FBI rapped for terrorism wiretap backlog

WASHINGTON, July 28 (UPI) -- The FBI has failed to review more than 8,000 hours of counterterrorism wiretaps, more than doubling its backlog, a report says.

The audit by Justice Department Inspector General Glenn A. Fine also found while the translation program is improving, the FBI is still struggling to analyze recordings quickly enough and to hire and hold qualified translators, the Washington Post said Thursday.

The new findings were released on the same day FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III faced sharp questioning from members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, who earlier complained the FBI is not changing quickly enough to focus on terrorism.

Lee Hamilton, the former vice chairman of the Sept. 11 commission, told the committee by failing to have an effective computer system in place until 2009, "you're just giving the terrorist activity an opening, and the risk goes up for the American people the longer you extend these deadlines," the New York Times said.