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T5 B41 Notes 6-26-03 To 9-2-03 3 of 4 FDR - Tab 10 - Questions For FBI Special Agents 081
T5 B41 Notes 6-26-03 To 9-2-03 3 of 4 FDR - Tab 10 - Questions For FBI Special Agents 081
Special Agents
I. Introduction
[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.]
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.
C. Employment history at the FBI - positions held, time periods for each
position.
Special Agents
D. How do your squad's priorities fit in with WFO's priorities? What are
WFO's priorities?
E. What is your squad's case mix? What percentage 199s versus 265s? Do
you know what your fellow squad members are working on? How
do you know that? Regular meetings? Because you are a curious
person who checks it out or is it routine for everyone to know?
What do you know about the plan to switch from 199s and 265s to
all one classification?
F. What is your current case mix? Percentage 199s versus 265s? Has this
mix changed since 9/11? How so?
H. Is the centralization a good or bad thing? Should the field offices be office
of origin on CT cases?
I. How much does your squad work with other WFO CT squads? NYFO
squads with similar or same priorities? Have you worked with HQs
flying squad? Good, bad?
J. Do you know what other squads are doing? How do you know this? Or
why don't you know this?
Special Agents
A. How are decisions to open an investigation made, and the extent to which
investigative decisions are driven by either Field or HQ counterterrorism
strategy and priorities. Has this changed since 9/11?
C. How FISA/Title ffl targets are selected, including the criteria used for selection
and the approval process. Has this changed since 9/11? What impact have you
seen from the Patriot Act changes? What happens with the FIS A cuts? Are they
distributed beyond the case agents? Who decides where they go? Are you
receiving other squads FISA cuts? Are they helpful?
E. The factors involved in decisions to close investigations, and HQ's role in this
process. Has this become harder to do since 9/11? If yes, how and why.
H. How many FIS As is your squad currently running? Are these post 9/11 only?
How many do you personally have? Are these from post 9/11 only?
V. Work Environment
A.. Working in Top Secret/SCI: Does your squad have its own SCIF? How much of
squad can it accommodate? Does anyone have permanent desk in the
space? How many STU phones for your squad? What level of clearance
are they? Can you effectively work on daily basis with information from
other agencies in intel community?
1. The current state of the FBI's information technology, and how this affects
your work. Do you have the ability to access all relevant FBI intelligence
on a timely basis and if so, how. Can you access all CT matters within the
system or are you blocked from certain matters? How much have you
attempted to mine the system for relevant information?
5. Please describe the process through which you or your unit shares
information with outside entities.
Special Agents
6. 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?
7. 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.
8. To the extent you are able, please provide some illustrative anecdotes of
collaboration with outside agencies.
1. Do you speak any foreign languages such that you can interpret relevant
materials on your own or conduct interviews in another language?
2. Do you have language specialists assigned to your squad or do you work
with a general pool?
3. Can you have a specific language specialist assigned to a specific case so
that they handle all the FISA cuts, translations of materials, dealing with
witnesses so that they are familiar with the persons involved? Or is it a
catch as catch can situation?
Your assessment of the capability of the language specialists, and
the adequacy of linguistic resources.
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Special Agents
G. Is your squad part of the JTTF or is that separate from your squad's work? How does your
squad and its work interact with JTTF members. The overall functioning
of the JTTF, and the relationship with other federal agencies and state and
local law enforcement authorities. Is the JTTF just a way to gain more
manpower for the squad's or is there something more going on? Is there
additional information flowing in due to presence of JTTF members? Is
the JTTF just a patch on a broken information system?
D. The extent to which training is mandated, and to which you can pursue
training opportunities of interest.
B. How much guidance do you receive in performing your day to day duties, and
who provides this guidance.
D. How your performance is measured, and your assessment of this system. Has
this changed at all in recent months?
A. DOT and FBI policies and regulations, and other laws governing the collection
of information during the course of FBI international terrorism investigations.
1. How much training have you received on the MIOG, Attorney General
Guidelines and other important legal guidelines, regulations, and laws
governing your work. From whom do you receive any such training -
NSLU, OIPR, or others?
2. Guidance you receive 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.
B. DOJ and FBI policies for processing information collected during the
course of their investigations, and how this actually occurs.
C. DOJ and FBI policies for disseminating information collected during the
course of their investigations, and how this actually occurs.
4. Overall problems you have observed in the FBI's efforts to shift from
reactive to a preventative mode.
E. Have there been any changes in the way you and your office have
collaborated with other agencies over the past couple of years?
F. 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?
G. Please evaluate the quality of information you receive from other agencies.
A. During your tenure within the FBI, what changes, if any, that we have not
already discussed 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?
E. hi what ways, if any, have the reforms created new issues or obstacles to
successfully completing your mission?
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 in 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?
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Special Agents
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. In 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. In 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?
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