Mueller: FBI must stay ‘a step ahead,’ maintain civil liberties

Following revelations about the federal government’s surveillance programs, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation will tell a House Judiciary panel June 13 that law enforcement must stay “a step ahead of criminals and terrorists” while still heeding Americans’ civil liberties.

FBI Director Robert Mueller doesn’t address the National Security Agency programs directly, but his written testimony for a previously-scheduled oversight hearing is all the more relevant in the wake of last week’s news. Some critics are unlikely to find harmony between Mueller’s comments and the government’s activities. “Following the rule of law and upholding civil liberties and civil rights make all of us safer and stronger,” Mueller says in prepared testimony. “In the end, we will be judged not only by our ability to keep Americans safe from crime and terrorism, but also by whether we safeguard the liberties for which we are fighting and maintain the trust of the American people.”