http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148 <http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=15493695> &sid=15493695
Salt Lake FBI office has serious lapses that could jeopardize national security, sources say May 10th, 2011 @ 10:00pm Lori Prichard reporting produced by Kelly Just SALT LAKE CITY - A pattern of long-term and ongoing problems inside the regional headquarters of the FBI in Salt Lake City could have catastrophic consequences to national security, sources connected to the FBI say. Nearly a dozen self-described whistleblowers - including those with strong ties to the FBI's Salt Lake field office - have come forward to expose potentially serious security breaches, including the removal of classified documents from the office contrary to strict FBI protocol. "It's a huge deal," one FBI source said. "We're talking about the pinnacle of law enforcement. And they've got corruption inside their own office." "The actions that Salt Lake City is taking definitely could jeopardize national security," another FBI source said. Concerns over security protocol, records access These whistleblowers were interviewed as part of a yearlong investigation by KSL News, which was able to corroborate much of what each source reported by conducting individual interviews without the knowledge of other sources. These individuals spoke on the condition that their identities be protected. "We're talking about the pinnacle of law enforcement. And they've got corruption inside their own office." -KSL source The sources provided details of multiple violations of internal FBI policies, including lax oversight of highly classified documents stored inside the Salt Lake City office's Secret Compartmented Information Facility; the failure to enforce rules that restrict access to areas where classified documents are kept; violations of policies that govern the issuance of FBI credentials; and concerns that high-level FBI officials may have covered up a formal complaint of security violations. The FBI declined to officially comment on any of the allegations. "There is a severe problem with the Salt Lake office," one source told KSL. "None of them will come forward because they know the FBI will come after them with a vengeance." "People are afraid," another FBI source said. "People are afraid to say anything. This has been going on for years." The allegations brought forth by the confidential sources all stem from concerns that strict FBI security protocol is bypassed and sometimes blatantly ignored in the Salt Lake City field office. They say these matters were brought to FBI supervisors, and the sources claim the supervisors did not adequately investigate those complaints. With regard to the oversight of classified documents, several sources told KSL that the Salt Lake field office has failed to number certain individual records or keep track of their circulation. "I never saw any document control numbers on any classified documents," a source directly familiar with the operation said. Such numbers help determine the location of the documents, who had access to the classified information and when. "People are afraid to say anything. This has been going on for years." -KSL source "That's a big problem because if you don't know what documents you've originated, and you don't know where they're at, and you don't have any system for control, then how do you establish and maintain accountability?" the source said. KSL has confirmed the veracity of this claim regarding some classified documents. Additionally, KSL has confirmed that some classified information is being removed from the Salt Lake field office, an indication of security lapses. And because some classified information exists without a document control or serial number, this FBI field office would have no knowledge of its removal. The sources also maintain the FBI fails to adequately secure its document storage facility, which is located on the top floor of its Salt Lake headquarters at 257 E. 200 South. The storage area is referred to as "the penthouse," but is officially known as the Secret Compartmented Information Facility or SCIF. Such facilities contain the most highly-classified and possibly sensitive records compiled by the U.S. government, including documents outlining threats to homeland security, records of surveillance on suspected terrorist cells, and the identification of informants, such as those working inside some of the most violent gangs in the Salt Lake area. SCIFs are located all over the world. Many can be found on military bases, often in underground bunkers with fortified walls and multiple layers of security in place. Sources familiar with the Salt Lake FBI operations say there has been negligence in ensuring the security of the local SCIF. One specific example sources point to is the blinds on the SCIF's windows that are fully raised on a periodic basis - something FBI protocol and the U.S. government intelligence conglomerate at large, strictly prohibits. "That's the easiest way to spy," one source said. "All you need is a telephoto lens and sit inside the next building." Though one must sign in to the SCIF to open it in the morning, it is left open throughout the remainder of the day where employees are said to "badge in" in order to gain access. However, sources warn it is not guarded and there is nothing to prevent someone from piggybacking on someone else's access. <http://www.ksl.com/emedia/slc/2491/249144/24914451.jpg> http://www.ksl.com/emedia/slc/2491/249144/24914451.jpg?filter=ksl/img200 Several sources KSL spoke to independently described the same security concerns at the FBI's Salt Lake City office. And it's what one could do with information once obtained from inside the FBI field office that is cause for concern, according to sources. "Anyone can walk out of any field office with anything," one source said. "FBI employees have 24-hour access to the building. On one floor is where all the closed files are and the night guys are on a different floor. So unless they walk around and see what's going on, they don't pay attention. People come and go as they please out of the Salt Lake City office." Another source independently described the same concerns. "You have multiple floors. You have multiple entrances and exits and you don't have any guards," said the source, who is also familiar with the operation of the office. "(People) could walk in with cameras. They could walk in with computers. They could walk out with computers or documents." The source added, "There's a camera at every door. Everybody that comes and goes is on video. To my knowledge, there is no one going back and reviewing the tapes to see if something has left the building." The FBI, like any intelligence agency, operates on a "need to know" basis. Yet, in the Salt Lake City field office, sources inside describe the atmosphere as free-flowing with little attempt to control sensitive or secret information. "I worked on a floor in the Salt Lake office that you couldn't keep anything a secret," another FBI insider said. "Everyone heard everything. Conversations carried across rooms." "If you were a spy looking for information, then the information definitely flowed in the open," said another source in a separate interview. "(Robert) Hanssen could happen in Salt Lake City," warned this source, referring to the former FBI special agent whose case is considered to be one of the most significant intelligence breaches in