Washington, D.C. September 10, 2007. – Senator Chuck Grassley has again reminded the FBI that the law does not allow retaliation against government whistleblowers.  Grassley reiterated his concerns to FBI Director Robert Mueller in a letter sent yesterday.

The Senator’s letter forwards allegations of retaliation against FBI Agent Bassem Youssef, chief of the Communications Analysis Unit.  Youssef is the highest ranking Arab-American in the FBI. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Youssef raised concerns within the FBI that he, as one of the highest ranking Arabic-speaking agents, was not being assigned to cases related to the attacks.

“It seems like every time I turn around, there’s another allegation of whistleblower retaliation at the FBI.  It appears to be second nature for them,” Grassley said. “Director Mueller has talked often about the fact that he won’t tolerate retaliation, but it doesn’t look like the message is getting through to his management team.”

Grassley is a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and has conducted oversight of the FBI since the mid 1990s.

A copy of the letter can be found here.