FBI lauds watch list but still lacks access
Unified terrorist watch list was completed in March, but law enforcement officials can't use it online yet.
The director of the FBI said Thursday that the government's efforts to unite multiple, conflicting government lists of terrorist suspects has been completed since March 12, but he acknowledged that law enforcement officials don't have direct access to it yet.
"We have one list," Robert Mueller told the Senate Judiciary Committee. "The next step is making that list accessible directly online."
Mueller said it would be accessible by the end of the year. Several federal officials have offered different dates for when the list would be completed.
The organization of the list has been under the purview of the FBI's new Terrorist Screening Center and includes cooperation from the CIA, military intelligence and several other government entities. Democratic lawmakers repeatedly have raised concerns about how the multiple agencies are cooperating on the list.
Under questioning, Mueller also acknowledged that the integration of new technology into the everyday business of FBI officials has cost more and has gone slower than expected. Despite problems with contractors on the oft-delayed project known as Trilogy, the agency has been able to implement a local-area network and a wide-area network, and install thousands of new computers, Mueller said.
Mueller said the Virtual Case File, an electronic system to replace the agency's heavy reliance on paper files, would be ready by December. "By the end of the year, we will have the foundation for cutting-edge technology for an agency of our size," Mueller predicted.
Vermont's Patrick Leahy, the ranking Democrat on Senate Judiciary, was not impressed. The fact that FBI agents now can e-mail each other is "not a thrilling accomplishment," he said.
Panel Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, praised Mueller for the work to implement the agency's new technology and for his efforts to prevent another catastrophic event like Sept. 11, 2001. "As many as a hundred terrorist attacks or plots have been broken up worldwide," Hatch noted.