FBI Director Louis Freeh's suspension of New York bureau chief James Fox has sent shock waves throughout the agency, drawing comparisons with the past actions of J. Edgar Hoover.
The 31-year FBI veteran was suspended with pay on Dec. 10 until his retirement for making public comments during the criminal trial of the World Trade Center bombing case.Fox, who turns 56 on Thursday, is due to retire Jan. 3.
The suspension, first reported by New York Newsday on Tuesday, stunned some FBI agents who angrily complained the action was too severe.
"It's a lousy way for a man with 31 distinguished years in the FBI to end his career," said one agent.
"It reminds me of some of the things that (the late director) Hoover used to do," said another agent. "He could have just called him in and cautioned him about speaking out."
"It's like killing flies with a hammer," a retired FBI official said of Freeh's actions.
The suspension follows a series of actions by Freeh in recent weeks that appear intended to stamp the new director's strong control over the 10,000-agent FBI.
Among other moves, Freeh is shaking up FBI headquarters and has said he might transfer as many as 100 agents out of Washington to field assignments.
He has also surrounded himself with advisers outside of the traditional FBI ranks, a fact that has strengthened his ability to carry out some of his decisions.
"He's stamping his own brand on an agency that isn't easy to control," said one Justice Department employee familiar with FBI operations. "But he's raising the same old questions raised when Hoover was director - that he may be too severe."
Still, Justice Department sources report that Fox was repeatedly warned about talking to the press about the case as early as Feb. 28 when the bombing occurred.
In addition, sources said, U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White, of the Southern District of New York, complained to Freeh about Fox's public statements to the press.
White declined to confirm she recommended that Freeh take action against Fox.
"I can't comment on any part of the case that relates to Jim Fox," she said. "But I can say that I really have the highest regard for Jim Fox as a professional."
An associate director of the FBI, Fox supervised the bombing investigation and made the comments on a Dec. 4 television news program.
In the broadcast interview, he responded to a question about reports that FBI informant Emad Salem gave the agency information before the trade center bombing on Feb. 26.
"He (Salem) gave us nothing. No one gave us anything," Fox was quoted by Newsday. "If we had information, we would have prevented the bombing."
FBI spokesman John Collingwood said Freeh suspended Fox only after carefully reviewing "inappropriate public comments Fox made about pending prosecution."
Both the FBI and Justice Department have guidelines prohibiting comments by officials during criminal trials.