you and turn it over to Chris Rey the FBI director morning everybody thanks
for being here on such short notice as you all know of course the Justice
Department's Office of the Inspector General issued its report today about
DOJ and FBI activity in the run-up to the 2016 election let me say up front I
appreciate the Inspector General's work on this important review thought to take
a few minutes to talk about the report and then I'm happy to take a few
questions the FBI's mission is to protect the
American people and uphold the Constitution but to carry out that
mission were entrusted with a lot of authority so our actions are subject to
close oversight from the courts from our elected leaders and from independent
entities like inspector general and that's how it should be that kind of
examination that kind of oversight makes the FBI's stronger as an organization
and makes the public more safe with that in mind let me briefly address the
findings in the inspector general's report I take this report very seriously
and we accept its findings and recommendations it's also important
though to know what the Inspector General did not find this report did not
find any evidence of political bias for improper considerations actually
impacting the investigations under review the report does identify errors
of judgment violations of or even disregard for policy and decisions that
at the very least with the benefit of hindsight we're not the best choices
we've already started taking the necessary steps to address those issues
first we're gonna hold employees accountable for any potential misconduct
we've already referred conduct highlighted in the report to our
disciplinary arm Oh PR which is the FBI's independent
Office of Professional Responsibility we need to hold ourselves accountable for
the choices we make and the work we do we're doing that fairly but without
delay in the way that people should expect we're gonna adhere to the
appropriate disciplinary process and once that process is complete we won't
hesitate to hold people accountable for their actions second we're gonna make
sure that every FBI employee understands the lessons of this report because
change starts at the top starts with me we're gonna require all of our senior
executives from all around the world to convene for in-depth training
specifically focused on learning the lessons that we should learn on this
report then we're gonna train every single FBI employee both new hires and
veterans alike on what went wrong so these mistakes will never be repeated
third we're gonna make sure that we have the policies the procedures and the
training that are needed for everyone to understand and remember what is expected
of all of us that includes drilling home the importance of objectivity of
avoiding even the appearance of personal conflicts or political bias in our work
ensuring that recusal x' are handled correctly and effectively and
communicated to all the right people making all of our employees fully aware
of our new policy on media contacts which I used last November and making
painfully clear that we will not tolerate non-compliant ensuring that we
follow all DOJ policies on public statements about uncharged conduct or
ongoing investigations and ensuring that our employees adhere strictly
to all policies and procedures about the use of FBI systems networks and devices
I've also directed our associate deputy director to lead a review of how the FBI
handles sensitive investigations and to make recommendations on how those should
be staffed structured and supervised in the future so that every sensitive
investigation is conducted to the FBI's highest standards we're gonna continue
also to work with the Department to gauge our progress in each of these
areas the OIG report makes clear that we've got some work to do but let's also
be clear on the scope of this report it's focused on a specific set of events
back in 2016 in a small number of FBI employees
connected to those events nothing nothing in this report impugns the
integrity of our workforce as a whole or the FBI as an institution as I said
earlier fair and independent scrutiny is welcome an appropriate accountability is
crucial we're gonna learn from this report and we're gonna be better and
stronger as a result but I also want to be crystal clear about the FBI that I
get to see in the past ten months I've been able to visit over 30 of our FBI
field offices around the country and a whole bunch of our league at offices
overseas I visited with folks from every FBI Division at headquarters and in
office after office meeting after meeting I see extraordinary people doing
extraordinary work again and again I hear remarkable stories frankly
inspiring stories about the work the men and women of the FBI are doing to
protect the American people and uphold the Constitution just in the past
several months we've disrupted terrorist attacks in places ranging from the
Sherman's Wharf in San Francisco to a crowded shopping mall in Miami in March
we charged a ring of Iranian state-sponsored hackers with stealing
terabytes of data from scores of American companies universities and
government agencies in Austin we deplored more than 600 of our people to
assist in the investigation of the package bombings down there this year
alone we've rescued one thousand three hundred and five kids from child
