mr. mueller, we'll speak afterwards. i would like to put the article from reuters, white supremists planning a race car. i ask unanimous consent to place this in the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman from california is recognized. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. in the interest of time i want to welcome you first of all director mueller, i miss our regular meetings in the eight years i served on the intelligence committee. it's good to see you back. what i'd like to do with the committee's concurrence is i have four, five issues i'd like to ask you a brief question. perhaps can you give me a very short answer. and with unanimous consent you could provide us with a follow- up, maybe a couple paragraphs or something that could fill in some of the blanks. the first question i have has to do with al qaeda. and there are actually two questions i'll put in -- first of all, as it relates to our southwest border do you see any growing evidence of al qaeda, or any other terrorist organization

mr. chairman. director mueller, welcome. director, do you agree that no united states citizen arrested in the united states should be indefinitely detained without all the right rights of due process? what is your interpretation of section 1021 of the national defense authorization act. >> could you repeat the question again? >> the question is whether or not you agree that no united states citizen apprehended, seas, captured, arrested in the united states -- should be indefinitely detained without all the rights of due process provided by our constitution. >> i believe that should be the case. >> so you have concern over the language that is in the national defense authorization act called section 1021, which does not clarify the status of u.s. citizens in that regard? >> i haven't focused on that aspect as much as i have focused on the other aspects of the act. but i do believe that it gives and affirms the president's authority to make decisions that the president leaves are necessary to thwart a terrorist attack. >> but

mr. chairman, director mueller. you have one of the most challenging jobs, which you perform with great skill. director, i would like to talk to you about the drug-related violence that we are seeing in puerto rico and the u.s. virgin islands and to express my respectful but strong views that the fbi and other federal law enforcement agencies need to do far more to deal with this problem. let me briefly summarize a situation. while violent crime has decreased nationally, others have been on the rise. the homicide rates in each territory is about six times the national average and almost, almost three times higher. puerto rico has nearly the same number of murders each year that texas does, even though texas is home to 25 million people, and the puerto rican population does not reach 4 million. three-quarters of the homicides in puerto rico are linked to the international drug trade. what is happening is this is like a moving target. drug traffickers are changing routes. this is a problem of national scope. about thr

mr mueller not giving away too much there night chelsea have been given an injury boost ahead of this weekend's champions league final byron munich defenders gary cahill and david luis both returning to training after recovering from hamstring knocks brazilian louise had been out for exactly a month while cahill missed the final five matches of the season jewel making a tiny return for interim manager roberto di matteo who is captain john terry defender branislav evanovich midfield my rear areas are all middle age because of suspension di matteo admits see me a struggle to them seven experienced players on the bench though a difficult test maybe even tougher by the german clubs in fact which maybe. should. eighteen months on forty four runs of matches the longest ever russian premier league season has finished with an eight us champion's sports check in f.c. . but who's in the champions league the europa league and the relegation play off places let's find out it is goals go to a time. let's turn our attention dice talkee where the quarterfinal lineup is now complete at the world cham

mr. mueller, we'll speak afterwards. i would like to put the article from reuters, white supremists planning a race car. i ask unanimous consent to place this in the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman from california is recognized. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. in the interest of time i want to welcome you first of all director mueller, i miss our regular meetings in the eight years i served on the intelligence committee. it's good to see you back. what i'd like to do with the committee's concurrence is i have four, five issues i'd like to ask you a brief question. perhaps can you give me a very short answer. and with unanimous consent you could provide us with a follow- up, maybe a couple paragraphs or something that could fill in some of the blanks. the first question i have has to do with al qaeda. and there are actually two questions i'll put in -- first of all, as it relates to our southwest border do you see any growing evidence of al qaeda, or any other terrorist organization

mr. mueller said the fbi opened a preliminary investigation into jpmorgan's $2 billion trading loss. he also said the agency is investigating leaked information on the recent al qaeda block plot. this is two hours, 15 minutes. >>> okay. the photographers are all good people. i have been told by my son inform son-in-law who used to work with me, and i have a certain amount of jealousy because they have the job that i really want to have, except that they are a lot better at it than i would be. so i had to take the senate as a second choice. so senator grassley, he's here. we'll begin. and it is appropriate that we welcome director robert mueller from the federal bureau of investigation back to the committee during national police week. he and i were the national peace officers in the memorial service for president obama at the capitol. and one of the things we talked about before, several of us did, is every year we are losing too many fine law enforcement officers in the line of duty. there's a matter that's of great concern to me, and it would be one thing if they were all being tar

mr. mueller, we'll speak afterwards.i would like to put the article from reuters, white supremists planning a race car. i ask unanimous consent to place this in the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman from california is recognized. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. in the interest of time i want to welcome you first of all director mueller, i miss our regular meetings in the eight years i served on the intelligence committee. it's good to see you back. what i'd like to do with the committee's concurrence is i have four, five issues i'd like to ask you a brief question. perhaps can you give me a very short answer. and with unanimous consent you could provide us with a follow-up, maybe a couple paragraphs or something that could fill in some of the blanks. the first question i have has to do with al qaeda. and there are actually two questions i'll put in -- first of all, as it relates to our southwest border do you see any growing evidence of al qaeda, or any other terrorist organization l

