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FBI criticized in false linking of lawyer to Madrid bombings(Chicago Tribune (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) WASHINGTON _ The FBI's overconfidence in its fingerprint examiners led the bureau to falsely link a Portland lawyer to the 2004 Madrid train bombings, and the man's religion _ Islam _ was a factor in delaying his release, the Justice Department's inspector general concluded Friday. Inspector General Glenn Fine found no intentional misconduct by the FBI, nor any abuse of the enhanced surveillance powers authorized by the USA Patriot Act in investigating Brandon Mayfield. But in an executive summary of a 273-page report that remains classified, Fine said the increased information-sharing allowed by Patriot Act magnified the impact of the fingerprint misidentification because the error was passed on to government intelligence agencies. Fine's report also found "troubling" inaccuracies and lack of attention to detail in the bureau's requests for court orders. The inspector general also faulted the bureau for its "ambiguous description" of a meeting between the FBI and the Spanish National Police that apparently led a federal judge in Oregon to believe the Spaniards agreed with the FBI's fingerprint identification. His report likely will fuel the debate about adding civil liberties protections to the Patriot Act, portions of which are set to expire on Feb. 3. Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and a supporter of the current version of the law, said in a statement that the report "should finally end the baseless accusation lodged by Patriot Act opponents that federal law-enforcement officials used this anti-terrorism law to violate the civil liberties of Brandon Mayfield." But Reps. John Conyers, D-Mich., and Robert Scott, D-Va., two top Democrats on the Judiciary panel, wrote Sensenbrenner to urge congressional hearings on the report. Fine's report also seems to question whether use of the Patriot Act was necessary in the investigation. "Even prior to the Patriot Act, the FBI would likely have sought and been able to obtain ... authorization for the searches and surveillance of Mayfield that it conducted," the report said. Mayfield, 39, is suing the government over his arrest and his attorney, Gerry Spence, said in a statement that the report substantiates "Mr. Mayfield's allegations that the FBI acted with gross negligence in the misidentification of his fingerprint." An FBI spokesman declined to address the report on the record. In a statement, the bureau said it has instituted "procedural reforms designed to prevent future errors." Mayfield was arrested on May 6, 2004, as a material witness in the investigation of the terror bombings on the strength of a fingerprint found on a bag of detonators connected to the attack. The March 11 explosions killed 191 people and wounded more than 1,400 others. The FBI had identified the fingerprint as Mayfield's eight days after the attacks and put him under surveillance. But Mayfield's fingerprint bore unusual, extremely rare similarities to that of Ouhnane Daoud, an Algerian national who had been living in Spain. The resemblance was so close that even after doubts arose about the identification, an independent fingerprint examiner appointed by the Oregon federal judge agreed that the print was Mayfield's. Nonetheless, Fine's report said "the misidentification could have been prevented through a more rigorous application" of refined fingerprint identification principles. On April 13, the Spanish National Police told the FBI it had decided the print was not Mayfield's. But "the FBI Laboratory's overconfidence in the skill and superiority of its examiners prevented it from taking (the Spanish report) as seriously as it should have." In addition, the report said that by the time the Spaniards expressed misgivings, examiners were prejudiced by knowledge about Mayfield. As an attorney, Mayfield represented an alleged terrorist, and he was a Muslim. One of the examiners told investigators that if Mayfield had appeared more innocuous, "like the Maytag repairman," the laboratory might have revisited the identification more aggressively. Mayfield was released on May 24, five days after Spanish police positively identified the fingerprint as Daoud's. ___ (c) 2006, Chicago Tribune. Visit the Chicago Tribune on the Internet at http://www.chicagotribune.com/ Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services. For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail [email protected]. |