Jon E. Dougherty, NewsMax.com
Friday, July 30, 2004

Story Continues Below

  And though some panelists now believe under the tutelage of Director Robert Mueller III the agency is headed in the right direction, more evidence continues to evolve indicating why the FBI was at least partially culpable in the attacks.

The New York Times on Thursday reports that a linguist named Sibel Edmonds was fired by the bureau in 2002, in part because she accused the agency of incompetence.

In another part of the classified Justice Department investigation, the paper said, the FBI failed to properly investigation charges of espionage made by Edmonds against another of the bureau's linguists.

The Justice Department inspector general concluded that Edmond's allegations "were at least a contributing factor in why the FBI terminated her services," according to a letter bureau Director Robert Mueller, III sent to lawmakers last week.

Edmonds worked for the bureau as a linguist for about six months. She translated material in Turkish, Persian and Azerbaijani. The bureau fired her in 2002 "after she complained repeatedly that bureau linguists had produced slipshod and incomplete translations of important terrorism intelligence before and after the Sept. 11 attacks," the Times reported.

She also accused a fellow Turkish linguist at the bureau's Washington office of blocking translation of materials that involved acquaintances being investigated or placed under suspicion by the FBI.

She claimed "the bureau had allowed diplomatic sensitivities with other nations to impede the translation of important terrorism intelligence," said the Times.

The ongoing Edmonds investigation is important because it hits on three vulnerabilities inherent in the bureau: 1) its ability to translate sensitive terrorism-related materials; 2) how it treats internal whistleblowers; and 3) how it classifies sensitive materials critics believe could be damaging to the bureau.

The Justice Department has declared portions of the Edmonds case to be "state secrets," thereby imposing a broad and unorthodox set of confidentiality standards on the entire case.

"The department has blocked her from testifying in a lawsuit brought by families of Sept. 11 victims, it has retroactively classified briefings Congressional officials were given in 2002, and it has classified the inspector general's entire report on its investigation into her case," reported the Times.

Surprised Congress

The content of Mueller's July 21 letter, which was sent to leading Senate Judiciary Committee members, surprised some in Congress.

For one thing, considering the secrecy surrounding the case, "one could argue that Mueller himself disclosed classified material" by quoting from a still-secret Justice Department report, according to a congressional official who spoke in confidence to the Times.

In his letter, Mueller said he was happy the Justice Department inspector general's office "had not concluded the FBI retaliated" against Edmonds when the bureau fired her.

At the same time, however, Mueller said he was concerned by the OIG's conclusion "that Ms. Edmonds' allegations 'were at least a contributing factor in why the FBI terminated her services.'"

Mueller promised the bureau would work with the OIG's office to see if any FBI employees should be disciplined over the treatment Edmonds has received. He also said he wants employees to bring to the attention of superiors "good faith concerns about mismanagement or misconduct" that occurs within the bureau.

In the past, federal officials said her raised concerns had nothing to do with her dismissal, saying instead she was a "disruptive" presence in the field office where she was assigned.

However, the OIG's report "also criticized the F.B.I.'s failure to adequately pursue Ms. Edmonds's allegations of espionage as they related to one of her colleagues," said Mueller in his letter.

In the latter case, Edmonds accused a fellow Turkish linguist of failing to disclose previous contacts she had with members of an overseas group that had come under suspicion by the FBI. The colleague, Edmonds claimed, also blocked the translation of some material as "not pertinent."

Mueller said a prior exam of Edmonds' allegations found her claims were unsubstantiated. But given the OIG's conclusions, Mueller said the agency would again look at her charges.

Edmonds told the Times she had not been informed of any of the OIG's findings. She also said she was planning a lawsuit to force the public release of the report.

She also said public pressure was needed to force the FBI to correct chronic problems in the bureau's ability to translate terrorism-related materials and intelligence.

"Here we are almost three years after Sept. 11, and these problems have not been corrected," she told the paper. "This is one of the major problems the intelligence community is facing."

Editor's note: