FBI Statement by Assistant Director John Miller

Washington, D.C. - During the 911 investigation and continually since, much of the intelligence has indicated terrorists have exploited programs involving student visas and financial aid. In some student loan frauds identity theft has been a factor. When we asked for the cooperation of the Department of Education’s Office of The Inspector General it was to run names of subjects already material to counter-terrorism investigations against the databases to look for evidence of either student loan fraud or identity theft. No records of people other than those already under investigation were called for. This was not a sweeping program, in that it involved only a few hundred names. This is part of our mission, which is to take the leads we have and investigate them. There was no attempt to conceal these efforts, in that they were referenced in publicly available briefings to Congress and to the General Accountability Office (GAO).

John Miller
Assistant Director
FBI