You are on page 1of 9

Special Agent Supervisors

I. Introduction

A. Background on 9-11 Commission - an independent, bipartisan


Commission created by Congress and the President to investigate the 9-11
attacks and make recommendations to prevent future terrorist attacks.

[We are not the congressional "Joint Inquiry" whose report has been in
the news recently. We are a special Commission that by law is required to
present its report to Congress and the President next spring.]

B. We are members of the Commission staff team focusing on law


enforcement and intelligence collection in the United States - primarily
the FBI.

C. We asked to meet with you based upon the position you have at the FBI
and the work you do - we are not investigating you personally, and did not
ask to interview you because of anything you did or did not do.

D. We will use the information that we obtain from you in today's interview
to assist the Commissioners prepare their report to Congress and the
President.

E. In the future the 9-11 Commission will be holding public hearings based
upon our work - it is unlikely (but possible) that you would be asked to
appear as a witness at a public hearing.

F. We appreciate you taking the time to talk with us and tell us about your
work - before we begin, do you have any questions about why we are here
and what we are doing?

II. Background

A. Education and training prior to entering the work force.

B. Employment experience prior to joining FBI - positions held, time periods


for each position; reasons for leaving prior positions; any prior law
enforcement, security; or intelligence collection experience.

C. Prior positions held at FBI - tenure in each position; training received in


each position, any commendations, awards, reprimands or disciplinary
actions.
D. How you were hired/selected for your present position - application
process, references, particular prior experience that qualifies you for this
position, selection process that resulted in your being hired.

E. Motivation for wanting to join the FBI; long-term career advancement


plans; opportunities available to you at FBI.

III. Current job description

A. How decisions to open an investigation are made, and the extent to which
investigative decisions are driven by either the Field of HQ
counterterrorism strategy and priorities.

B. The bases for determining whether to initiate as a criminal or intelligence


investigation, and how these decisions are made.

C. How FISA/Title III targets are selected, including the criteria used for
selection, and the approval process.

D. The factors involved in decisions to convert an investigation from a


"Preliminary Inquiry" to a "Full Field Investigation," and HQ's role in this
process.

E. The factors involved in decisions to close investigations, and HQ's role in


this process.

F. How information is developed during the course of the investigation,


including: the use of informants, electronic and physical surveillance,
open source information, and information from other agencies, state and
local authorities, and foreign governments.

G. The extent to which informant development is emphasized, both by HQ


and their management, and the current state of your informant and
intelligence base.

H. The current state of the FBI's information technology, and how this affects
your work.

I. Access to information:

1. Information flow within the FBI, and your ability to access all
relevant FBI intelligence on a timely basis.

2. Your access to relevant Intelligence Community information and


other intelligence on a timely basis.
3. Your ability to task other agencies, foreign intelligence and law
enforcement partners, and state and local law enforcement for
information, and the extent to which you receive responses on a
timely basis.

J. The guidance your squad provides to:

1. the language specialists, the role of the language specialists in


your investigations, the capability of the language specialists,
and the adequacy of linguistic resources;

2. the analysts, the role of the analysts in your investigations, the


capability of the analysts, and the adequacy of analytic
resources;

3. surveillance specialists, the role of the surveillance specialists


in your investigations, the capability of the surveillance
specialists, and the adequacy of surveillance resources.

K. The role of and interaction with FBI Headquarters in your investigations,


and the extent to which investigations are now driven by and run by
FBfflQ.

L. The overall functioning of the JTTF, and the relationship with other
federal agencies and state and local law enforcement authorities.

IV. Training and Career Development

A. Your assessment of the extent and effectiveness of the agents receive in


international terrorism during New Agent Training.

B. The adequacy of international terrorism-related training your personnel


receive on an ongoing basis.

C. Promotion possibilities/evaluations for agents working IT matters;

1. FBI reliance on statistical accomplishments for promotions, and


whether this affects IT agents.

2. Traditional bias against agents working national security matters,


and whether this cultural attitude has shifted.

D. The extent to which training is mandated, and to which you can pursue
training opportunities of interest.
E. Your background (and that of those on your squads) in international
terrorism prior to assuming your position, and how you stay abreast of
important developments in your field.

V. Supervision and Reporting

A. To whom you report, whom do you supervise, and the quality of the
management and of the personnel you supervise.

B. How much guidance you receive in performing your duties, and who
provides this guidance.

C. Their relationship with Field Office and HQ management.

D. How your performance is measured, and your assessment of this system.

VI. Comparison of Agency Policies to the Reality of Work Environment

A. DOT and FBI policies and regulations, and other laws governing the
collection of information during the course of FBI international terrorism
investigations.

1. Your understanding of the MIOG, Attorney General Guidelines and


other important legal guidelines, regulations, and laws governing their
work.

2. Guidance from FBIHQ and DOJ on how to achieve the appropriate


balance between civil liberties and security.

3. Specific steps your office has taken to ensure that civil liberties are
adequately protected, particularly in terms of FBI efforts to ensure the
protection of individuals' First Amendment rights.

4. Aggressiveness of FBI investigations targeting religious figures and


religious institutions.

5. Policy or legal obstacles to effective and aggressive investigation of


international terrorism cases.

B. DOJ and FBI policies for processing information collected during the
course of your investigations, and how this actually occurs.
C. DOJ and FBI policies for disseminating information collected during the
course of your investigations, and how this actually occurs.

D. Your perspective on the effectiveness of these changes in preventing


terrorist activity.

1. Extent to which DOJ and FBI HQ have provided guidance on


how to shift from reactive to preventative.

2. Which of these investigative techniques (including material


witness warrants, immigration detentions, voluntary interviews,
and deterrent prosecutions) your office has used, and to what
extent.

3. Extent to which this preventative focus has represented a shift


away from long-term CT investigations, and your perspective
on any resulting negative impacts on the CT program.

4. Overall problems you've observed in the FBI's efforts to shift


from reactive to a preventative mode.

5. Your perspective on the deterrent effect of prosecutions for


minor violations.

6. Important counterterrorism leads and information you've


developed as a result of these new investigative techniques.

VII. Collaboration with Agencies or Offices Outside of the WFO

A. Please describe your interaction with offices within FBI Headquarters.

B. Are there any formal arrangements for coordination between your


unit/office and offices within FBI HQ? Please describe.

C. Please describe your interaction with other agencies or offices outside of


the FBI, including:

1. National or local Joint Terrorism Task Forces

2. Other agencies within the Intelligence Community

3. State and/or local law enforcement agencies

4. Other agencies or offices.


D. Are there any formal arrangements for coordination between your
unit/office and any outside agencies or offices? Please describe.

E. To what extent do you receive information, intelligence, and/or guidance


from outside entities? Please describe the process through which the
information is shared and how you and your office process the information
shared.

F. Please describe the process through which you or your unit shares
information with outside entities.

G. In your judgment, how timely is the information you receive from outside
entities? Conversely, what priority is placed within your office with
sharing information on a timely basis with other agencies?

H. Please describe the extent of your direct access to the data bases of outside
law enforcement or other Intelligence Community databases. Are you
able to submit specific requests for intelligence to other agencies? Have
you ever done this? Please describe.

I. To the extent you are able, please provide some illustrative anecdotes of
collaboration with outside agencies.

J. Have there been any changes in the way you and your office have
collaborated with other agencies over the past couple of years?

K. In what ways do you feel the collaboration has been particularly effective?
In your judgment, how could the collaboration and information sharing
with outside agencies be improved upon? What obstacles do you perceive
making these improvements?

L. Please evaluate the quality of information you receive from other


agencies.

VIII. Recent FBI Reforms

A. During your tenure within the FBI, what changes, if any, have been
proposed or implemented in the way you perform your work and the way
your particular unit or office strives to accomplish its mission?

B. What is your sense of how well your unit's function was performed prior
to these changes?

C. Has your office undergone more than one round of reforms since you
started? Please describe them in detail. Is your office currently
undergoing reform? Are there proposed reforms to the way your office
works that are yet to be implemented?

D. In your judgment, have these reforms been helpful to accomplishing your


mission? Please describe some specific ways in which the reforms have
actually improved your office's success.

E. In what ways, if any, have the reforms created new issues or obstacles to
successfully completing your mission?

F. If it were up to you, what additional reforms or changes to the way your


office operates would you suggest in order to achieve the greatest possible
success in completing your office's mission? What obstacles exist, if any,
to implementing any of the reforms you would propose?

G. As a result of these reforms, has your office undergone any change is


resources? Do you have more or fewer professional personnel to
accomplish your mission? Have you been given additional tasks or
responsibilities? Have you been given additional support to accomplish
these responsibilities - either in the form of additional personnel or
improved technology?

IX. Counterterrorism Strategy

A. Please describe your office's approach to detecting, deterring, and


preventing terrorism. Among all of the responsibilities you have, where
do Counterterrorism responsibilities rank in priority? What percentage of
your time is spent on Counterterrorism?

B. During your tenure at the FBI, have you detected a shift in emphasis on
Counterterrorism? How has your office's actual approach to
Counterterrorism changed? When did it change? Is it changing still? Did
a shift in resources (personnel, technology, etc.) accompany the shift in
strategy?

C. In your estimation, were the changes necessary and substantive? Has the
increased emphasis on Counterterrorism changed the way in which you
have worked? Please describe in detail the specific ways hi which your
work has changed as a result of the shift in strategy.

D. To what extent do you and/or your office have input on developing the
FBI's Counterterrorism strategy? What is the process for providing your
input?
E. Who within your office allocates resources and determines priorities for
accommodating or implementing changes to the FBI's counterterrorism
strategy? Is there a formal process for setting goals and objectives within
the WFO and within your particular office with respect to achieving an
effective counterterrorism strategy?

F. What discretion does your office have in shifting strategy, priorities, and
resources? To what extent is your office's investigations and priorities
determined by Headquarters? To what extent are other members of the
Intelligence Community and/or the JTTFs shaping your counterterrorism
strategy?

G. How often does your office's approach to counterterrorism get


reevaluated? How does your office measure the effectiveness ofyour
counterterrorism strategy? For example, how do you know if what you're
trying to do is the most effective approach to counterterrorism? Is there a
formal process for evaluation?

H. In your view, has the new emphasis on counterterrorism negatively impact


the other priorities of the FBI? In what ways? In your view, is the
emphasis on counterterrorism appropriate, or is it being over- or under-
emphasized relative to other priorities?

X. Comparison of Pre- vs. Post- 9/11 Approaches to Counterterrorism

A. What is your overall assessment of the way in which your office, and the
FBI more broadly, operated to detect, prevent, and deter terrorism in the
United States prior to 9/11?

B. What is your overall assessment of the way in which your office, and the
FBI more broadly, operates to detect, prevent, and deter terrorism in the
United States today?

C. hi your view, what accounts for the failures, if any, in the FBI's approach
to counterterrorism prior to 9/11? What barriers existed that prevented the
accomplishment of any necessary reforms before 9/11?

D. hi your view, how far along is the FBI in actually implementing the
changes proposed?

E. Once the current proposals are actually implemented, in your view, will
the FBI have the best approach to counterterrorism possible? Are
additional reforms necessary?
F. If it were up to you, what additional improvements would you suggest to
help achieve the most effective counterterrorism policy possible? In your
view, what would be some of the most helpful suggestions we could
make?

You might also like