EYES ON THE FBI

The FBI awaits confirmation of a new director, but thanks to Attorney
General John Ashcroft, it already has a new monitor. Until this week the
Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration,
nominally branches of the Justice Department, were beyond the reach of its
inspector general except by specific authorization from the attorney
general or his deputy.

No more. The department's IG now has a green light to investigate both
agencies without asking permission. And that's as it should be: Other
cabinet departments routinely give their IGs discretion to open
investigations without getting clearance from their superiors; why
shouldn't Justice? Risks need to be balanced here. The FBI should stand
somewhat aloof from the beltway culture's political wars. But like any
law-enforcement agency, it must ultimately be accountable to political
authority, and the bureau hasn't always relished that.

This time it looks like Ashcroft got it right.