The embattled Federal Bureau of Investigation has both an advocate and a critic in presidential candidate Asa Hutchinson. The former Arkansas governor unveiled a plan to refocus the mission of the FBI and reform its culture to increase the protection of civil liberties.
“I’m calling for reform of the FBI that provides more focus, more accountability, and a deeper commitment to civil liberties,” Mr. Hutchinson said in remarks delivered at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington on July 17.
Yet Mr. Hutchinson quickly allayed fears that his proposal would weaken the bureau.
“Defunding the FBI is [an] off-the-charts bad idea. And anyone who makes that argument is ignoring reality and weakens our law enforcement,” he said.
As a former prosecutor, administrator of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), and undersecretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Mr. Hutchinson professed deep respect for the rule of law and for federal law enforcement personnel.
“I’m proud of our system of justice in America. I’m proud of the rule of law that we have. And I don’t want to see it undermined. I don’t want to see it fail in its premier responsibility of creating a system of laws in our country,” he said.
Reassign and Realign
The first step in Mr. Hutchinson’s plan is to remove responsibility for drug enforcement from the FBI and place it unambiguously with the DEA, supported but Immigration and Customs Enforcement.Doing so will allow the FBI to concentrate on its two primary tasks, counterterrorism and violent crime.
Mr. Hutchinson said he believes this will decrease turf battles among federal agencies and boost the morale of field agents whose purview will be narrowed.
The plan would also reassign FBI administrative support offices to the Department of Justice (DOJ) in an attempt to prevent the FBI from acting entirely on its own.
“They need to report up the chain to the Department of Justice, where there will be transparency and clarity as to what the position of the Department of Justice is,” Mr. Hutchinson said.
For the same reason, Mr. Hutchinson would reassert presidential authority over the DOJ.
Transparency and Accountability
Much of the Hutchinson plan aims to hold the FBI accountable by making its operation more transparent. That includes giving Congress greater oversight through the mandatory reporting of shadow bans on social media or similar actions in financial institutions.Shadow banning occurs when a federal agency asks a private company to freeze or close an account without notice to the individual.
When a law enforcement agency believes such action is warranted, Congress needs to know about it Mr. Hutchinson said. “I would suggest that that transparency would be to report . . . shadow banning to congressional committees and to the Congressional advisory board that would be set up under my plan,” he said.
The FBI would also be required to make recordings of interviews, which it does not routinely do. Instead, agents make handwritten notes of interviews which become the record they rely on for testimony—sometimes years after the fact, according to Mr. Hutchinson.
“I want to reverse the general rule so that the general rule is the recording of witness and subject interviews,” he said, believing it will increase public confidence in the investigative process and produce more credible courtroom evidence.
Mr. Hutchinson would also urge Congress to revise the Federal Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Section 702, which allows the FBI to query electronic evidence involving U.S. citizens gained by intelligence agencies when surveilling foreign subjects.
“Any inquiry into the Section 702 database should be reported to Congress, to the Gang of Eight [high-ranking congressional leaders], to our intelligence committees so that there is some awareness and checks and balances on something that is so sensitive that could impact our U.S. citizens,” he said.
The Hutchinson plan would also establish a single charter for all federal law enforcement agencies to ensure that they operate consistently and with respect for civil liberties in all contexts.
Mr. Hutchinson would establish a commission on the future of federal law enforcement to report on longer-term changes in the system, and would immediately replace FBI Director Christopher Wray, he said.
Though Mr. Wray has made progress in improving the FBI, according to Mr. Hutchinson, a new director who is fully committed to implementing his reforms would be needed to ensure they were carried out.
Depending on Election
Mr. Hutchinson’s reforms depend on his election as president in 2024, which is a long shot given his current position in the crowded Republican field. Former President Donald Trump leads the other 13 contenders with a preference rate of 50 percent in national polling. Mr. Hutchinson stands at 1 percent.Mr. Hutchinson acknowledged that he has not yet acquired the 40,000 financial contributors required to qualify for the first presidential debate on Aug. 23. However, he is confident he will reach that goal and continue his campaign.
“This the most unpredictable political landscape that I’ve seen in my lifetime,” he said. “I see this changing dramatically.”
Asked whether he could overcome Mr. Trump’s formidable lead, Mr. Hutchinson said he was game to try.
“It’s a matter of making your case for votes. And the only way you could win is through Donald Trump, particularly whenever you disagree with where he will take this country in the future,” he said.
“I’m not going to be shy about saying we need a leader that can reform federal law enforcement in the right way, that builds confidence, and not a president that will undermine it.”
