By ANNE M. PETERSON
The Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. - Portland’s mayor is threatening to pull the city out of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force unless the federal agency gives him and the city police chief a higher security clearance.
The FBI has created task forces with police departments in 100 cities across the country to investigate potential terrorists and prevent possible attacks.
Portland would be the first city to remove itself from such a team, officials say.
Mayor Tom Potter and other city officials want expanded oversight over any FBI anti-terror operations that include Portland police officers. A resolution introduced Wednesday by Potter goes before the full City Council next week.
Robert Jordan, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Portland division, said there is no precedent for granting top secret clearance to an elected municipal official.
For now, the two Portland officers assigned to the task force have higher security clearance than Potter or Police Chief Derrick Foxworth.
Potter took office seven months after the arrest of a Portland lawyer whose fingerprints the FBI eventually determined had been mistakenly linked to the terrorist bombings that killed 191 people in Spain last March.
The FBI issued a rare public apology to attorney Brandon Mayfield, a convert to Islam who is suing the government over the mistake.
Both Potter and Public Safety Commissioner Randy Leonard said whatever the outcome of the resolution, the city and the FBI should continue efforts to work together when there is a terrorism threat.
“It is absolutely critical to have their cooperation,” Jordan said. “I think that’s what the public expects from us.”
Foxworth issued a statement also pledging cooperation with federal officials.