WASHINGTON — The FBI has failed to review more than 8,000 hours of audio wiretap recordings related to counterterrorism investigations, a backlog that has more than doubled in size since last year, according to a new report issued Wednesday. The audit by Justice Department Inspector General Glenn Fine also found that although the FBI has made progress in improving its translation program, the bureau is still struggling to analyze recordings quickly enough and to hire and retain qualified translators. "The success of the FBI's foreign language translation efforts is critical to its national security mission," the report said. It added that "key deficiencies remain, including a continuing amount of unreviewed material, instances where 'high priority' material has not been reviewed within 24 hours and continued challenges in meeting linguist hiring goals."
The new findings were released on the same day that FBI Director Robert Mueller faced sharp questioning from members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, who complained during an oversight hearing that the FBI is not changing quickly enough to focus on terrorist threats and has bungled attempts to implement a $170 million computer upgrade. "What happens if there's plans for an impending attack and we don't translate the audio until sometime after the attack?" asked Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the committee's ranking Democrat. "I worry we're not moving fast enough to get those translated."
Mueller said the backlog in the review of audiotapes from counterterrorism and counterintelligence investigations involves less than 2 percent of all recordings and includes many tapes of "white noise from microphone recordings." Others consist of "obscure languages and dialects" that are difficult to translate, including one Mueller did not identify that could not be translated by anyone in the U.S. intelligence community, he said. Justice Department investigators also found that it took the FBI an average of 16 months to hire contract linguists. Mueller said the problems are due in part to the rigorous hiring standards and the limited supply of applicants.
Mueller said it will be several years before a replacement for the computer upgrade can be ready. | At which time it will be several years out of date. |
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