By MATT APUZZO and ERIC LICHTBLAU
JUNE 14, 2016
WASHINGTON — Every day, in F.B.I. offices around the country, agents leaf through classified counterterrorism documents on American citizens one last time. They reread informant reports and review surveillance logs. And then they close the case and walk away.
It is a weighty decision, one that supervisors closely review. But with up to 10,000 F.B.I. terrorism investigations open at any given time, there is little time for hand-wringing.
The nightclub shooting in Orlando, Fla., in which a gunman killed 49 people, has brought unusual attention to a seemingly mundane process. For 10 months, F.B.I. agents investigated the gunman, Omar Mateen, but closed the investigation after following a standard checklist. F.B.I. supervisors approved the decision. Managers in Washington, who can reverse any decision to close a case, were notified.
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WASHINGTON — Every day, in F.B.I. offices around the country, agents leaf through classified counterterrorism documents on American citizens one last time. They reread informant reports and review surveillance logs. And then they close the case and walk away.
It is a weighty decision, one that supervisors closely review. But with up to 10,000 F.B.I. terrorism investigations open at any given time, there is little time for hand-wringing.
The nightclub shooting in Orlando, Fla., in which a gunman killed 49 people, has brought unusual attention to a seemingly mundane process. For 10 months, F.B.I. agents investigated the gunman, Omar Mateen, but closed the investigation after following a standard checklist. F.B.I. supervisors approved the decision. Managers in Washington, who can reverse any decision to close a case, were notified.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/15/us/politics/noor-zahi-salman-omar-mateen.html?_r=0
