Washington Post: Bush Administration Failures in Terrorist Money Laundering Investigation Supports Active FBI Agent’s Criticisms

Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and legally prosecutes government corruption and abuse, said that today’s Washington Post report, entitled, "Infighting Slows Hunt for Hidden Al Qaeda Assets," by Karen DeYoung and Douglas Farah, corroborates and reinforces the whistleblowing disclosures of Judicial Watch and David P. Schippers’ (Judicial Watch National Advisor) client, FBI Special Agent Robert G. Wright, Jr.

Special Agent Wright, of the FBI’s Chicago Division, is the only agent in the history of the FBI to have used the civil forfeiture laws to seize over $1.4 million dollars in Hamas terrorist money in connection with a criminal investigation of terrorist money laundering operations here in the United States.

Special Agent Wright "blew the whistle" on FBI negligence and obstruction by senior, supervisory FBI agents and FBI headquarters Terrorism Unit agents of counterterrorism investigations targeting figures belonging to and supporting terrorist operations by Hamas and al Qaeda. Despite his extraordinary success and superb performance evaluations, Agent Wright encountered stonewalling, negligence, indifference and outright opposition by his superiors and FBI HQ in pursuing terrorists operating within the United States.

"While the Justice Department, Treasury Department and CIA continue to squabble and lose precious investigative time, the terrorists continue financing the next phase of their attacks against us. Ten months after September 11th, where is the leadership from President Bush in making sure these agencies are operating together? Talk is politically convenient, but actions speak louder than words," stated Judicial Watch Chairman and General Counsel Larry Klayman.