FBI Opens Internal Audit Office, Names Gerber to Lead It

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has created a new Office of Internal Auditing intended to enhance compliance, oversight, and accountability of national security activities at the Bureau. It also named Mark J. Gerber, a former PwC partner and FBI special agent, as the assistant director to lead the new office.

The FBI’s internal audit office was created as part of a series of compliance and oversight reforms after an investigation into FBI practices last year conducted by Inspector General Michael Horowitz. That investigation found numerous lapses, some related to the so-called “Crossfire Hurricane” investigation, which began in July 2016, concerned “whether individuals associated with the Donald J. Trump for President Campaign were coordinating, wittingly or unwittingly, with the Russian government’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.”

The memo which established the requirement that the FBI open the Office of Internal Audit, written by Attorney General William Barr and issued in August, also requires the development of compliance and oversight mechanisms, training, and internal controls to ensure the FBI’s compliance with “applicable statutes, policies, procedures, and court orders that govern the FBI’s national security activities.” The reforms also require the FBI to perform robust auditing functions, including, for example, routine audits of the FBI’s use of National Security Letters, compliance with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), and adherence to FISA’s minimization, targeting, and querying procedures.

“Since the Inspector General’s Crossfire Hurricane report was issued last December, I have made clear that it describes conduct that was unacceptable and unrepresentative of the FBI as an organization,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray in a statement announcing the reforms. “That’s why I immediately ordered more than 40 corrective actions, including foundational FISA reforms, many of which went beyond those recommended by the Inspector General.”

A second memo by Barr called for additional reforms “designed to ensure the accuracy and completeness of FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) applications targeting U.S. persons.” The second memorandum also includes “oversight protocols to ensure that any use of FISA to surveil federal elected officials, candidates for federal elected office, or their advisors or staff is justified, non-partisan, and based on full and complete information.”

FBI’s Internal Auditing Office Lead
Gerber, whom the FBI tapped to lead the new Office of Internal Auditing is a former FBI special agent and is currently a visiting instructor at St. Joseph’s University and a recently retired partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers.