Jewell Asks for Probe of Treatment by FBI

WASHINGTON —  Richard Jewell said Wednesday that the Justice Department report on his treatment as a suspect in the Atlanta Olympic bombing was filled with lies and distortions. He called on Congress to investigate.

Jewell, testifying at a packed congressional hearing, demanded an accounting from the FBI for the 88 days he was investigated and held up to public ridicule before being cleared in the fatal blast.

“I believe I am entitled to have the FBI publicly explain its conduct toward me and my mother,” the former security guard said in a polite and subdued voice as his mother, a phalanx of lawyers and the House Judiciary crime subcommittee looked on.

A Justice Department report released this week faulted FBI agents for tricking Jewell into waiving his right to a lawyer and said their actions hampered an investigation that still has produced no arrests.

Jewell told the panel that the report is “filled with false statements, half-truths and gross distortions of the truth.” And he urged Congress to conduct its own, independent investigation.

He accused the FBI of conspiring with the media to portray him as the bomber, even after agents became convinced he had nothing to do with it. He said the FBI illegally tapped his phone, harassed his friends and relatives and violated his constitutional rights.

Rep. Bill McCollum (R-Fla.), chairman of the subcommittee, said he intends to pursue the matter and may call FBI Director Louis J. Freeh to answer questions at a second hearing.

Jewell discovered the bomb before it exploded in Centennial Olympic Park on July 27, 1996. After being hailed a hero, he quickly became the FBI’s main suspect and was interrogated by agents who pretended they wanted him to participate in a video about responding to bomb scenes.

The FBI sent Jewell a letter last fall clearing him of any involvement in the blast, which killed one and injured 111 others. Authorities now say they believe the bombing is linked to two other Atlanta-area explosions this year--one at an abortion clinic and one at a gay nightclub.

Robert Bryant, an assistant director of the FBI, told the House panel there is no merit to Jewell’s charge of an FBI-media conspiracy to portray him as the bomber. And he denied that the agency had tapped Jewell’s phone.

“I deeply regret that his name was leaked to the media,” said Bryant. “It not only damaged Richard Jewell in his reputation, but it has caused the FBI extreme damage to its investigation.”

The FBI’s efforts to track that leak drew fire Wednesday from lawmakers, who asserted the agency had made only a perfunctory attempt to identify the person who gave Jewell’s name to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.