others," FBI Director Robert Mueller said
in his Wednesday announcement. "And as critically important, we have to do
a better job managing, analyzing and sharing information. In essence, we
need a different approach that puts prevention above all else."
The FBI has been under
fire since it was revealed that FBI field alerts to Washington of Middle
Eastern men training at U.S. flight schools during the summer of 2001 were
buried in paperwork, and agents in Minneapolis who circumvented normal
channels to contact the CIA about suspected "20th hijacker" Zacarias
Moussaoui were reprimanded.
During his
announcement Wednesday, Mueller thanked Coleen Rowley, the Minneapolis
agent who wrote Mueller to describe the congestion at headquarters that
was hindering the investigation into Moussaoui.
Judicial Watch
Chairman Larry Klayman, who is filing Wright's petition to get permission
to publish a transcript on FBI mismanagement, called Mueller's recognition
of Rowley "a cover your derriere, PR maneuver."
Agents who have
complained about bureaucratic barriers in the past have been punished, and
Wright said that he is one of them. Klayman said Wright has been demoted
to "paper pusher" and "chief dishwasher" at the Chicago field office since
he complained about the wrenches thrown into his probe.
Klayman blamed
Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division Michael Chertoff for
refusing to consider Wright's concerns prior to Sept. 11.
Wright has written a
manuscript entitled "Fatal Betrayals of the Intelligence Mission," which
he says exposes the FBI's inabilities to conduct anti-terror intelligence
operations. The manuscript also provides guidelines for how Wright
believes the entire FBI needs to be restructured.
He is seeking
permission from the FBI to publish the manuscript, but Klayman suggested
that could be a long wait, especially since Wright is under threat of
retribution should he talk to members of Congress about what he knows.
Wright said throughout
his six-year posting in counter-terrorism, he was involved in probes of
Hamas and Hezbollah. His most successful 'get' netted $1.4 million in
terrorist money in 1998, money that he said today was linked to Saudi
businessman and financier Yassin Kadi, who was identified late last year
as a close associate of Usama Bin Laden.
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