Top Maryland leaders celebrated the federal government’s selection of Greenbelt for the next FBI headquarters and defended the fairness of the process on Friday following criticism by the FBI’s director.
The selection of Greenbelt on Wednesday follows more than a decade of work to bring the facility to Prince George's County, officials said. At a Friday morning news conference with emotional remarks by several top leaders, Gov. Wes Moore said the choice was correct.
“There is absolutely no question that the FBI belongs in the state of Maryland and it belongs in Prince George’s County," Moore said.
The contentious debate over a new FBI headquarters intensified on Thursday as FBI Director Christopher Wray said he was concerned about a “potential conflict of interest" in the site selection and a U.S. senator from Virginia called for a federal investigation. The White House defended the selection process as “fair and transparent.”
“We knew we were going to win. It was a fair process,” Sen. Ben Cardin said.
Rep. Steny Hoyer defended the selection of Greenbelt based on the pick’s lower cost to taxpayers, transit access and the schedule on which the facility can be completed.
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“An objective reading of all the facts led to the selection of the FBI headquarters at Greenbelt,” he said.
“Those that didn’t win are upset. But the facts are the facts," Hoyer continued.
Greenbelt is the final pick and it will not change, Sen. Chris Van Hollen said.
"It is absolutely wrong of Director Chris Wray to impugn and question the character, the integrity and the independence of the site selection administrator,” he said.
Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks said the new FBI headquarters will bring stable jobs and economic growth to the county. She said county residents knew the county would be chosen, comparing the county's excellence and assurance to that of top athletes.
“This once-in-a-generation investment is a tremendous honor, but it is not a surprise. Simone Biles is not surprised when she wins a gymnastics tournament. Serena Williams is not surprised when she wins Wimbledon. Kevin Durant is not surprised when he's named an all-star in the NBA. When you dedicate your life's work to a single pursuit, you expect that sometimes you have difficulty, but you're never surprised when you win," Alsobrooks said.
Wray's unusually sharp criticism came in an internal email to agency employees that was obtained by The Associated Press. It was the latest twist in a vigorous competition among jurisdictions in the national capital region to land America’s premier law enforcement agency.
The General Services Administration selected Greenbelt as the home for a new facility to replace the crumbling J. Edgar Hoover Building, which is blocks away from the White House. Wray said his objections were about the process rather than the Greenbelt site itself.
The GSA, which manages the government’s real estate portfolio, said that site about 13 miles northeast of D.C. was the cheapest one with the best access to public transit. But Wray asserted in his note that the choice came after a GSA executive overruled a board and picked land owned by a former employer.
Democratic Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, which also vied for the project, urged an investigation. “I had felt that this has been grossly political with efforts to try to change the criteria, but I was astounded when we found out that three career officials unanimously picked Virginia and a political appointee overturned it. Clearly, there needs to be an inspector general investigation," he said.
In a joint statement, Virginia's elected leaders called for the determination to be reversed, asserting that their state's site remains the best choice under “any fair weighing of the criteria.”
GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan stood behind the agency's work, saying officials followed all laws and ethical considerations. “Any suggestion that there was inappropriate interference is unfounded,” she said.
White House principal deputy press secretary Olivia Dalton defended the selection process. She did not comment on whether Biden had any direct involvement in the final site decision.
“I can tell you it was a fair and transparent process,” Dalton told reporters on Air Force One as Biden traveled to Illinois on Thursday. “The 61 acres in Greenbelt is both the lowest cost to taxpayers, most transportation options for FBI workers, and we had the most assurances about the expeditious means with which a project could get underway.”
Here’s what the GSA has said about why Greenbelt was picked for the new FBI headquarters
A three-member voting panel comprised of two GSA employees and one FBI employee, whose identities were kept secret, evaluated three suburban sites: Greenbelt and Landover in Maryland, and Springfield, Virginia.
"GSA determined Greenbelt to be the best site because it was the lowest cost to taxpayers, provided the greatest transportation access to FBI employees and visitors, and gave the government the most certainty on project delivery schedule. It also provided the highest potential to advance sustainability and equity,” a GSA spokesperson said in a statement.
Greenbelt’s median income is almost $76,000 a year, and 45% of its residents identify as Black.
The criteria included transportation access, the cost to acquire and build, site development flexibility, and proximity to sites including the White House, the Department of Justice and Quantico.
In July, the GSA announced changes in the criteria for choosing the new location, boosting two potential sites in Maryland. The new criteria raised the weight given to cost and social equity concerns, and reduced the weight given to proximity to the FBI Academy.
Here’s how the factors were weighed:
- Proximity to Quantico and “mission-related locations”: 25%
- Transportation: 20%
- Equity: 20%
- Cost: 20%
- Development flexibility: 15%
A board that included representatives from the GSA and the FBI unanimously agreed on Springfield, Wray wrote. But a senior GSA executive changed course and went with Greenbelt, the FBI director said.
“The FBI observed that, at times, outside information was inserted into the process in a manner which appeared to disproportionately favor Greenbelt, and the justifications for the departures from the panel were varied and inconsistent,” Wray wrote.
The land in Greenbelt is owned by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, which once employed the senior GSA executive, according to Wray's note.
Wray was referring to Nina Albert, who has since left the GSA and now works for D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s administration.
News4 reached out to Albert and Metro to respond to Wray’s comments. They did not respond to requests.
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Carnahan said the GSA had listened to the FBI: “At every step, the GSA team has worked to incorporate the FBI’s feedback and appropriately address their concerns, including conducting a legal review of each concern raised."
Bringing the FBI to Maryland was a bipartisan effort championed in part by Republican former Gov. Larry Hogan, Hoyer said.
“Welcome to Maryland, FBI. We’ve been waiting for you for a long, long, long time,” Maryland Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller said.
Stay with NBC Washington for more details on this developing story.
