Comments on washington journal. Today the discussion of European Security and the challenges facing the transatlantic relationship after the crisis in ukraine. Well have that live at 10 00 a. M. Eastern on cspan 3. On wednesday, f. B. I. Director told the house judiciary retire committee that the f. B. I. Returned a database of taxpayer information mistakenly received from the i. R. S. He acknowledged that the f. B. I. Had the database for four years but said investigators did not exam it. The f. B. I. Would need a court order to legally look at the information. It is two hour and 40 minutes. Good morning the Judiciary Committee will come to order without we welcome everyone to the oversight hearing. I will begin by recognize ice to our nation and a confident you will serve honorably at the helm of the fbi. Last week marked the oneyear anniversary of the first leak of classified material by Edward Snowden a criminal betrayal of his country in arguably the most of it can the kid u. S. History. Over the past year the house Judiciary Committee conducted oversight over the apple Collection Program and spearheaded house passage of the freedom act this bipartisan information nationalsecurity program that it provide expanded oversdo9[qu;n of americas intelligence gathering. Although the leaks by pay the we have been a bit is for congressional reform the passage of the Bipartisan Legislation in a way no way condones or excuses is action the consequences of what he did not be a fully realize. I want to thank director comey and men and women of the fbi to work closely with members of the committee, house intelligence and leadership to kraft usa freedom act reform in such a way to preserve capabilities while simultaneously achieving the Global Collection another dark day in American History exactly one year nine months ago our Diplomatic Mission and benghazi was attacked for americans including our ambassador were killed the administration tried to blame the attack on a video critical of his long but we now know that was not the case it was premeditated carried out by islamist politicians. , in august 2013 relearned the Justice Department filed criminal charges against several individuals for their alleged involvement in the attack however as of to date no one has been apprehended. I of interested to hear more from director comey on the status of the fbi investigation. I know you may be reticent to comment of the Ongoing Investigation that the American People deserve to know if we should expect them to bring to justice the killers who murdered four of our citizens. I am also interested to hear more of the investigation into the i. R. A. Start getting of conservative groups. Last year your predecessor director mueller informed the committee the fbi was investigating the matter and was hesitant to answer questions if there was the ongoing criminal investigation. Earlier this year the official said that no criminal charges were expected in the matter and on super bowl sunday president obama stated there was not even a smidgen of corruption in connection with the irs targeting. Then on april 8 before this Committee Attorney general holder claims the investigation is still ongoing and led by longtime obama and Democratic National committee donors. Of may 21st also declined to answer questions about the matter explaining the investigation is ongoing. Frustration is mounting over the scandal and basic facts are unknown or contradicted by this administration. Is there an investigation has there been progress . What is the status . Why did the Justice Department and fbi continued to assert that the investigation is ongoing despite the assertion that no crime was committed . Do you disagree . Those facts and circumstances led the house to approve a resolution calling on the attorney general to appoint a special counsel. How could we trust investigation is carried out when the president claims no corruption occurred . I hope you can shed some light on that today the American People deserve no less. Finally a wish to discuss the reestablishment of the domestic terrorism is executive committee that was first established by janet reno in the aftermath of the Oklahoma City bombing to disrupt homegrown terrorism threats to reform their unit attorneygeneral holder said tragic incidents like the Boston Marathon bombing and active as shooters situations like fort could dash have clear examples we must disrupt will laughters a with the arms of a nation. And it was necessary to respond to the teaching terrorist threat by the al qaeda core of leadership and but i take serious issue with the notion that america faces a reduce risk from al qaeda even cited by general holder the shooting and the bombing be like the fact that other extremism is on the decline so what does the attorney general really intend to target with the dtec . The answer that in part by stating we may concern ourselves with the continued danger reface from individuals within our own borders motivated by other causes including antigovernment a animus. Was the group advocating for Smaller Government overtaxes be included if with antigovernment animus . Given it appears to have used the irs to intimidate its political opponents the reestablishment of the dtec should cause us to stand up and take notice of the forward to these and other important topics today as well as other issues of significance to the fbi and the country it is my pleasure to recognize the Ranking Member for his Opening Statement. Thank you chairman goodlatte we will continue director comey for your first appearance before the house Judiciary Committee since taking office september 4, 2013. I have great confidence personally in your commitment to fairness and the rule of law. And in 1996 as assistant United States attorney for the Eastern District of virginia, it you were appointed prosecutor in the bombing case in saudi arabia. In 2002 for the Southern District of new york you have a wide variety of complex, high profile cases to help the district return to some measure of normalcy in the aftermath of the attacks of september 11. In 2004 serving as Deputy Attorney general of the United States, you refused to certify the Bush Administrations lawless dragnet Surveillance Program then confronted senior white house personnel at the hospital when the administration sought to gain approval from mr. Ashcroft directly. Time and time again you have demonstrated your basic commitment to the rule of law even in dramatic circumstances. That is why i am pleased you are here at the helm of the fbi on this, the First Anniversary of our public discussion of the government domestic Surveillance Programs. The house passed h. R. 3361 the usa freedom act that i played a significant role to bring forward. This legislation designed to end domestic polka collection across the board applies to you to 15 of the patriot act the fis the did register authorities and National Security statutes. I am proud to have voted the only measure to pass the house to throwback any aspect of government surveillance since the passage of the fisa act of 1970 act. But balks collection is only one aspect of the of problem over the past few years our early difficulties with National Security letters notwithstanding the new fbi has proven a responsible custodian of the new legal authorities granted to the bureau after september 11. For the most part uses the tools congress has provided in the manner intended but the fbi is the end user of massive amounts of data without and a warrant or individualized suspicion. Of course, this raises serious Civil Liberties concerns. Director comey you have a struggle to bring in unlawful surveillance and i hope you will continue to work with this committee to help us restore a measure of public trust in this area. Although we have spent much of the last decade focused on counterterrorism is critically important to the bureau balance the National Security function with the of lawenforcement mission and in this vein of mr. Director, i would like to discuss with you the oscar joe of the violence in this country. Yesterdays shooting at the high school in oregon is at least the 74 School Shooting since the tragedy in newtown connecticut late 2012. The fbi maintains the background check system the bureau is often called upon to participate with the investigation of highprofile shootings. Because i believe a more complete background check system would help to stem the tide of violence i look forward to your views in this manner we phase many threats from oversees the fbi plays a fundamental role in extremist violence here at home as well. The bureau has called the sovereign citizen of movement of growing domestic threats according to the Antidefamation League between 2009 and 2013 there were 43 violent incidents between lawenforcement officials and government extremists. 30 Police Officers have been shot, 14 have been killed to these numbers we must add those officers shot and killed in las vegas. These are not isolated incidents. Director Comey Congress has the power of the fbi with considerable authority including legislation to brutality extremism. I put like to hear more about how the bureau puts these laws and resources to use. It represents 5 of the worlds population but incarcerates 25 of the world prisoners. The bureau of prisons is strained to the breaking point. So why the fbi often recommends federal prosecutions in cases letter already prosecuted in this state course of the offender faces is a trial with two separate jurisdictions. The fbi plays a Critical Role to protect our nations Computer Networks from cybercriminals and we must do more to prevent the infiltration of the cybersystem from economic and financial criminals. I would like to hear about the challenges presented from the international aspect. Finally i applaud the Deputy Attorneygeneral on the recording of federal custodian interviews and your support of this new policy. Of with this new presumption all fbi custodial interviews will be recorded and it helps all sides of the case. Prosecutors can share recorded confessions with the jury for those who feel they have been treated unfairly can fall back on recorded evidence. There are few exceptions that gives me pause but i want to see this new policy and i look forward to the fbi priorities today. I will use my a communications to fill in any questions that may not be able to be covered within that period. Thank you and the chairman and i yield back in the balance of time. Without objection all other members Opening Statements will be made a part of a record. Our only witness the director is joining us today. Please rise we will begin by swearing you and. Yqoraynz day swear the testimony youre about togie6v give is the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you god . I do. Let the record reflect director comey answered in the affirmative. Being sworn in as the director of the fbi director comey began his career in the United StatesAttorneys Office in the Southern District of new york as the assistant u. S. Attorney and later became the assistant attorney in the Eastern District of virginia. Director comey returned to new york city after the 9 11 terror attacks and became a u. S. Attorney for the Southern District of new york. Late 2003 was appointed to be the Deputy Attorney general under john ashcroft. Director comey a graduate of william and mary and university of chicago law school. We welcome you to your first appearance as fbi director before the house Judiciary Committee and look forward to your testimony. The reinstatement is entered into the record in its untidy please summarize your testimony within five minutes and you may begin. Thank you. Thank you mr. Chairman, good to be back after the eight year break right here representing and expressing the gratitude of the people of the fbi. You have supported them in the bipartisan basis one of the challenges i discovered was the impact of sequestration on my troops now we have been adequately funded things to the support of the people in this room and were grateful we have much to do. We are National Security and Law Enforcement organization. I will see a few words about counterterrorism but i will talk about cyberthat touches everything that is responsible for a and it is not a thing but a vector we have connected our entire lives to the internet where are our children play, a health care information, finances, a social lives and government secrets, infrastructure almost everything that matters is connected to the internet soon our refrigerators will be in our lives so the people that we do us harm steal our information and secrets or damage to infrastructure come to do those bad things so what touches everything the fbi is responsible for. It is difficult to imagine a better way to explain it as the sheriff showed me of bullet shot from a machine gun but the clincher and his group had given birth to the modern fbi in the twenties because they heralded as a new type of crime with asphalt the in the automobile allowed criminals to commit crimes with shocking speed all across the country and we needed a National Force to respond and that is the fbi. That cyberfactor is that times 1 million. Dylan sure could 91,000 robberies in the same day from his pajamas and belarus. That is the challenge we face with cyber. It blows away the concept of time and spice they have shrunk a the world because they can move at the speed of light through the internet. So i know only nine months in that mine tenure will be dominated to make sure we are equipped and deploy and train that we shrink the world and we are well of the way banks to the work of my predecessor i hope you saw some of the good work we have done with respect to the chinese and massive criminal enterprises this is no different than kicking in your front door or stealing a companys most precious property be have to treated that way to send a message we will find you a hand to touch you significantly wherever you are in the world because we will not put up with this just because it happens in cyberspace. That issue will dominate over the next 10 years. Briefly, a counterterrorism you mentioned the threat from al qaeda but i do see the thread diminished in the region but at the same time i see the progeny of al qaeda at the franchise is thriving in the pork the governor or uncovered spaces around the gulf, north africa or the mediterranean. This remains a huge threat to us through the groups that have been in the news and others we wake up every morning worrying about and go to bet worrying about it with the confluence of that virulence with the progeny al qaeda with syria. It has become the breeding ground the Training Ground for thousands of chief toddies around several including dozens from the United States we can draw a line from afghanistan in the 80s three 9 11 and were determined not to allow all of wine from todays syria to a future 9 11 and determined to anticipate the diaspora that will happen at some point and respond aggressively in advance. We also face the challenge from the people from homegrown violent extremist and dont like the terms alone wolf but they are not directed by al qaeda but inspired and a train to to reemerge from their basement or bedroom to do something terrible and domestic terrorism is something the fbi that the unit has been busy nothing has changed in that regard we spend a lot of time about and using resources to address the hour National Security organization counterintelligence is the big part but nothing we can talk about because most is done in the shadows but an important part of the work done extremely well of the realm the world. Were also a Law Enforcement organization out there every day to lock up violent criminals people that would harm your kids corrupt Public Officials and all manner of bad guys that touch our responsibilities that remain combined in ways that make sense to me. I will close by saying as you have alluded to people are asking good questions about government power in that is a great thing. People should be skeptical. I am and the country was founded of people that were skeptical so they balanced among three branches that is great but to the extent icahn to answer those questions i hope they would give me the spacing in time to listen to the answers that is the angel of the details are reason why it matters when i get lawful process to search to get content of some bad guys feeling about a plot or