Inspectors general gain prominence with new Congress

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http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0507/051407nj1.htm

Inspectors general gain prominence with new Congress
By Peter H. Stone National Journal May 14, 2007

Glenn Fine proved recently why he isn't likely to win any popularity contests at the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

As the inspector general at the Justice Department, he fired a broadside on March 9 that blasted the FBI for "serious misuse" of national security letters, one of the Bush administration's most controversial anti-terrorism tools. Fine's 130-page report alleged that the bureau may be responsible for up to 3,000 cases of abuse of the national security letter's expedited subpoena process, through which agents can obtain, without prior court approval, bank, phone, and credit card records of individuals with suspected ties to terrorists.

FBI Director Robert Mueller was clearly chagrined by Fine's findings, but at a press conference the same day, Mueller called the report "excellent," accepted ultimate responsibility for the abuses, and promised to take corrective action.

Fine, who assumed his post in 2000 during the Clinton administration, has issued several reports during the Bush presidency that have skewered the FBI. He has fingered the bureau for repeated failures to track down Qaeda terrorists who were in the United States and who were involved in the September 11 attack, and he has documented the sizable and expensive software problems that have plagued the FBI's effort to modernize its computer systems.

"I'm sure there must be much frustration and gnashing of teeth over some of the issues he's looked at and the critical reports that he has issued," says Michael Bromwich, Fine's predecessor as Justice's IG who is now a lawyer in private practice at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson.

Fine says he isn't looking to be popular, but to be "tough and fair" with the department. "You're here to perform an independent and objective role," he says in an interview. "They're not always thrilled with our findings, but they appreciate our role."

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