US House of Representatives
An influential member of Congress is accusing the FBI and the Defense Department of retaliating against a soldier who he says was attempting to improve efforts to help rescue Americans held hostage overseas. "I was dismayed to learn that the FBI insisted that an investigation be initiated" against the solider, who was alleged to have shared information about rescue efforts and capabilities, Rep. Duncan Hunter wrote on Tuesday in a letter to FBI Director James Comey obtained by The Daily Beast. Hunter, a leading critic of what he considers the Obama administration's anemic efforts to rescue Americans held by terrorists, called the investigation "strictly retaliatory" and said the soldier's immediate command had declined to take any action against him. At that point, Hunter told Comey, the FBI "approached" a senior military official, Army Gen. Mary Legere, whose potential nomination as the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency Hunter had opposed. (She didn't get the job.) It's not clear from the letter what assistance Legere provided to the investigation. The soldier isn't named. Hunter also told Comey that next week he would introduce legislation to create a new "interagency coordinator" in charge of hostage recovery efforts, "effectively removing the FBI as the lead government organization.”