Inspector general to probe FBI headquarters site selection following alleged ‘potential conflicts of interest’

The Office of Inspector General for the General Service Administration confirmed that it will investigate the site selection process of the new FBI headquarters.

Earlier this month, the GSA issued a press release announcing that it had selected a 61-acre site in Greenbelt, Maryland, as the location for the new FBI building. The law enforcement agency’s current headquarters is in Washington, D.C., at the J. Edgar Hoover building. Many have noted that the location is in a “state of disrepair” and “is falling down.”

Due to the building’s current condition, the GSA was tasked with selecting a new facility. According to the agency, of the three options — a site in Greenbelt, Maryland, another in Landover, Maryland, and one in Springfield, Virginia — Greenbelt was “the best option for the FBI and the United States government.”

The GSA claimed the location offered “the lowest cost to taxpayers, provided the greatest transportation access to FBI employees and visitors, and gave the government the most certainty on project delivery schedule.” The agency noted that the location “provided the highest potential to advance sustainability and equity.”

Following the GSA’s announcement, FBI Director Christopher Wray challenged the decision, contending that the agency’s selection process showed “potential conflicts of interest.”

Two weeks ago, nine Virginia Democratic and Republican House members and two Democratic senators drafted a joint letter to the GSA’s inspector general office, urging it launch a formal investigation.

Lawmakers claimed that the GSA “suppressed, dismissed, and overrode” a unanimous panel’s selection and the FBI’s preference. Instead, the legislators stated, the GSA went with the opinion of a political appointee inside the agency who had previously overseen land acquisitions for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority.

Virginia’s congressional delegation accused the site selection process of being “fouled by political considerations and alleged impropriety — one that was repeatedly curated to arrive at a predetermined outcome.”

On Thursday, acting Inspector General Robert Erickson sent a letter to Virginia Democratic Senator Mark Warner stating that his office is “initiating an evaluation of GSA’s selection of the site,” The Hill reported.

“Our objective will be to assess the agency’s process and procedures for the site selection to relocate the FBI Headquarters. We intend to begin this work immediately and will share with you and the relevant committees a copy of any report which may result from this evaluation,” Erickson told Warner.

A GSA spokesperson told The Hill that the agency welcomes a review of its selection process.

“As a part of our longstanding commitment to transparency, we proactively and publicly released our site selection plan, decision-making materials, and results of our legal review evaluating the FBI’s concerns. We carefully followed the requirements and process, and stand behind GSA’s final site selection decision,” the spokesperson stated.

The Virginia lawmakers said they “welcomed the news” about the investigation.

“Given the overwhelming evidence suggesting that the General Services Administration (GSA) administered a site selection process fouled by politics, we agree that an inspector general investigation is the appropriate next step,” they wrote in the statement. “We applaud the inspector general for moving quickly and encourage him to move forward to complete a careful and thorough review. In the meantime, the GSA must pause all activities related to the relocation until the IG’s investigation is complete.”

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