By Benny Martinez – University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News

Steps are being taken to improve inter-agency communication and the effectiveness of anti-terrorism tools, U.S. intelligence officials said Wednesday during a hearing with the Senate Judiciary Committee.

“Together, with our intelligence community and our law enforcement partners, we will learn from and improve our intelligence systems in response to the Christmas-day attack,” said Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Robert Mueller.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab boarded Northwest’s 253 flight partly due to a significant failure of the intelligence community, said Under Secretary of Management for the U.S. Department of State, Patrick Kennedy.

“Information about previous visas issued to him and the fact that he currently held a valid U.S. visa was not included” in a Visa Viper report, Kennedy said. As a result, Abdulmutallab was not red-flagged as a person who should be on the ‘no fly’ terrorist watchlist. “We slipped up,” he said.

According to Mueller, President Barack Obama directed the FBI to review the visa statuses of suspected terrorists on databases at the Terrorist Screening Center. The FBI will also make recommendations towards improving protocols for creating terrorist watchlists.

“As directed by the President,” Mueller said, “the FBI has joined our partners in the intelligence and law enforcement communities to review our information sharing practices and procedures to make sure that such an event never happens again.”

Today at Talk Radio News Service the Washington Bureau will be cover an address by the FBI Director Robert Mueller at the National Press Club Newsmaker Luncheon. The Washington Bureau will also attend the Joint Forces Media Day at Andrews Air Force Base.

At the House Judiciary Committee FBI Oversight Full Committee hearing on the FBI, Chairman John Conyers (D-MI), says [to FBI Director Robert Mueller] can every member of Congress assume they can be broken into, like Jefferson? Mueller says that Jefferson wasn’t broken into, it was the execution of a search warrant. Conyers says, so that’s a yes? We can get busted too? Mueller there is an intervening circuit court opinion that requires them to follow protocols although he isn’t clear what the protocols are. We’re very sensitive, he says, to the debate clause and the debate opinion. Conyers says, “I’m glad you’re sensitive, we are too.” (1:12)

 

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At the House Judiciary Committee FBI Oversight Full Committee hearing on the FBI, FBI Director Robert Mueller says [in regards to child pornography] it’s important to have access to the records, and having records retention of ISPs would be helpful in creating a historical basis with which to make a case against child predators. (0:22)

 

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