WASHINGTON — A bipartisan coalition of Virginia politicians has formerly requested an investigation into the selection process for the new FBI Headquarters, which was awarded to Maryland.
Eleven members of Congress, Republican and Democrat, signed a letter requesting that the acting inspector general for the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) look into the selection process after the GSA's decision became mired by controversy shortly after it was rendered.
"There is overwhelming evidence suggesting that the General Services Administration (GSA) administered a site selection process fouled by political considerations and alleged impropriety – one that was repeatedly curated to arrive at a predetermined outcome," the letter says in part.
What's the controversy?
After Greenbelt was selected as the site for the new FBI Headquarters last week, an unprecedented letter was sent from FBI Director Christopher Wray to all FBI employees. In the letter, Wray highlights concerns about "fairness and transparency" in the process that ultimately awarded the new headquarters project to Prince George's County.
There was a three-person panel made up of two people from the GSA and one from the FBI who were in charge of deciding where the new FBI Headquarters should go. Their decision was between Greenbelt and Landover in Maryland or Springfield in Virginia. The panel unanimously recommended Virginia as the location.
Instead, a political appointee from GSA named Nina Albert – who's now with Mayor Muriel Bowser's administration – overruled the three-person panel, and the FBI Headquarters was awarded to Greenbelt instead.
Wray's concern over a potential "conflict of interest" centered around the fact that Albert previously worked as the vice president of real estate and parking for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), which owns the land at the Greenbelt site.
WUSA9's multiple requests for Albert to comment have gone unanswered.
Following several days of repeated requests for comment, WMATA Spokesperson Sherri Li responded to WUSA9 saying, "The Board of Directors and Metro staff did not have any involvement in GSA's selection decision. Additionally, Metro was only made aware of this news when it was made public."
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Here's why this matters:
- The new FBI Headquarters is expected to bring about 2,000 jobs to the area. Also, the more than 7,000 FBI employees at the current headquarters in D.C. will move to the new location.
- Officials estimate more than $4 billion in economic activity as a result of the new location.
- Leaders in Prince George's County say more federal money and projects over the years have gone to Fairfax County, and they feel this decision helps them get their fair share of federal government investments.
What's next?
Maryland leaders maintain that "This is done."
"So there's no more conversation," Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said last week while celebrating the GSA's decision to have the FBI building come to his state. "There's no more deliberation. There's no more questioning. It's over. The FBI building will be coming to Maryland and we could not be more excited and we are ready."
Virginia's letter on Wednesday adds to the uncertainty of what comes next.
"These facts, when taken together, paint an ugly picture of a fatally flawed procurement that demands investigation," Virginia leaders wrote. "We request that your office initiate an immediate investigation into the site selection process for the FBI Headquarters."
Right-wing Republicans, already intent on taking on the FBI over their claims of political weaponization' of the Bureau, have seized on the controversy and are now demanding the project be scrapped entirely.
"My amendment would disallow any planning, spending, distribution of funds for that purpose (of the federal government obtaining the Greenbelt site from WMATA.) I don't believe the FBI deserves a massive new headquarters," said Rep Matt Gaetz (R-FL) on the House floor last week.
His amendment was defeated but carried 145 Republican votes. Northern Virginia Rep Gerry Connolly (D-VA) voted 'present' to register his concerns raised by the FBI Director's letter of concern about the site selection process.
Rep. Connolly now tells WUSA9 he will not support any Congressional proposal to purchase the site on behalf of the federal government. He also says he would support a stand-alone hearing in the House Oversight Committee focused specifically on the FBI HQ site selection process. The Committee's Chairman Rep James Comer (R-KY) alluded to the possibility of such a hearing during Tuesday's questioning of GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan.