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US Attorney General Orders FBI Review
US Attorney General John Ashcroft announced Wednesday a "comprehensive review" of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to reform the federal law enforcement agency.
The review will be conducted by a management committee composed of top Justice Department officials and the heads of the FBI, the Bureau of Prisons, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
Ashcroft ordered the committee to "identify and recommend actions dedicated to improving and upgrading the performance of the FBI" by January 1.
The attorney general announced the review minutes before a Senate committee began a hearing to consider how to restore confidence in the FBI.
The review came after a series of FBI blunders, including its failure to turn over thousands of documents to the lawyers of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh. The mistake delayed McVeigh' s execution for one month.
In February, FBI veteran agent Robert Hanssen was arrested for spying for Moscow.
Investigations of the FBI already are being conducted by the Justice Department and by an independent panel of experts headed by former FBI and CIA Director William Webster.
Ashcroft asked that the results of these investigations be submitted to the committee by November.
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