Mueller: FBI Did Not Abuse Power

FBI Director Robert Mueller rejects charges that his agency has abused its surveillance capabilities, but acknowledges that it did not handle national security letters in the proper way initially. (1:00)

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Mueller: FBI Has Adapted Since 9/11

FBI Director Robert Mueller testified on Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee during a hearing concerning the extension of his tenure through 2013. Mueller told the committee that the FBI has adapted since 9/11 to respond to terror threats, and has become a “threat-based, intelligence-led agency.” (0:47)

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Grassley Supports Mueller Extension, Cautious About Implications

The Senate Judiciary Committee’s top Republican, Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), says during a hearing on Wednesday that he supports extending FBI Director Robert Mueller’s tenure beyond the statuatory 10 years, but warns against bypassing an important law that prevents FBI directors from becoming too independent and powerful.  (1:19)

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FBI Director: More Must Be Done Post-Flight 253 To Offset Threats

Federal Bureau of Investigation Director, Robert Mueller, says that more must be done following the attempted Christmas day attack to offset terrorist threats. (0:13)
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FBI's new investigation standard is lower than standard used by police for investigations

Congressman and former assistant United States Attorney Artur Davis (D-Va.) asks FBI Director Robert Mueller about the standard that the FBI will use as a threshold for opening investigations. Since the activities undertaken by the FBI are similar to those used by police in an initial investigation, Davis asked if the standard needed to undertake an FBI investigation will be lower than the standard set out by police in the 1968 Supreme Court decision in Terry v. Ohio. Mueller initially resists the question, but eventually says the standard is lower. (0:51)
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Russia, China, and Iran “want to steal our secrets”

FBI Director Robert Mueller says there are “a number of countries out there” that pose a risk to the FBI’s counterintelligence capacity. He cites Russia, China, and Iran as countries that want to “steal our secrets” but “hesitates to identify one as more of a threat.” (0:27)
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FBI success dependent on public trust

FBI Director Robert Mueller says to be successful as a global law enforcement the FBI must strike a balance between safeguarding civil liberties and preventing terrorist attacks. He says scrutiny from Congress, the public, and the press improves the FBI’s ability to protect the people while respecting their rights, and that the bureau’s success depends on the nation’s trust in the FBI. (0:58)
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FBI Director Mueller states the three largest threats to the U.S.

During the Annual Threat Assessment of the Director of National Intelligence for the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, FBI Director Robert Mueller says that Al-Qa'ida is a critical threat to the Homeland. He says that a second threat is self-directed groups not part of Al-Qa'ida's formal structure but that are tied to Al-Qa'ida through money or training. The third threat, he says, is "self-radicalized, home grown extremists" in the United States. They are inspired, he said, by messages of violence often through the internet and that they are difficult to detect because they lack formal ties to Al-Qa'ida. (:30)
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