U.S. history. Hanssen spent 25 years working as an FBI agent. He also dedicated much of that time spying for the Russians. Hanssen was arrested a decade ago and is currently serving a life without parole sentence in federal prison. "The real problem comes in when you have these serious spy, espionage cases. Or it could be someone selling secrets even inside the United States," said Coleen Rowley, a retired FBI agent who was among the whistleblowers who revealed details of the FBI's failure to pursue evidence of the plot to attack New York's World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. She warns lax security could result in a leak of information detrimental to the nation's security. "You have got to get information out about a potential security risk because you don't know for yourself," she said in an interview at her home in Minneapolis, Minn. "You've got to at least have higher-ups deal with this effectively." Rowley said the FBI and other intelligence agencies that deal in sensitive information have traditionally regarded any security breaches of any size as a serious matter. "Let's say even in this case that there's lax security and it didn't lead to any true security leak to an enemy, it could in the future," she said regarding questions raised of the FBI's Salt Lake City operations. One example revealed Sources who have worked in Salt Lake field office say concerns about security were heightened when the FBI granted high-level credentials to certain task force members. When pressed for a specific example, all cite the credentials provided to Utah state fraud investigator Shane Tiernan, when he was appointed to an FBI-led task force on health care and, then the violent crimes task force. Sources say Tiernan was given an FBI Secure Access Control System key card, known as a SACS badge. Such badges are typically given to law enforcement agents engaged in investigations led by the FBI. But these sources tell KSL the type of badge given to Tiernan is considered a high-level credential, allowing him 24-hour access to the FBI field office. "It's the fox guarding the henhouse. To my knowledge, you don't have a third party doing any kind of investigation. Unfortunately, you have a field office conducting both sides of the investigation." -KSL source These sources say Tiernan frequently wore his FBI-issued SACS badge and allegedly was allowed to maintain his credentials even after he left public service. "He had credentials after he was off the task force and during the time he was a civilian employee. He was in another state working as a civilian. When he returned to Utah, he still had those credentials, which is a direct violation of FBI policy," said a former state investigator who worked with Tiernan. When KSL shared information regarding Tiernan's alleged access with Rowley, she raised concerns that such lapses in security could lead to harm. "That's very lax and wrong and they should have been much more careful than that." When fellow state investigators complained to the FBI about Tiernan's access, they were informed that an FBI investigation had been launched. But months passed with little or no information regarding the results of that investigation. "Shane Tiernan knows about the improprieties of the FBI," said one source knowledgeable of the FBI probe. "The FBI's not going to do anything to him. The FBI will never besmirch his name because he'll turn around and take down the supervisors that he knew." One such alleged improper practice involves an agent "loaning" an FBI-issued automatic firearm to Tiernan for a period of one year, according to three separate sources who worked with Tiernan at the time. Tiernan declined a formal request for an interview. However in a telephone conversation, he said he was provided a white SACS badge by the FBI. Sources say Tiernan was given a blue SACS badge - a badge that is given only to FBI government employees - and includes an "LE" designation for law enforcement. <http://www.ksl.com/emedia/slc/2491/249144/24914447.jpg> http://www.ksl.com/emedia/slc/2491/249144/24914447.jpg?filter=ksl/img200 Retired FBI agent Coleen Rowley says it's critical for these whistleblowers and others to come forward with lapses that could cripple national security. KSL confirmed through Utah Peace Officer Standards and Training that Tiernan does not have POST I law enforcement officer qualifications, which would prohibit him from being hired as full-fledged law enforcement officer. Instead, his qualifications fall under POST II special function officer, which requires less training. Tiernan also denied being under investigation by the FBI. However, he stated that there was an internal probe, but "it was dropped by McTighe," referring to James McTighe, the FBI's special agent in charge of the Salt Lake City field office. Tiernan's case, according to multiple FBI sources, validates overall concerns regarding the bureau's handling of access to its Salt Lake field office. "It could be risking national security," one source said. Another added: "It certainly calls into question the integrity of a lot of people who are placed in positions of responsibility within the organization. That they may not be doing what is the best for the United States." All of those interviewed expressed a concern for the lapses in security. They were also unanimous in their concerns regarding the effectiveness of the bureau's internal investigation procedures. "It's a cycle," one source said regarding FBI internal protocol in filing complaints to headquarters in Washington D.C. "You report it. It goes back to the field office. The field office investigates it and says, 'Nope, nothing happened.' ... Robert Hanssen investigated himself several times. He was working counterintelligence looking for the leak who was giving information to Russian intelligence." "It's the fox guarding the henhouse," a second source said. "To my knowledge, you don't have a third party doing any kind of investigation. Unfortunately, you have a field office conducting both sides of the investigation." "When failures happen and abuses, there's going to be a real strong reluctance to air that publicly," said Rowley, who was named one of Time magazine's Persons of the Year for revealing the FBI's decision to shut down an investigation of Zacarias Moussaoui, the suspected 20th hijacker, prior to the Sept. 11 attacks."There is a culture in all of that community - the intelligence community - that since we're dealing with secrecy that we're above the law." FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C., did not respond to a request for comment. Salt Lake FBI spokeswoman Debbie Dujanovic Bertram would only say: "We are not going to be granting an interview or responding to allegations nor will we be discussing security policies and procedures." Rowley says it's critical for these whistleblowers and others to come forward with lapses that could cripple national security. "Even if it didn't happen yet, heaven knows, next year, next month the wrong person gets in here and says, 'Oh my gosh, I can make some money here if I get that information out.'" [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [email protected]. -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [email protected] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [email protected] Unsubscribe: [email protected] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. 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