FBI May Get Reins In Explosives Cases

[Khephra]

By Dan Eggen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, September 16, 2003; Page A17


The Justice Department is considering a proposal to give the FBI initial control over all cases that involve bombs and other explosives -- a shift that would mark a significant decline in clout for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The ATF, which was transferred to Justice earlier this year from the Treasury Department, only recently added "explosives" to its official name and usually has been considered the lead agency in federal bomb cases.

But an attorney general's directive under consideration at Justice would funnel all explosives cases first to the FBI, which would be the lead federal investigative agency until it "has significantly ruled out a link to domestic or international terrorism," according to a draft provided yesterday by a legislative source.

The proposal has angered many ATF agents, who have had difficult relations with the FBI and opposed the move to the Justice Department. It also prompted criticism yesterday from two senators, who argued in a letter to Attorney General John D. Ashcroft that the arrangement runs counter to the will of Congress and would hinder counterterrorism probes by straining FBI resources.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A15629-2003Sep15.html