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US Lawmakers Criticizes FBI on McVeigh Case Mistake
US Lawmakers on Tuesday criticized the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for its failure to turn over thousands of documents to the defense team of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.
The FBI has had "too many failures, too many blunders," Senate Intelligence Committee chairman Richard Shelby said after his committee met privately with departing FBI Director Louis Freeh.
"Any kind of failure at the FBI, anything that happens at the FBI that calls into question something they did or failed to do leads to a lot of mistrust with the American people," said Shelby, a Republican Senator from Alabama.
"It's something that should not have happened, and it shows, probably a lack of diligence somewhere in the FBI," he said, calling for "a broad review of the FBI, its mission, its problems and some solutions."
As a result of FBI's failure to produce the documents, McVeigh, convicted for the 1995 Oklahoma city bombing that killed 168 people, had his execution delayed on Friday for 30 days, until June 11.
Shelby's criticism was echoed by Senator Orrin Hatch, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee that oversees the FBI.
"There's no question these mistakes should not have been made in a high-profile case, or any case," Hatch said of the McVeigh documents.
"Every criminal defendant has the right to these types of materials and we've got to live up to our responsibilities," said Hatch. "We must see that those rights are protected."
Hatch suggested to hold Judiciary Committee hearings on the McVeigh matter while Senator Dick Durbin proposed to create a separate inspector general for the FBI.
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