predators some of them as young as seven months old we've arrested more than
4,600 gang members violent gang members in just the past several months our FBI
lab has closed thousands of cases through fingerprint analysis and DNA
analysis and our hostage rescue team has deployed something like 27 different
times on missions around the country I could go on and on the FBI's men and
women are doing all that work with the unfailing fidelity to the Constitution
and the laws that it demands the bravery that it calls for and the integrity that
the American people rightly expect as FBI director I'm laser focused on
ensuring that our folks get to continue that great work and do it with the
fidelity and bravery and integrity that we've always had as I've been saying
since as far back as my confirmation hearing I'm a huge believer in the
importance of process of doing this job by the book in every respect and I
expect all our employees to do the same I've tried to emphasize that at every
opportunity in my view the FBI's brand over the past 110 years
is based less on all of our many many successes than it is on the way in which
we've earned those successes following our rules following the law following
our guidelines staying faithful to our core values and
our best traditions trying to make sure we're doing the right thing but to doing
it in the right way treating everybody with respect and
following the facts independently and objectively no matter who likes it that
is the best way that in my view is the only way to maintain trust and
credibility with the people we serve I appreciate this chance to respond to
the IGS report and I would also refer you for more detail in our written
response that's attached at the end of the expect returns report and with that
I'm happy to take a few questions pick Euler that singled out and the report
has been referred to OPI which what are you referring to in particular I can't
comment on any specific personnel matter I would just say that there are a number
of instances in the report where there's conduct that's highlighted we've had
that referred to are as I say our disciplinary arm our OPR there's a
process for that it's a tough process it's a rigorous process and we expect
that process to be followed and once that process is complete we won't
hesitate to hold people accountable
all these only Peter struck is being referred for an investigation to see if
that's a violation of policy if that investigation ongoing in are there
besides Peter struck who were being investigated in frontline well again I'm
not gonna talk about any particular personnel matter because I don't think
that would be appropriate as I said at the beginning I'm committed to doing the
right thing in the right way and by the book and by the book there's not a clue
talking about pending personnel matters with all of you much as you might like
for me to ask that yeah thanks you said there's nothing in the report that
includes the integrity of yet yeah its workforce as a whole but the report does
say that there is a culture of leaking at the FBI do you disagree with that
finding in the report and what do you plan to do about it if you do it well as
I said we accept the findings of the report and the recommendations there
going a number of things on that regard first we issued a new media policy
that's much stricter and much more clear than what had been in place before
second we're going to be doing intensive training on exactly those issues things
like the one that you alluded to that includes contacts with the media third
we're gonna make painfully clear to everybody that we won't tolerate
non-compliance and then last I've asked our OPR to take a hard look at whether
or not they think the penalties that exist right now are sufficient to deal
with that kind of contract yeah sure
maybe actually about sort of a reputation in the FBI certainly the FBI
has taken a lot of hits from the president his tweets and I'm what is
called certain things he said about certain investigations members of
Congress have certainly hit at you guys are now sterling this report you know
take some issues but with the FBI and a lot of what we've been hearing is that
you know people are worried that the reputation of the FBI has suffered as a
result of all the activity in the last several months and I'm just wondering if
you think that's the case and if so what you intend to do to try and fix some of
the perception perhaps that the public may have of the FBI now well that's a
subject that's near and dear to me I guess I would say a couple things one is
there's no shortage of opinions about us out there I will tell you that the
opinions that I care the most about are the opinions of the people who actually
really know us and know us through our work so I'm focused on what a jury's
think on our agents take this fan I'm focused on what a judges think when we
give them a search warrant I'm focused on what victims and their families think
when they are asked who do you trust to get your child back I'm focused on what
do our state local law enforcement partners think when they think who do
they trust who do prosecutors want to work with on cases to me it's the work
that matters if I look at things like that I look at how our recruiting is
doing I look at how our retention is doing our recruiting we get about 12,000
