Senators Question F.B.I. Director

The head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Robert S. Mueller III, came under sharp questioning from senators of both parties today on matters ranging from slow progress in intelligence sharing to an attempt to search the files of the late newspaper columnist Jack Anderson.

Robert S. Mueller III during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing today on bureau operations.
Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the senior Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, cited what he said was evidence of more than 100 instances in which F.B.I. agents improperly conducted surveillance of antiwar groups. He said the list included Quakers, a Catholic antiwar organization and the Raging Grannies, which Mr. Leahy sarcastically called "a scary group."

As Mr. Leahy and his Democratic colleagues criticized Mr. Mueller, and by extension, the Bush administration, most sharply, the F.B.I. director heard little praise from Republicans on the committee.

Senator Arlen Specter, the Pennsylvanian Republican who is the panel's chairman, asked Mr. Mueller about a report issued last month by the General Accounting Office that he said "raises questions about the adequacy of information sharing" between the F.B.I. and other agencies involved in counterterrorism.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/02/washington/02cnd-fbi.html?ex=1304222400&en=2f51750ac33e3050&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss