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Justice: FBI could have handled Foley e-mails better

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- An internal Justice Department report concluded the FBI should have notified the House of Representatives or other officials after learning last summer of inappropriate e-mails former Rep. Mark Foley sent to a House page.

The report, released Monday and authored by the Justice Department inspector general, said the FBI acted within its "range of discretion" when it initially decided not to open a criminal investigation in the case.

But the internal watchdog's investigation concluded that the response was inadequate.

"The e-mails provided enough troubling indications on their face -- particularly given the position of trust and authority that Foley held with respect to House pages -- that a better practice for the FBI would have been to take at least some follow-up steps with regard to the e-mails," said Inspector General Glenn Fine.

Fine's investigation said that if the FBI determined an interview with the former page was not warranted, the FBI should have at least notified House officials charged with protecting congressional pages.

It also should have notified the complaining organization that sent the material, the report said.

In a written response late Monday, the FBI defended its handling of the case and stressed the inspector general's finding that the FBI acted appropriately in its decision not to launch a criminal investigation after the initial e-mails.

"The OIG [Office of Inspector General] acknowledges that its assessment was conducted after the fact and after explicit instant messages surfaced -- none of which were part of the FBI's initial evaluation," the FBI said.

"The review suggests certain follow-up steps could have been undertaken with regard to the e-mails," the response notes.

The inspector general confirmed the first Foley e-mails came to the FBI in July 2006 from the group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, after which the FBI decided no action was needed.

After eight more e-mails and explicit instant messages from Foley were made public in September, a political firestorm erupted on Capitol Hill.

Foley resigned September 29 and the FBI opened an investigation. To date, no charges have been filed.

The inspector general also criticized the FBI for making inaccurate statements about the reasons it had not opened an investigation after the initial batch of e-mails.

The report rejected the FBI's claims in press reports that the e-mails had been heavily redacted and that CREW had refused to provide information about the source of the e-mails.

In its response, the FBI said the bureau will conduct a review of whether any policies or procedures need to be changed in the interest of disseminating the most accurate information and avoiding internal misunderstandings.

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