In his unusually pointed letter to staffers, Wray said the FBI has “concerns about fairness and transparency in the process and GSA’s failure to adhere to its own site selection plan,” adding that a senior GSA executive overruled a board decision and picked land that is owned by the executive’s previous employer, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.
A three-member panel had initially determined that Springfield, Virginia, was the best location. The decision of a political appointee overseeing the process to reject career officials’ “unanimous” recommendation, Wray wrote, wasn’t “‘inherently inappropriate,’ but it is ‘exceedingly rare.’”
“In particular, 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 said.
Source: FBI Director Wray criticizes selection of new headquarters site, citing ‘potential conflict’
