FBI Agent Transferred to Cleveland

— -- FBI Agent Transferred To Cleveland

C L E V E L A N D, June 7 —The supervisor at FBI headquarters accused by a bureau whistleblower of blocking the investigation into the onlyperson facing criminal charges in the Sept. 11 attacks is workingin Cleveland on a terrorism task force.

Agent Michael Maltbie was harshly criticized in a scathingletter sent to FBI Director Robert Mueller by Coleen Rowley, alawyer in the FBI’s Minneapolis office.

Rowley, who testified before Congress this week, said in herletter that several people at FBI headquarters thwarted heroffice’s investigation of Zacarias Moussaoui, who has been chargedas an accomplice in the hijackings that resulted in the deaths ofabout 3,000 people.

Although Maltbie was not identified by name in Rowley’s letter,U.S. sources speaking on condition of anonymity identified him asthe supervisory special agent she singled out for criticism.

Rowley said the agent “seemed to have been consistently, almostdeliberately thwarting the Minneapolis FBI agents’ efforts.”

Maltbie, reached at his home, had no comment, saying the matteris under review by FBI officials.

Robert Hawk, an FBI spokesman in Cleveland, would confirm onlythat Maltbie came to Cleveland from Washington, and referred allother questions to Washington.

It is not uncommon for agents to transfer from headquarters tofield offices, and Washington assignments are not considered plumjobs within the bureau. Agents typically work up to 1½ years atheadquarters, then request field promotions elsewhere.

Questions over Maltbie’s judgment are at the center of a debatein Washington about whether the Bush administration had collectedenough clues before Sept. 11 that might have allowed it to avertthe terror attacks if they had been more diligently pursued.

At Mueller’s request, the Justice Department’s Office ofInspector General is looking into whether Maltbie and others at FBIheadquarters mishandled the investigation into Moussaoui.

—The Associated Press

$1 Billion To Fund Public Health Programs In Bioterrorism Preparation

N E W Y O R K, June 7 —Bioterrorism preparedness plans submitted by 24states and two cities were approved by the federal government,allowing the release of millions of dollars in funding for publichealth programs.

The $1 billion in grants, which will eventually go to all 50states, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., was the largest one-timeinvestment ever in the nation’s public health systems. Recipientswere asked to issue progress reports on their plans by Oct. 1.

The first 20 percent of the state and local preparation moneywas awarded before the plans were submitted. Those whose plans wereapproved were being awarded the remaining 80 percent of theirfunds, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson saidThursday at a Manhattan hospital.