White House considers MI-5-type security division

Friday, March 25, 2005

By ERIC LICHTBLAU
THE NEW YORK TIMES

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration is considering a major restructuring of the Justice Department that would create a powerful new national security division in an effort to better consolidate and coordinate terrorism and espionage investigations, officials say.

The concept, still preliminary, reflects concerns among some administration officials that national security cases handled by Justice Department lawyers and investigators remain fragmented at times because of bureaucratic divisions, despite structural changes made since the Sept. 11 attacks.