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American Morning

Senator Dick Durbin Discusses Louis Freeh and FBI Mistakes

Aired May 16, 2001 - 09:04   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Ongoing FBI Chief Louis Freeh will be on Capitol Hill today for other business. He's scheduled to testify at a hearing on proposed spending for the FBI, but he will no doubt face some tough questions about the agency's mishandling of information in the McVeigh case. CNN will bring you that testimony, live, next hour, so stay with us.

For more on the case and the impact it's having on the FBI, let's go now, live, to CNN's Jeanne Meserve.

We say good morning to her now -- Jean.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Leon.

My guest this morning believes that the FBI needs more oversight and needs to be held more accountable.

Joining me from Capitol Hill, Senator Richard Durbin, Democrat of Illinois.

Senator, you propose that the FBI have its own inspector general. For those who don't know, explain what an inspector general is and what an inspector general does.

SEN. DICK DURBIN (D), ILLINOIS: Over 20 years ago, we created a statute that established inspector's general in most of the federal agencies. These are basically internal watchdogs - independent people who are appointed by the president to take a look at the agencies to make sure that they're efficient, that their management is sound and that they're doing a good job and not wasting any taxpayers dollars.

The FBI came under the jurisdiction of the Department of Justice. Now the Department of Justice has an inspector general but as I reviewed its activity, it really hasn't looked as closely and as carefully as it should have at the FBI and that's why I've suggested a separate inspector general for that agency.

MESERVE: What do you think that would accomplish?

DURBIN: Well, first, let me say, I think the FBI is a great agency. They do a great job, and the men and women who serve there serve their country well. But I think they can do a better job.

Recently, when we discussed the future of the Internal Revenue Service, we decided to appoint a separate inspector general for that particular branch of government. And the reason was obvious: We wanted it to be autonomous, we wanted it to be funded so that it could do an effective job and we wanted to make sure that there was accountability within the Internal Revenue Service. Certainly today, with all the disclosures that we've had in recent weeks and months, we can see the same need at the FBI.

MESERVE: You say that you believe the FBI has done a good job, but some members of Congress are saying that this spate of incidents has created an atmosphere of mistrust with the American public. What's your reaction to that?

DURBIN: Well, I think it's raised some serious questions when over 3,000 pages of testimony in the McVeigh trial were held back and not disclosed to the defense. One of the first things that you learn in law school in a criminal defense or criminal law course is that that's the responsibility of the government to disclose the documents and evidence that they have so that the defense can review it. In a case this serious, involving 168 deaths and such great national trauma, I think that that basic need was not met in this case and it raises questions.

You know this goes back I think to a culture that may have been created in the FBI as early as J. Edgar Hoover's reign where they felt that independence was paramount and they sacrificed accountability in the process. That's why this inspector general would restore accountability.

MESERVE: Although we do not know the full story on these documents and how they were overlooked, many members of Congress are expressing support for Louis Freeh. What is your assessment of his tenure?

DURBIN: I have a positive reaction to his service to this country in many respects, both on the bench and at the FBI. And I think he's done a good job under very difficult circumstances. That's not to say that mistakes haven't been made at the FBI under his watch.

What I'm hoping is that we can learn from those mistakes. Not taking anything away from Mr. Freeh, but making certain that whoever comes into the FBI in the future has an inspector general in place, as almost every other agency does, including, I might add, the Central Intelligence Agency which has an inspector general. And with that I.G., we will have accountability to Congress and the American people.

MESERVE: I'm curious about your approach to Mr. Freeh. There have been a number of incidents - negative incidents involving the FBI and yet many members of the Hill - on the Hill seem willing to give him a free pass. Is that what's going on?

DURBIN: I don't think that's the case, and he will be held accountable for anything that's happened on his watch that did not really help the FBI's core mission. But he has done a good job and has been independent. And I think he's been very candid with Congress in dealing with some very, very difficult investigations. They once said of a critic of Abraham Lincoln that he made of the warts the whole face. We don't want that to happen. We want Louis Freeh's tenure at the FBI to be looked at objectively and certainly to point to the things that need to be changed and I think this inspector general is part of that process.

MESERVE: Senator Richard Durbin, thanks so much for joining us from Capital Hill this morning.

DURBIN: Thank you.

MESERVE: And once again, Louis Freeh appearing on the Hill today before the House. We will be covering that for you -- back to you in Atlanta.

HARRIS: All right. Thanks, Jeanne. We'll see you later on then.

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