Grassley, Holt Lead Effort for FBI Briefing on Amerithrax

Grassley, Holt Lead Effort for FBI Briefing on Amerithrax

Senator Chuck Grassley and Congressman Rush Holt today sent a letter to the Attorney General asking for a briefing on the Amerithrax case. The letter was signed by 33 members of Congress.

"Were seeing more and more agencies thwart the Constitutional responsibility of Congress. Unfortunately, the FBI's refusal to provide briefings to Congress following the 2001 anthrax attacks appears to be the rule rather than the exception," Grassley said. "In one of the most important terrorism investigations ever undertaken by the FBI, it is unbelievable to me that members of Congress, some who were targets of the anthrax attacks, haven't been briefed for years."

"The FBI's refusal to brief Congress on this matter is unprecedented and inexcusable," said Rep. Holt. "The anthrax attacks harmed the heath and livelihoods of my constituents and paralyzed the government and national commerce. All Americans deserve to know why this five-year investigation has made so little progress."

The letter comes on the heels of two other attempts by Grassley and Holt to get information about the FBI's handling of the five-year-old Amerithrax investigation. In response to their previous requests, the Justice Department and the FBI announced a blanket policy against all Congressional briefings on the matter.

The members write: "…Congress cannot be cut-off from detailed information about the conduct of one of the largest investigations in FBI history. That information is vital in order to fulfill its Constitutional responsibility to conduct oversight of the Executive Branch."

http://www.holt.house.gov/list/press/nj12_holt/121206.html