‘GSA cooked the books’: Va.’s Gerry Connolly weighs in on federal watchdog’s FBI relocation review process

The U.S. General Services Administration’s Office of the Inspector General finished its report on the selection of Greenbelt, Maryland, for a new FBI headquarters. But, while it expressed some concerns, it stopped short of recommending the brakes be put on.

The probe by the federal watchdog was called on by Virginia lawmakers who claimed the selection process — which resulted in the selection of 61 acres near the Greenbelt Metro station in 2023 — was flawed, causing the site to be chosen over a potential location in Springfield, Virginia.

Among the flaws, according to the report, were costs used to decide on a location, which showed only the price of acquiring and preparing the site, and didn’t include the full dollar amount of the move. The total amount shown, according to OIG, only accounted for around “1 and 2 percent of the total project cost, depending on the site.”

The investigation also found the cost totals used overstated how much rent the government would pay for the Springfield location and how much it would cost to move there.

The cost was an important part of the selection, because the weight of it was doubled from 10 to 20% only months before the selection. That weight change, according to the OIG, was “not justified,” and was something Virginia lawmakers took issue with.

The project also saw the weighing of other criteria change during the selection process, including one, entitled “Promoting Sustainable Siting and Advancing Equity,” which went from 15% to 20%. The investigation found GSA didn’t provide data that “was specific enough for the Panel and Site Selection Authority to differentiate between the sites.”

Another concern raised by Virginia lawmakers was the involvement of former WMATA employee Nina Albert in the process, since the Greenbelt site was owned by the transit agency. The report found “no evidence that Albert, as the Site Selection Authority, violated federal ethics regulations.”

Albert’s involvement was also criticized by some lawmakers because she, as the GSA official overseeing the selection, chose Greenbelt, despite a site selection panel’s recommendation that the Virginia site be selected. The review stated Albert “was not required to select the same site as the Panel.”

It was also discovered that during the review process personal cellphones and instant messaging were used in some cases to discuss the process, and that correspondence was not documented.

“The Administrator should require all GSA personnel involved with the FBI headquarters relocation project and any future projects to review and ensure records created via text messages and chats from any device are preserved within a GSA system to comply with the Federal Records Management regulations,” the OIG office stated.

Other recommendations included a call to develop policies which require any criteria changes to be sufficiently justified and make sure all the information used in the process is accurate and current.

Maryland and Virginia lawmakers comment on report’s findings

In responding to the report, Rep. Gerry Connolly, who was among the delegation of Virginia lawmakers who called for the investigation, claimed the report showed the process was “fundamentally tainted.”

“As GSA cooked the books, important cost criteria were improperly weighted without sufficient rationale,” Connolly said in a statement to WTOP.

Connolly also said he doesn’t believe the process was “fair nor transparent.”

“To allow one individual to swoop down and unilaterally reverse every judged criteria and upend a unanimous decision, boggles the mind and in no way could be considered fair or transparent,” he added.

In response for comment from WTOP, a spokesperson for Virginia Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine said the two are “still carefully reviewing the GSA OIG’s report and considering next steps.”

In a joint statement, Maryland Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks and other state legislators, including Gov. Wes Moore, said the report confirmed their belief that “Team Maryland” had never exhibited a conflict of interest in the selection of the new headquarters’ site.

“Nothing in this report disputes the GSA’s selection of Greenbelt as the future home of the FBI. We look forward to welcoming the FBI to Maryland and moving this project forward,” they wrote.

Despite there not being a recommendation to restart the process, what remains unclear is if the Trump administration wants to see the headquarters move to Maryland.

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Mike Murillo

Mike Murillo is a reporter and anchor at WTOP. Before joining WTOP in 2013, he worked in radio in Orlando, New York City and Philadelphia.

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