WASHINGTON — Sen. Chuck Grassley today expressed deep concern that the Department of Justice is in contact with the Department of Defense Total Information Awareness program.

Grassley made inquiries to the Defense Department Inspector General in November 2002 about the Total Information Awareness Program. He recently received preliminary responses from the Inspector General's office to his questions.

"I'm worried that Total Information Awareness personnel have contacted agencies at the Department of Justice to work on possible experimentation with TIA technology in the future," Grassley said. "This is a direct contradiction to earlier statements made by the Justice Department and only heightens my concern about the blurring of lines between domestic law enforcement and military security efforts."

Grassley's inquiries have led the Pentagon's Inspector General to begin an audit in February. The audit will assess whether the proper safeguards are at work to stop abuses are being included in the developmental contracts and the adequacy of computer security protections and human access protections intended to protect civil liberties.

"We need to strike a balance between targeting terrorists with everything we've got and also protecting the rights and freedoms cherished by Americans," Grassley said. "Military dollars shouldn't be spent on domestic law enforcement."

Grassley said that in light of the problems that have recently come forth, he is sending a letter to Attorney General John Ashcroft to shed light on the involvement between the Justice Department and the Total Information Awareness program. Grassley has asked the Attorney General to provide him with a complete accounting of the Justice Department and FBI's actions regarding TIA as well as the draft Memorandum of Understanding.

Following on subsequent pages are:

1. What is the statutory authorization for TIA?

The TIA program is not authorized or funded as a separate line item in either the National Defense Authorization Act or the Department of Defense Appropriations Act. The TIA program, however, is identified as a program of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in the Fiscal Year 2003 Budget Estimates, February 2002.

2. What are the parameters and scope of TIA?

According to Dr. Anthony J. Tether, Director, DARPA, TIA is an IT system for combating terrorism.

3. How was TIA selected to be funded?

Dr. Tether reports that TIA was selected through their process of reviewing ideas they believe can be developed into useful technologies.

4. How was Admiral Poindexter selected to head TIA?

Dr. Tether selected Admiral John Poindexter, U.S. Navy (Retired). Admiral Poindexter was hired as a "Section 1101" appointee under 5 U.S.C. Sec. 3104 and Sec. 1101 of the Strom Thurmond Defense Authorization for Fiscal Year 1999 (P.L. 105-261).

5. What coordination has the program had with Federal law enforcement officials? This should include details of what input was received prior to funding.

Dr. Tether has advised of contacts with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Foreign Terrorist Tracking Task Force, Department of Justice, and components of the Department of Homeland Security, DARPA officials note it is their understanding that the FBI is working on an MOU with DARPA for possible experimentation with TIA technology in the future.

6. What protections are in place to ensure civil liberties are not violated?

Dr. Tether has advised that part of the TIA project will focus on the development of privacy protections that do not currently exist, along with other advanced security and system hardening characteristics as part of the TIA program. The IG, DoD, audit will "assess whether the proper controls are being included in the developmental contracts to ensure that the technology is properly managed and controlled when placed in an operational environment." The audit will also assess the adequacy of computer security protections and human access protections intended to protect civil liberties.

January 21, 2003

Dear General Ashcroft:

I am writing to you regarding the Total Information Awareness (TIA) Program funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) at the Department of Defense (DoD).

It is my understanding that TIA is a program that has been initiated to assist in processing and analyzing information, including financial information, that is received from outside the U.S. Many have expressed concern about TIA being applied to U.S. citizens and its chilling impact on civil liberties.

These concerns are only heightened when it is difficult to reconcile the following two facts:

"The Justice Department has not gotten any information about the [TIA] project from the Pentagon and thus cannot comment, spokesman Bryan Sierra said. The FBI had no official comment on the project either."

Newsday, November 21, 2002.

Q. What coordination has the program [TIA] had with Federal law enforcement officials? This should include details of what input was received prior to funding.

A. "Dr. Tether [Director of DARPA] has advised of contacts with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Foreign Terrorist Tracking Tas Force, Department of Justice and components of the Department of Homeland Security. DARPA officials note it is their understanding that the FBI is working on an MOU with DARPA for possible experimentation with TIA technology in the future."

Letter from Joseph E. Schmitz to Senator Grassley. January 17th 2002.

I am very concerned that DoJ and the FBI may have been less than forthright to the press and the American people about their involvement with TIA. Please provide a complete accounting, including timeline, of DoJ and FBI's actions regarding TIA as well as the draft MOU. Please provide this information by February 10, 2002. If your staff have any questions, please contact Mr. Dean Zerbe at 224-5315.