Investigation examines translators for FBI

WASHINGTON -- The FBI and the Justice Department are investigating a whistle-blower's allegations of security lapses in the translator program that has played an important role in interpreting interviews and intercepts of Osama bin Laden's network since Sept. 11, officials said.

FBI officials said they believe the program is solid and secure even as they let the investigations move forward. The officials said there have been some minor bumps as a large number of translators, many of them Arabic-speaking, were brought aboard after the attacks.

The FBI has been using a mentoring program that pairs newcomers with experienced translators to address some of those issues, officials said. Some translators have been let go because of poor performance, and the government is conducting a quality control review of the program, they added.

Government officials and legal sources familiar with the review said the whistle-blower's allegations range from shoddy transcriptions by unqualified translators to suggestions one interpreter with a relative who works at a foreign embassy may have compromised national security.

Government officials, who spoke only on condition of anonymity, said the FBI has been unable to corroborate the whistle-blower's allegations. Both the whistle-blower and the linguist she accused have passed lie detector tests as part of security reviews, the officials said.

The whistle-blower, a contract employee in the FBI linguist program, was fired last spring for performance issues. She subsequently was subjected to a security review herself, the officials said.

The matter has reached the highest levels of the FBI, including director Robert Mueller.

The FBI has focused its investigation on whether either the accused or the whistle-blower compromised national security, officials said.