officials have said the Russians did not respond to those requests for more information. And on three separate occasions we asked the Russians for additional information that might give us indications or evidence that he was a terrorist." He went out to the interview persons at the college where Tamerlan was there for a period of time, ultimately interviewed the parents, interviewed Tamerlan himself, sent the information back to Russia. "I do believe that when we got the lead on Tamerlan from the Russians, that the agent did an excellent job in investigating, utilizing the tools that are available to him in that kind of investigation," the FBI chief said. "Wouldn't it have warranted keeping the investigation open longer or at least going to the Boston police and warning them?"Īt Thursday's hearing, Mueller defended that inquiry as thorough, even though it resulted in no further action. "What are the chances of the Russians reporting on someone who's pretty obscure and the FBI checks him out and finds out his name has come up twice before?" asked Peter King. He has been charged with the bombings and is in a federal prison hospital near Boston. His brother, Dzhokhar, survived the shootout. Tamerlan was eventually killed in a shootout with police a few miles away from the bombing scene. ( PHOTOS: Boston Marathon bombings suspects) resident who allegedly went on to carry out the Apbombing that killed three and an ensuing crime spree that left a police officer dead. The official, who asked not to be named, also said the agent who conducted an "assessment" of Tsarnaev in response to the Russian warning in 2011 found the previous references and was aware of them.įormer House Homeland Security Chairman Peter King (R-N.Y.) said he believes the prior mentions of Tsarnaev in FBI files should have resulted in greater scrutiny of the Russian-born U.S. However, an FBI official told POLITICO they were not related to terrorism. Mueller did not elaborate on the nature of the prior investigations where Tsarnaev's name had arisen. When King asked Mueller if it was reasonable to say that the Russian letter "refocused" the FBI on Tsarnaev, Mueller replied, "Absolutely." "Those two other cases, the individuals had their cases closed. "His name had come up in two other cases," Mueller said in response to questions from Rep. In a little-noticed exchange before the House Judiciary Committee Thursday, Mueller acknowledged that the Russian alert was not the first time the elder Tsarnaev brother crossed the FBI's radar. The earlier references have led some lawmakers to question whether the FBI acted too quickly in closing an assessment of Tsarnaev's potential ties to terrorism done in response to the Russian request. FBI knew earlier of Boston bombing suspectĭeceased Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev came to the attention of the FBI on at least two occasions prior to a Russian government warning in March 2011 that said he appeared to be radicalizing, FBI Director Robert Mueller said in Congressional testimony this week.
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