Accounting Urged for Arms, Computers

Audio/Video FBI Reports Missing Guns, Computers - (ABCNEWS.com) Lawmakers Demanding Answers from FBI - (WKMG, Orlando)

By JESSE J. HOLLAND, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - With the FBI (news - web sites) having lost hundreds of laptops and firearms, lawmakers demanded a government-wide accounting of other firearms and computers and criticized the nation's largest law enforcement agency for losing track of its valuable equipment.

``If our premier law-enforcement agency, the FBI, is so lax in keeping track of its guns, I shudder to think about what other abuses may exist at other federal agencies,'' said Rep. John Dingell (news - bio - voting record), D-Mich.

Dingell wants the General Accounting Office (news - web sites), Congress' investigative and auditing arm, to check every federal agency to see if any other weapons are missing. In addition, Sen. Charles Grassley (news - bio - voting record) of Iowa, ranking Republican on the Finance Committee, called for the Treasury Department (news - web sites) - which includes the Secret Service - to account for its guns and secure computers.

``To have laptops missing that could have national security information on them would be atrocious,'' Grassley said. ``For the FBI to have lost firearms and failed to account for them is inexcusable.''

The FBI has since tightened security and Attorney General John Ashcroft (news - web sites) said he has confidence in the agency.

The Justice Department (news - web sites) revealed Tuesday that 449 side arms and submachine guns are missing. One of the missing guns was used in a homicide, officials said. Also, 184 computers - at least one containing classified data - are missing.

Each FBI employee has been accountable for the whereabouts of laptop computers assigned to them. Kenneth Senser, the FBI's deputy assistant director in charge of internal security, said the FBI established an internal group that began in May 2000 to put in place a system to make sure the bureau was keeping track of the computers.

``Who is held accountable?'' Sen. Patrick Leahy (news - bio - voting record), D-Vt., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee (news - web sites), demanded of Senser.

``At the time, actually, there was no one held accountable, in the sense that the FBI policy was very clear on the control of laptop computers,'' Senser said.

He said the FBI has improved its security systems and protocols in the last two years and can now identify where every computer with classified information is supposed to be.

Attorney General John Ashcroft said he still believes in the FBI despite its recent controversies. ``Every organization has problems,'' he said. ``But how do you respond to the problems? I have to say the FBI has been responding constructively.''

Senators have complained for weeks that the FBI has a culture of covering up its mistakes and have offered several bills to reform the agency, including provisions for outside reviews and more power for agency watchdogs such as the inspector general's office.

President Bush (news - web sites) has nominated Robert Mueller, a former U.S. attorney known for cleaning up and reforming law enforcement offices, to be the new FBI director.

Mueller will go before the Senate Judiciary Committee on July 30, officials said.

``It has become clearer that significant changes are necessary at the FBI if it is to maintain its status as the worlds premier law enforcement agency,'' said Sen. Richard Durbin (news - bio - voting record), D- Ill., who talked to Mueller on Wednesday. ``The FBI isn't starving for resources - its starving for leadership.''

The FBI has been under fire for missteps going back years, including the failure to provide thousands of documents to Timothy McVeigh (news - web sites)'s lawyers, the Robert Hanssen (news - web sites) spy case, the bloody Branch Davidian and Ruby Ridge standoffs and the botched investigation of former Los Almos nuclear scientist Wen Ho Lee (news - web sites).

Besides the theft of 184 FBI weapons, 265 were lost, said FBI and Justice officials. Most of the missing weapons are handguns, but some are submachine guns, they said.

In all, 184 laptops are missing, including 13 believed to have been stolen, officials said. They said that in addition to one computer known to have contained classified information, three other missing machines might also have had classified material.

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On the Net:

FBI: http://www.fbi.gov/

Senate Judiciary: http://judiciary.senate.gov/

Earlier Stories
Senators Criticize FBI Security (July 18)
Senators Decry Lost FBI Equipment (July 18)
FBI Missing Computers, Weapons (July 18)
Sources: FBI Missing Computers, Guns (July 17)
Justice Dept: FBI Missing Computers (July 17)
Source: FBI Missing Computers (July 17)

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