plus people for example trying to be special agents every year our admission
rate our selection rate 5% that's better than the admission rate at Harvard Yale
Princeton or Stanford and it's not a fluke you know we just recently hired a
whole new crop of honors interns so the young people coming out of college who
have lots of choices about what they want to do with their careers we have
the highest number of applicants we've ever had for our honours intern program
want to know what that admission rate was 5% I look at things like that I look
at what people think when they know us and I look at what people think when
they express their views to their actions I look at our attrition rate our
attrition rate in the Asian population the FBI is zero
8% till my view the views that matter the opinions that matter or the views of
the people who know is through a work and when I go around the country and
around the world and I talked to our partners and I talked to the victims and
I talked to people who know us our brand is doing just fine there if you could
sum up your reaction and your from having read it in one word what is that
word and and how would you describe your emotional reaction to it
disappointed not that I can think of in person is something important Jesus
report criticized them all investigation investigation shorts appeals of all
investigation can have integrity and credibility and also some people are
criticizing you for making the status by by a shared document of conference
investigative documents and so how do you respond to the criticism that you
might be making mistake right now private by sharing investigating
well I think on the on the first point I'm not going to speak for the Office of
Special Counsel I would note that there are a number of things that we've done
both in terms of referring people to OPR but also in terms of reassigning people
to try to ensure that we're bringing the right kind of integrity to staffing and
all sensitive investigations as to the congressional question my view is we
have an obligation to be responsive to legitimate congressional oversight
that's part of our job as I said at the beginning we are entrusted with enormous
power so we should expect we're gonna get tough questions and we need to be
responsive and cooperate with that but but we also have an obligation to
protect sources and methods and not to compromise ongoing criminal
investigations and to adhere to things like grand jury secrecy and things like
that so the challenge is how do we make sure we do both we're committed to
trying to do both and I think we've struck the right balance so far
well again I'm not gonna comment on any other person's opinions no matter where
they're communicated what I am gonna do is talk about the opinions that I think
matter the opinions to me that matter are the opinions of the people that are
relevant to our work day in day out all across this country we have 37,000 FBI
employees agents analysts and staff has scores and passports officers that work
with them and every day every day all around this country around the world
those people are having to make important decisions that protect lives
the opinions of the people that they have to engage with on that work those
are the opinions that matter to me that's what I'm focused on as far as the
report goes there's some sobering lessons in there and we're gonna learn
those lessons and we're gonna act on those lessons and that's the way the FBI
is always handled these things in the past and that's what made the FBI's
stronger over the last 110 good faith in their oversight efforts given that
you've created that the FBI has disagreed with some of the
characterizations of meetings and various things that have come out I
think Congress has a job to do and we have a job to do and together we're
trying to work through the various issues that are presented by the
tensions between congressional oversight and as I said earlier protection of
sources methods tradecraft ongoing investigations and things like that
we're committed to trying to work through those things from Congress yes
the people who are involved where I've been referred to OPR but can you tell us
how many have been referred to OPR as a result of this room I can't that's not a
topic I can comment on I really want to be careful I know why you're asking the
question that I respect that but it's really important to me to make sure that
we don't compound the mistakes that are found in this report by deviating from
our process and so I think it's very important that we respect the
appropriate process that it be done right as I said earlier by
the book and once that process is complete we will not hesitate to hold
people account the lessons are the importance number one the importance of
trying to make sure that we avoid even the appearance of bias in all of our
work that objectivity and the appearance of objectivity matters there's lessons
in there about contacts with the media and appropriate engagement with all of
you there's lessons in there about the appropriate uses of devices there's a
number of things in the IG has a number of I think nine recommendations at the
end and I think those are the lessons that we're trying to learn from this
report we take it very seriously and we accept the findings and the
recommendations thank you
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