FBI Shuts Public E-Mail
The FBI said yesterday that it has shut down an e-mail system it uses to communicate with the public because of a possible security breach.
The bureau is investigating whether someone hacked into the fbi.gov e-mail system, which is run by a private company, officials said.
"We use these accounts to communicate with you folks, view Internet sites and conduct other non-sensitive bureau business, such as sending out press releases," Special Agent Steve Lazarus, the FBI's media coordinator in Atlanta, said in an e-mail describing the problem.
The FBI computer system that is used for case files, classified and sensitive information, and internal communications is unaffected, Lazarus said. The bureau is in the process of switching its e-mail accounts, officials said.
Lawmakers and the Justice Department's inspector general have criticized the FBI for taking too much time and spending too much money to upgrade its computer systems. A $170 million project, Virtual Case File, may have to be scrapped because it is outdated and inadequate, FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III acknowledged Thursday in testimony on Capitol Hill.
Pentagon Spy Role Examined
Congress is investigating the military's expanding intelligence role to see if the Pentagon is meeting its legal obligation to inform lawmakers of its activities, congressional officials said yesterday.
Lawmakers have met in closed sessions with Pentagon officials to examine a new Defense Department program for running foreign spy operations like those traditionally managed by the CIA, said the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The program, described by senior defense and military officials as part of Washington's war on terror, has raised concerns that Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld could try to circumvent the CIA and avoid congressional oversight.
The intelligence panels in the House and the Senate, along with their Republican chairmen, hope to subject the Pentagon to the same degree of oversight as the CIA, congressional officials said.
"They're looking at whether the operations constitute military or intelligence operations. That distinction is unclear right now," said a House aide.
But they declined to comment on discussions that have taken place between lawmakers and defense officials.
"All we're interested in is any activities that fall within the definition of notification to Congress, that [Pentagon officials] understand what they are, they understand what our requirements are and that we're in agreement," said an aide on the Senate intelligence committee.
Democrats for Gonzales
As a postscript to the Senate's 60 to 36 vote Thursday to confirm Alberto R. Gonzales as attorney general, five of the six Democrats who voted for him were from states that President Bush carried in November.
The six Democratic senators who voted for him were Mary Landrieu (La.), Joseph I. Lieberman (Conn.), Ben Nelson (Neb.), Bill Nelson (Fla.), Mark Pryor (Ark.) and Ken Salazar (Colo.). Connecticut was the only one of those states that Bush did not carry.
-- From News Services