mr. chairman. director mueller, as senator hatch pointed out, you have served both a republican and democratic demonstration. i have watched you carefully. you have never disappointed. and i think that's very impressive. i don't know whether this is going to be your last appearance before this committee in the form of an oversight hearing or not, but i did want to say that to you directly. >> thank you. >> you're welcome. as you know, title seven of fisa foreign intelligence surveillance act expired december 21st of this year. this particular title allowed for electronic surveillance of targets outside of the united states. the senate intelligence committee as well as this committee has done extensive oversight over the government's use of these surveillance authorities. and we look forward to working with you to reauthorize the fisa amendments act well before the end of this year. i think we need to look no further than the recent aqap bomb plot to know that the threat is still out there, as you said. it's very real, and there is no question that they will attack this country if they can. for the benefit o

mr. mueller, considered asking congress to exempt law enforcement officers from these actions, much like the president did what the military? areas whichn't too i should focus on. the first is on the 2013 budget that has gone through congress at this point. with that budget, we do not face those kinds of losses that you are contemplating. if sequestration occurs, it is a different ball game. we would be putting ourselves in the same status as the military. i believe that when it comes to the work we do in the national security arena, whether it be counterintelligence or the cyber arena, the work we do in contributing to the national security, not to mention the other crimes that you alluded to, health care fraud, the nation cannot afford for us to lose a substantial number of agents. we have had to prioritize and make certain that all of us focus on the most important priorities. that has meant we do not do some things are we did to september 11 but it is essential to make certain we do prioritize to stop terrorist attacks, stop the spies, stop intruders. and up a child predators' deligh

mr. chairman. directer mueller, before i turn to my questions, i'd like to thank you for your work. work at the wisconsin office, and as you know is slated for closure. this decision allows the fbi to do a better job of protecting western winsconsin and continue the partnership there. i appreciate your willingness to be attentive to my interest on this issue. director mueller as we all know, this is national police week and yesterday we honored officers who made the ultimate sacrifice included in the dozens of names to be added to the national law enforcement memorial this year is officer craig bushing of the police department, and as we remember the sacrifices of the brave men and women, we have to ensure that law enforcement officers have the federal support and resources they need to keep our community safe. directer mueller, last week at a house hearing you said because of the realignment and priorities of counter terrorism and limited resources the fbi will have to, quote, "prioritize in other areas and particularly in the criminal area, they will suffer." could you elaborate a

mr. robert mueller is at the lee correct. -- is absolutely correct. i was a consumer of disinformation. i respect my colleagues in the intelligence committee. i have to take the information they produce and put that to work. from my point of view as the person responsible for investor to protection in the united states, and this is a big statement, there were a lot of people it did this work, but i had per view as it related to construction -- targets, nuclear power plants, public safety systems, sporting events -- when you look at the enormity of the responsibility and how we have to protect this nation against threats and you look a target- specific protection, use any analogy you like that when you try to put up defenses, you cannot protect against anything -- everything. you need to be driven by intelligence. the intelligence we have in the field is critical for us. if we dilute and take away the capability to gain access to that information, this country cannot afford at a budget level or a political level to cut things we need to protect. it is about sustainability. if you look at

mr. chairman. thanks for joining us today, director mueller, and i want to thank you not only for being here but also to serve your country. yours is not an easy job. last year you expressed some concerns about the national defense authorization act for 2012. specifically in letter you wrote to senator levin in november of last year, you expressed some concerns with section -- with what became section 1022 of that legislation, saying that you were worried about that provision, introducing a degree of uncertainty and potentially inhibiting the f.b.i.'s capacity to convince covert arrestees to cooperate immediately and to provide intelligence. my concerns with the ndaa focused much more was section 1021. to some extent i think the president shared some those concerns. he indicated in his signing statement on december 31, 2011, as follows. i want to clarify my administration will not nor the indefinite military detention without trial of american citizens. indeed, i believe that doing so would break with our most important traditions and values as a nation. my administration will interpret section 1021

mr. chairman. director mueller, i'd like to thank you for your work to keep up in la crosse, wisconsin at the satellitefice and i see no have been slated for closure. this visual that the fbi to do a better job that protect in western wisconsin and continued the strong local and federal one person a partnership they are. i appreciate the willingness to be attentive to the interest on this issue. director mueller, as we all know this is national police week and yesterday we honored officers who made the sacrifice in the dozens of names added to the national enforcement officers craig burkle said the final wisconsin police department. as remember the sacrifices of the brave men and women, we need to ensure the enforcement officers have the federal support and resources they need to keep our communities safe. director mueller, at a house hearing you say because of the tac alignment and priority towards commentaries than unlimited resources, the fbi will have to prioritize in other areas and particularly in the criminal area to assess her. could you elaborate a bit on that comment? >> yes, i actually think