FBI Agent Told To Keep Quiet After Telling Newspaper Politics Were Involved In Firings

[kpete]

FBI agent told to keep quiet over attorney firings
Tue Mar 27, 2007 5:08pm ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An FBI agent was warned to keep quiet about the dismissal of a U.S. attorney after he told a newspaper her firing would hurt the agency's ongoing investigations and speculated politics was involved, a U.S. Senate panel heard on Tuesday.

FBI Director Robert Mueller defended the handling of the incident, saying: "I do not believe it's appropriate for our special agents in charge to comment to the media on personnel decisions that are made by the Department of Justice."

"I profoundly disagree," replied Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat, who told the panel of the warning to the agent. "He (the agent) was simply saying that it would affect cases that were ongoing. And I think he's entitled to his opinion."

The exchange came as Mueller's testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is ramping up its investigation into the firing last year of eight of the nation's 93 U.S. attorneys.


more at:
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyid=2007-03-27T215910Z_01_N27218781_RTRUKOC_0_US-USA-PROSECUTORS.xml

[napi21]

1. I heard that in the hearing today. Muellersaid he was willing to give

Congress the info, but he just thought it was wrong to be talking to the media! Yea, and if the media hadn't latched onto that and ran a column, Congress would have never known to even ask about it!