FBI to Seek Upgrade of Computers

Outgoing FBI Director Louis J. Freeh, under fire over the mishandling of thousands of pages of documents in the Oklahoma City bombing, plans to ask Congress today for tens of millions of dollars in new funds to plug holes in the agency’s outdated computer technology, according to documents obtained by The Times.

The request underscores what will likely be the FBI’s main defense in the unfolding controversy over the Timothy J. McVeigh documents: that computer problems, more than human error, were the main culprit in the agency’s failure to disclose the required records.

Freeh, always a popular figure on Capitol Hill, is scheduled to testify before a House subcommittee today and is likely to face unusually tough questioning from lawmakers who have been sounding a note of exasperation over the latest scandal to hit the FBI.

In prepared remarks delivered to a House appropriations subcommittee in advance of his testimony, Freeh never mentions McVeigh. But he makes clear that the FBI’s existing technology “must be upgraded to meet increased investigative demands,” according to a copy obtained by The Times.

Among the big-ticket items Freeh is seeking as part of a $3.5-billion FBI budget request for next year are $142.4 million for computer upgrades--an increase of more than 40% over the current year--and $10.9 million for a data-collection project.

“To be successful, the FBI must have the capacity for collecting, storing, managing, analyzing, and disseminating case and intelligence information on a timely basis,” both in-house and throughout the law enforcement system, he wrote.

Federal law enforcement officials are now trying to determine why that didn’t happen in the Oklahoma City bombing case, as the FBI failed to send McVeigh’s defense team more than 3,100 pages of documents from the biggest investigation in the bureau’s history.

McVeigh, convicted of killing 168 people in the worst act of terrorism on U.S. soil, was originally scheduled to die today. But Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft last week postponed his execution until June 11 after the missing documents were unearthed.

Justice Department officials say none of the newly discovered documents dealt with McVeigh’s guilt or innocence and should not influence the case. But McVeigh’s attorneys disagree and are planning to meet today with McVeigh at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Ind., where he is to be executed.

The legal team is not likely to say until next week whether they will ask a federal judge for another delay in the execution. “I would doubt it very seriously that we would have a decision right away,” said one source close to the defense.

Meanwhile, FBI officials said their 56 field offices are searching their records--for a sixth time--to comply with Freeh’s Tuesday deadline for certifying that all bombing-related material had been handed over. Officials would not say whether any additional documents were found in the latest round of searches.

Much of the newly discovered material has to do with the existence of John Doe No. 2, a figure reportedly seen at the Ryder rental agency with McVeigh in the days before the bombing, sources said.

That person was never found, and the FBI has since concluded that the Ryder employees were mistaken and that McVeigh was alone when he rented the truck.

But if McVeigh hopes to reopen his appeals, he may want to show that others were involved. Nevertheless, in a letter he wrote on May 2, just days before the FBI file fiasco broke, he categorically denied that there was a John Doe No. 2.

In the letter to the Houston Chronicle published Tuesday, McVeigh also berated his former attorney, Stephen Jones, who insists to this day that others helped McVeigh in the bombing.

“Does anyone honestly believe that if there was a John Doe No. 2 [there is not], that Stephen Jones would still be alive?” McVeigh wrote. “Think about it.”

Freeh met behind closed doors on Tuesday with the Senate Intelligence Committee on the espionage arrest of former FBI agent Robert Philip Hanssen, but members also pressed him for details on the McVeigh gaffe.

Several lawmakers came away from the meeting sounding more frustrated than ever.

Sen. Richard C. Shelby (R-Ala.), chairman of the committee, said there have been “too many failures, too many blunders” at the FBI of late, and the series of mishaps is causing “a lot of mistrust with the American people.”

Shelby called for a broad review into the mission of the FBI, and another lawmaker, Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), plans today to propose the creation of a separate inspector general at the FBI who would investigate internal problems.

But Ronald Kessler, who wrote a book on the FBI and who has been critical of Freeh’s leadership, said: “The pattern has been that members of Congress make public statements looking like they’re holding Freeh accountable and then in private they’ll basically say ‘How much money do you want?’ ”

Indeed, the FBI’s budget has increased by about 50% during Freeh’s eight years at the agency.

The question now, however, is whether the good will is reaching an end as Freeh prepares to leave office next month.

“Freeh has always been very good at smooth-talking the members,” said one Republican aide who asked not to be identified. “It’ll be interesting to see what happens now.”