-Caveat Lector- FBI Probe: Problems in Okla. Office > > WASHINGTON (AP) -- Two internal reviews documented ``serious deficiencies'' and > ``systemic problems'' with evidence handling inside the FBI's Oklahoma City > office at the height of the Timothy McVeigh bombing investigation. > > The problems surfaced in an unrelated prison death case in the summer of 1995, > four months into the bombing investigation. The internal reports did not cite > any problems with the McVeigh case evidence. > > But the documents, many of which remain under court seal, broadly criticize the > Oklahoma FBI's day-to-day handling of evidence and cite some of the same FBI > personnel who were involved in the bombing case. Excerpts from the sealed > reports were obtained by The Associated Press. > > For instance, an agent who was awarded the FBI's highest award for bravery in > the bombing case made false statements, some under oath, about evidence in the > August 1995 death of prisoner Kenneth Michael Trentadue, the Justice Department > inspector general concluded. > > FBI officials acknowledge the Oklahoma City office had problems but say they > have been fixed. And they say the personnel cited in the internal reports > played only minor roles in the bombing case because a team of national experts > arranged a separate facility to gather evidence about the bombing. > > ``We have absolute confidence in the investigative efforts of the Oklahoma City > bombing task force with regards to the entire investigation,'' said Bill > Carter, FBI spokesman in Washington. > > Special Agent in Charge Richard Marquise, who took over the Oklahoma City > office in 1999, said the problems have been rectified. ``Things have changed,'' > he said. ``Obviously the problems were there. We recognize we had a problem.'' > > The FBI's conduct is receiving renewed scrutiny after revelations it discovered > thousands of pages of witness interviews and other evidence in the McVeigh case > just days before the convicted Oklahoma City bomber was to be executed. The FBI > has blamed a computer glitch, and personnel who incorrectly thought documents > weren't relevant. > > The internal reviews identified a myriad of problems in the Oklahoma City > bureau, including that evidence was inventoried belatedly, lost or destroyed. > In one case, photographs were misplaced; in another a bloody sheet was > improperly stored, and became contaminated, court records show. > > In 1999, a team from the Justice Department's inspector general's office > reported ``systemic problems with the FBI OKC evidence program.'' Separately, > an internal FBI review concluded a ``very serious problem had arisen in the FBI > OKC evidence program.'' > > The lawyer who represented McVeigh at trial said he believes the government had > an obligation to divulge the problems under court rulings that require > prosecutors to disclose information that casts doubt on the credibility or > professionalism of law enforcement involved in the case. > > ``I think it should have been (divulged),'' attorney Stephen Jones said. > > Jones said he eventually learned about the evidence-handling problem from an > Arkansas Internet publication, but not until well after McVeigh already had > exhausted his appeals. Jones, who no longer represents McVeigh, said his former > client's new lawyers used the information as part of a last-ditch relief motion > that was turned down by the courts. > > The Oklahoma City evidence-handling problems surfaced in connection with > prisoner Trentadue's death at a local federal detention center. > > Trentadue was found hanging from his cell and the death was ruled a suicide. > His family challenged the conclusion, alleging the inmate's body was badly > bruised. > > The internal investigations ultimately upheld the suicide conclusion but > identified widespread problems, including: false statements by prison officials > and an FBI agent; 41 pieces of evidence that were missing; and the FBI's > destruction of a key original document after it had been repeatedly requested > by the Justice Department. > > One internal FBI memo indicates agents in Oklahoma City had concealed from the > department the fact that evidence was missing. > > ``Fortunately, DOJ has not asked for any serials (evidence) which we have not > been able to produce and they are not aware anything was misplaced,'' a > supervisory special agent wrote his superiors in the Oklahoma City FBI office > in 1997. > > Trentadue's family sued the government, alleging belatedly discovered evidence > disputed the suicide ruling. A judge this month awarded the family $1.1 million. > > Former Justice Department inspector general Michael Bromwich, who oversaw much > of the Trentadue review, said in an interview that FBI officials > uncharacteristically resisted and hampered the inquiry. > > ``I will say in general that the FBI has strongly resisted IG reviews at their > onset and generally have been very cooperative once they've begun,'' Bromwich > said. ``The major exception to that was Trentadue, where they fought us tooth > and nail.'' > > Bromwich said the Trentadue case and another inquiry -- this one dealing with > the FBI's handling of classified information about China -- demonstrate that > the nation's premiere law enforcement agency has problems with documents and > evidence. > > ``We found very widespread problems with the way data was input into the > computer system, the training of FBI agents and other personnel working on that > system and the ability to retrieve information from the system,'' he said. > > The reviews in the Trentadue matter concluded that problems with evidence > logging extended beyond the prison death case. > > ``We became concerned about broader problems in the way evidence was handled by > FBI OKC,'' the inspector general reported. > > Susanna Mullally, then the FBI's top official on handling evidence, also was > sent from Washington to review the Oklahoma City office, and produced a > multipage report. > > ``The review found serious deficiencies in the way the FBI OKC handled > evidence,'' including inaccurate or missing forms and evidence that wasn't > processed for years, the documents show. > > The documents state the FBI's senior evidence control technician for Oklahoma > City was reassigned in August 1995 to the McVeigh case. She was replaced by a > former mail clerk who wasn't fully trained, the reports state. > > ``We believe her lack of formal training was a contributing factor to the > problems,'' the inspector general said of the replacement. The replacement has > since left the FBI, officials said. > > But the problems went beyond evidence handling. > > The inspector general concluded FBI agent Jeffrey Jenkins ``made several false > statements relating to the investigation into Trentadue's death, several of > them while under oath.'' Jenkins, who won the shield of valor for his rescue > work upon arriving at the scene of the McVeigh bombing, denied any wrongdoing. > > Prosecutors declined to prosecute Jenkins, who was referred for disciplinary > action. FBI officials said they couldn't discuss the ongoing proceedings. <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. 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