FBI headquarters move to Maryland receives praise, criticism

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Federal officials with the General Services Administration (GSA) announced Wednesday that roughly 7,500 FBI employees will eventually be working in a new Maryland-based headquarters facility. The announcement received a mix of praise and criticism after plans to build in Virginia or D.C. were scraped.

Sen. Mark Warner (D -Virginia) said in a statement he hadn’t received confirmation of the move, but assuming it was true, “it would be evidence of gross political interference in an established GSA process that both states went through and it would be frankly more reminiscent of the tactics from the last administration.”

The move from downtown Washington, D.C., will place the nation’s top law enforcement agency in Prince George’s County, Maryland, notorious for a case involving a major FBI pay-to-play corruption probe involving then Prince George’s County Executive Jack Johnson.

As previously reported by the Wisconsin Law Journal, Johnson was indicted on Valentine’s Day 2011 and sentenced to eight years in prison for his role in a pay-to-play bribery probe. CNN reported, as FBI agents descended on the Johnson home, Johnson allegedly instructed his wife to flush down the toilet a $100,000 check from a developer and to hide nearly $80,000 in cash.

This week federal officials were optimistic about their decision to pick Maryland.

“GSA looks forward to building the FBI a state-of-the-art headquarters campus in Greenbelt to advance their critical mission for years to come,” said GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan.

“Thank you to everyone at GSA, DOJ, FBI, Congress, and others who helped reach this important milestone after a comprehensive, multi-year effort,” Carnahan said.

The decision ends a decade long competition between D.C., Virginia and Maryland, fighting for the new headquarters site. The new site will be located in Greenbelt, Maryland, which is about 12 miles outside of D.C.

Maryland Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin has long argued the Greenbelt location offers access to mass transit and claimed the cost to taxpayers would be significantly less there.

However, critics contend that Democratic-controlled Maryland is much more heavily taxed than their more fiscally conservative neighbor to the south, Virginia. Critics have pointed out on social media that Maryland once passed a tax on the rain; that tax on storm water management was later repealed.

Maryland officials praised GSA’s decision. Maryland’s elected leaders issued a joint statement Wednesday commending the decision.

“This is a historic moment for the Federal Bureau of Investigation and our nation. For decades, the dilapidated J. Edgar Hoover Building has failed to meet the FBI’s operational needs, which has undermined our national security. The once-fabled building has crumbled before our eyes, with nets surrounding the facility for years to protect pedestrians from falling debris,” Maryland lawmakers said in a written statement.

The move will not impact other FBI offices across the country, including in Wisconsin. As previously reported by the Wisconsin Law Journal, the FBI Milwaukee Division hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony in 2016 at its new office in St. Francis.

The Bureau’s training facility in Quantico is also not expected to not move locations.

Two other sites were considered for the new headquarters building, including Springfield, Virginia, and Landover, Maryland.