Senate Lawmakers Open To Extending FBI Director

By Philip Bunnell

FBI Director Robert Mueller appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday to testify about his future at the agency. Earlier this year, President Obama asked Congress to sign off on another two-year term for Mueller, who will reach his ten-year tenure limit this year. 

While some civil liberty groups have expressed concern over the FBI’s increased surveillance during Mueller’s tenure, and others over the established precedent of ten year terms for FBI directors, the committee seemed warm to another two years for Mueller.

Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said that he was “pleased that Republicans and Democrats have expressed support” for an extension. Al Franken (D-Minn.) raised some concerns over FBI surveillance, but also noted that the President called for Mueller to be extended to a time, “when [Obama] will not be president,” and thanked the Director for his service.

Mueller acknowledged that the surveillance had expanded under his tenure, but that rejected any allegations of abuse. Mueller did say that, initially, the agency did not execute National Security Letters in a constitutional way but quickly remedied that.

The committee’s top Republican, Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), was more reluctant, but still supportive. 

Grassley cited J. Edgar Hoover, the controversial FBI director who headed the agency for over 40 years, as a reason that the extension should be considered carefully. However, Grassley continued, “against this backdrop, I joined as a co-sponsor of… a bill that would extend the term of the current FBI Director for two years.” 

Grassley later warned that although the bill had wide bipartisan support, “I have resisted efforts to simply pass it with minimal deliberation.”

FBI Director Defends Bureau Against Hard Line Of Questions

By Sarah Mamula - Talk Radio News Service 

Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) Director Robert Mueller told the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday the bureau has a broad range of national security and criminal threats it is currently working to alleviate.

Some members of the committee, including Ranking Member Jeff Sessions (D-Ala.), said they were “taken back” by the apparent policy of the FBI to try arrested individuals in federal civilian court instead of transferring them to the military. 

“The presumption needs to be that persons coming from al Qaeda or other terrorist organizations should be held in military custody,” said Sessions. 

Mueller did not elaborate on the bureau’s alleged policy but said “our authority is somewhat limited in that regard.”  

Mueller explained that after the bureau makes arrests, the president has the authority to direct the FBI to turn over individuals to a military commission. When Sessions asked if presidential authority was absolutely necessary for transfers to occur, Mueller said, “That’s a type of question, in my mind, that should be answered by the Office of Legal Council.”

The FBI has also been criticized for its growing reliance to outsource to independent contractors, an issue that Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) showed growing concern over.

“We of course use contractors,” said Mueller. “We, for several years now, have undertaken to reduce our reliance.”

According to Mueller, the FBI is working to decrease the amount of contractors in the information technology sector. Despite wanting to use in-house personnel for duties, Mueller also stressed the necessity of outsiders for their expertise in “discreet” arenas.

Mueller faced gruelling questions from committee members over allegations that FBI agents cheated on an exam that tested their knowledge of the limitations of the bureau’s powers to conduct surveillance and open cases without evidence that a crime has been committed.

Mueller defended his agents but said he nor the Inspector General would know the number of agents involved in the investigation.

“I do believe our workforce absolutely understands what can be investigated in this day and age,” Mueller said.

Attorney General Defends Prosecution Of 9/11 Mastermind In Federal Court, Discusses Prison Reform

By Ravi Bhatia-Talk Radio News Service

During his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday, Attorney General Eric Holder defended his decision to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-proclaimed mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks, through the federal court system in New York rather than through military commissions.

President Barack Obama revived former President George W. Bush’s military commissions, also known as military tribunals, in May 2009 for a small number of Guantanamo Bay detainees. Obama's tribunals, deemed “Bush Light” by critics, provided terror suspects and war prisoners with more legal protections. However, the tribunals have been criticized for sacrificing American judicial values in order to prosecute prisoners quicker.

In his argument for employing federal courts rather than military courts, Holder cited the 300 convicted international and domestic terrorists currently in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons. He claimed that the United States could prosecute terrorists “safely and securely” in the federal system because “we have been doing it for years.”

“I studied this issue extensively,” Holder said in his opening statements. “I consulted the Secretary of Defense. I heard from prosecutors from my Department and from the Defense Department’s Office of Military Commissions. I spoke to victims on both sides of the question. And at the end of the day, it was clear to me that the venue in which we are most likely to obtain justice for the American people is in the federal court.”

While Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) defended Holder, saying that “we can rely on the American justice system,” the decision was met with criticism from Republican members of the committee. In one instance, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) called Holder’s choice “a perversion of the justice system.”

“You’re a fine man,” Graham said to Holder. “I know you want to do everything to help this country be safe but I think you’ve made a fundamental mistake here.”

Senator Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) mentioned that Mohammed had already said he would plead guilty to the terrorists acts.

“How could you be more likely to get a conviction in federal court when Khalid Sheikh Mohammed has already asked to plead guilty before military commission and be executed?” Kyl asked, garnering scattered applause and laughter from some audience members. “How can you be more likely to get a conviction in an Article III [federal] court than that?”

In response, Holder said, “the determination I make ... does not depend on the whims or the desires of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. He said he wanted to do that then. I have no idea with what he wants to do now with regards to these military commissions that now [have] enhanced protections. My job is to look at the possibilities."

Holder also touched on issues such as prison reform legislation, claiming that drug courts specifically established for non-violent crimes have so far been effective, responding to Senator Al Franken's (D-Minn.) opinion that too many prisoners were in prison for drug possession.

“We’re essentially [taking] kids who are in possession of drugs and sending them to crime school," Franken said. "They learn from other criminals how to do crime, and two-thirds of them come back [after] they’re released within three years.”

“I’m familiar with the [drug court] we have here in Washington, D.C.... that has [proven] to be very successful in dealing with people who are selling drugs because they are addicted to drugs,” Holder said. “These are low level dealers, not the people who live in penthouses and drive big cars and all that.”

Holder recommended a data driven analysis of the U.S. prison system. He said that a “sentencing group” is looking at a “wide variety” of issues in U.S. prisons.

“Who is in jail?” Holder asked. “Are they in jail for appropriate amounts of time? Is the amount of time they spend in jail a deterrent? Does that have an impact on the recidivism rate? This group will be reporting back to me within the next couple of months. It is on that basis that we’ll be formulating policy and working with the Committee.”

Senate Judiciary Committee To Reauthorize Patriot Act, Add Limits

By Meagan Wiseley, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service

Three provisions of the USA Patriot Act are set to expire Dec. 31, 2009 and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman, Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), intends to reauthorize the expiring provisions, but with sunset provisions to ensure the protection of Americans' civil liberties.

According to a statement from Sen. Leahy the USA Patriot Act Sunset Extension Act mandates new audits by the Department of Justice Office of Inspector General on the use of National Security Letters, or federal subpoenas used by a variety of law enforcement entities.

Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Justice, Glenn Fine, said, “our reports ... found the FBI had engaged in serious misuse of NSLs... we found that the FBI had issued many NSLs without proper authorization and had made improper requests under the statutes cited in the NSLs.”

The Office of the Inspector General is still reluctant to conclude that the FBI has fully eliminated all the problems that were found. Fine suggested that while congress is considering reauthorizing provisions of the Patriot Act “it must ensure through continual and aggressive oversight that the FBI uses these important and and intrusive investigative authorities appropriately.”

Leahy believes that comprehensive audits performed by Congress will help hold the FBI accountable for the organization's NSL use.

Sotomayor Backed By Civil Rights Organizations

By Courtney Ann Jackson-Talk Radio News Service

Civil rights organizations voiced their support of Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor just one day after the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 13-6 to confirm her nomination.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) joined representatives of various organizations in a press conference Wednesday to discuss the historic nomination and upcoming Senate vote.

Leadership Conference on Civil Rights President Wade Henderson said, “Her elevation to the Supreme Court would mark another advance on the road to equal opportunity that this nation has traveled from its founding; but, even more importantly, it would give Americans a Justice they can be confident will uphold their constitutional values, the rule of law and the principle of equal justice for all.”

Lillian Rodriguez Lopez of the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda spoke about Sotomayor from both a professional and a personal perspective. Lopez fought back tears as she explained that while she, too, is a Hispanic woman from New York, she could only “pray to possess” the qualities and skills that Sotomayor possesses.

“I hope that next week that the members of the entire Senate will send a message of resounding support for Judge Sotomayor to the American people, to the Hispanic American people, when they vote for her confirmation,” said Lopez.

Reid said he is currently trying to cut a deal with Minority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) regarding the floor debate, but isn't certain on how long the debate may last. He dismissed Republicans' concerns over Sotomayor, asking rhetorically, “How many times do we have to listen to the same speeches on the same brief statements she made, on the same case that she talked about?”

Reid added that the Senate will be working long hours to ensure that the confirmation vote is one of the last things they do before they leave for the August recess.