WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama said Tuesday that no stone will be left unturned in reviewing whether any sensitive intelligence was missed that could have stopped the deadly attacks on the Boston Marathon.
Obama called it “standard procedure,” but said the review, which will last only 90 days, would help determine if all the information was shared properly.
“Based on what I’ve seen so far, the FBI performed its duties, the Department of Homeland Security did what it was supposed to be doing,” Obama told a White House news conference, describing how the FBI interviewed Tamerlan Tsarnaev, a suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings who died in an escape attempt.
But he said it would help determine whether “there were additional things that could have been done.”
Shawn Turner, a spokesman for the Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, says the review is limited to how information about the suspects was handled before the attack because the investigation of the bombing is still ongoing. He added that Clapper believes his agencies shared information appropriately.
The review will be conducted by I. Charles McCullough III, the independent intelligence community inspector general, which is a position that is Senate-confirmed and is authorized to reach into any U.S. intelligence agency to conduct reviews.
Lawmakers have suggested that an intelligence breakdown may have contributed to the attacks.
“Just because the FBI didn’t find derogatory information about the suspects doesn’t mean it wasn’t there to be found,” said Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., a member of the House intelligence committee. “But nor should we leap to a conclusion of malfeasance. Instead this review may produce one important component of the ‘lessons learned’ from the attacks,” he added Tuesday.
The review was first reported by The Boston Globe.
