RICHMOND, Va. — The Inspector General for the General Services Administration (GSA) has just informed a Virginia delegation that evaluating the selection process for a new FBI headquarters in Greenbelt, Maryland.
This comes after a group of bipartisan lawmakers asked for an investigation into the decision that awarded Greenbelt the project instead of Springfield in early November.
“We applaud the inspector general for moving quickly and encourage him to move forward to complete a careful and thorough review," Virginia leaders said in a joint statement Thursday. "In the meantime, the GSA must pause all activities related to the relocation until the IG’s investigation is complete."
Both Virginia senators and other leaders on the south side of the Potomac say the whole process reeks of big-league political interference.
"The whole process stinks," Sen. Mark Warner told WUSA9. "I don't get riled up about things very often."
Sen. Warner isn't alone. Republicans and Democrats in Virginia joined together to write the letter asking for a GSA Inspector General investigation of the process that passed over Springfield and selected a Greenbelt location in Prince George's County as the FBI's new home. Leaders in the Commonwealth said the decision was "fouled by political considerations and alleged impropriety."
"The reality is this project is not going forward in any form with this cloud overhanging it," Warner said.
Concerns were first raised by FBI Director Christopher Wray.
Wray said that a GSA executive named Nina Albert, who now works for D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, was allegedly biased toward Prince George's County and allegedly had a conflict of interest since she used to work for Metro, which Metro owns the land the federal government has to buy in order to build the new headquarters.
"Doesn't anybody really want to know what the folks at the FBI think is the best choice?" Wray asked.
WUSA9 has asked FBI employees and the director's office repeatedly for comment since the news broke about the badly broken J. Edgar Hoover building that currently houses the FBI in D.C. The FBI Director's office has refused our request for interviews.
Meanwhile, Maryland leaders have said repeatedly said the deal is done and the FBI HQ will be built in Greenbelt.
It is not clear how long the investigation will take, and what it means for the future of the FBI. The bureau is currently stationed in the J. Edgar Hoover building in D.C., which is old and falling apart.