What else does FBI Director Mueller Know?

by Brian Beutler, The Media Consortium: Fri., Aug 24, 2007
Filed under: House Judiciary Committee Reports

When FBI director Robert Mueller appeared before Congress late last month, it was with the purpose of answering questions about the government’s national security letters program. A March Inspector General’s report had revealed alarming details about the program’s abuse. Mueller, for the first time in his six years at the head of the bureau, sat before the House Judiciary Committee to report publicly on the FBI’s response.

What happened instead is now famous. Mueller, once a peripheral figure in the many controversies surrounding the U.S. Attorney General, dramatically contradicted Alberto Gonzales’ account of his March 2004 visit to former Attorney General John Ashcroft’s hospital room, and so became a central figure in the clash between the Justice Department and Congress.

But what about the national security letters? Or, for that matter, other important FBI controversies? At the July 26 hearing, Mueller acknowledged a handful of bureau failings, some altogether unrelated to the national security letters program. But he both strongly asserted the need to maintain the program and declined at several points to provide answers to questions about its operation, citing his need to look up details. As is typical at oversight hearings, the director promised to follow up with the information.

Read the full report…

See more tagged with: alberto gonzales, attorney general john ashcroft, fbi director, national security agency and robert mueller

More Evidence of Gonzales Perjury Revealed in FBI Director’s Notes

by Brian Beutler, The Media Consortium: Fri., Aug 17, 2007
Filed under: House Judiciary Committee Reports

Documents provided Thursday to House Democrats by FBI Director Robert Mueller reinforced the sense among Democrats and critics of the Bush Administration that Alberto Gonzales perjured himself before the Senate Judiciary committee about the physical condition of then-Attorney General John Ashcroft, as the White House attempted to seek his reauthorization of a controversial warrantless wiretapping program.

“Director Mueller’s notes and recollections concerning the White House visit to the Attorney General’s hospital bed confirm an attempt to goad a sick and heavily medicated Ashcroft to approve the warrantless surveillance program,” said Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, who requested Mueller’s notes last month.

Read the full report…

See more tagged with: alberto gonzales, attorney general john ashcroft, house judiciary committee and perjury

Did Gonzales Lie to the Senate?

by Brian Beutler, The Media Consortium: Fri., Jul 27, 2007
Filed under: House Judiciary Committee Reports

At a House hearing Thursday, Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Robert Mueller provided information that added to a growing body of evidence that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales may have perjured himself before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Mueller appeared before the House Judiciary Committee to answer questions about the FBI’s role in a number of controversial issues, including its use of National Security Letters. During questioning by committee Democrats, Mueller provided revealing testimony about the National Security Agency’s Terrorist Surveillance Program, which is at the center of the renewed scrutiny of Gonzales’ recent congressional testimony.
Read the full report…

See more tagged with: attorney general alberto gonzales, attorney general john ashcroft and senate judiciary committee