Bill Press is a syndicated columnist and the co-host of CNN's Crossfire, which airs Monday-Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET, and The Spin Room, which airs Monday-Friday at 10:30 p.m. ET.

Bill Press: Freeh destroys reputation of once-proud FBI

WASHINGTON (Tribune Media Services) -- Chalk this up as one bad week for the FBI. Its big catch, Timothy McVeigh, was not executed as planned. Its big spy, Robert Hanssen, was indicted. And its big boss, Louis Freeh, was on the hot seat in front of Congress, twice, trying to defend the agency's dismal performance.

An e-mail to CNN's "The Spin Room" said it best: "J. Edgar Hoover must be spinning in his tutu." Once the pride of the nation, the bureau is now wallowing in disgrace. Even conservative Republicans are demanding a complete investigation.

The latest embarrassment was the discovery of thousands of pages of evidence in the McVeigh case, never -- as required by law -- turned over to the prosecution or defense lawyers during the trial. Attorney General John Ashcroft was forced to postpone McVeigh's execution. And even more papers have been discovered since, which could result in the necessity of a whole new trial for the mass murderer.

It's unbelievable. This was perhaps the bureau's most important case ever, with tons of evidence plus a confessed killer -- and they screw it up! They've become the gang that can't shoot straight. And, worse yet, the McVeigh case isn't their only bungle. It's just the latest.

Audiotapes of FBI agents firing at the Branch Davidian compound in Waco were also mysteriously lost. Security guard Richard Jewell was wrongly and publicly fingered by FBI agents as Atlanta's Olympic bomber. Los Alamos scientist Wen Ho Lee was accused of spying for China, imprisoned for a year, but released after an FBI agent gave faulty testimony. The FBI's own Robert Hanssen was arrested and accused of spying for Russia for 16 years.

Add one more investigation gone wrong. In the May 14 issue of the New Yorker, writer Elsa Walsh examines Freeh's obsession to find those responsible for the 1996 bombing of the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia, which killed 19 American servicemen and wounded almost 500 more. Freeh has spent the last 5 years on the case, traveling often to Saudi Arabia. According to Walsh, all evidence points to eight suspects who have already been interviewed and confessed their involvement in the attack. Yet, so far, the FBI has made no indictments.

And all of these snafus happened on Director Louis Freeh's watch. Where's the outrage? Sure, he's resigning next month, but why no calls for his head, long before this?

It's not that Freeh, like Ronald Reagan, could claim to be out of the loop. Just the opposite. Take the case of Robert Hanssen. In 1994, following the arrest of CIA spy Aldrich Ames, Freeh was advised to require routine polygraph tests for FBI agents. Freeh did nothing. In 1999, two years before Hanssen's arrest, Freeh was warned by senior investigator Thomas Kimmel that Moscow might have recruited a top spy in the bureau's ranks. Again, Freeh did nothing. Action at either time might have stopped Hanssen in his tracks and prevented major damage to national security.

Same with the other foul-ups. Of course, Freeh did not personally hide the Waco tapes or misplace the McVeigh evidence. But he was the top man when the fabled discipline of the FBI fell apart -- when agents dared disobey orders or do sloppy work because they knew they'd never be held responsible.

Louis Freeh is the most incompetent director in the history of the FBI. Under him, the agency went into "Freeh fall." So, again, why was he given a free ride for so long?

There's only one reason, and everybody knows it. For the last 5 years, Louis Freeh was the darling of Republicans on Capitol Hill because he kissed their butts. He publicly criticized both of his bosses, Janet Reno and Bill Clinton. And he continued to demand appointment of an independent counsel to look into White House fundraising even after three different Congressional investigations had found zero evidence of illegality.

It's as simple as that. Louis Freeh said just what Republicans wanted to hear. But now, with Clinton out of the White House, Freeh no longer has anybody to hide behind. His politics can no longer mask his incompetence.

The game is up for Louis Freeh. He shouldn't even be given the dignity of resigning. For destroying the once-proud FBI, he should be fired first.