FBI Reprimands Scot for Lockerbie Release

The normally reserved Robert Mueller, director of the FBI, sent a scathing letter to Scotland's justice minister for releasing the Lockerbie bomber on grounds of compassion, which he termed an act that "gives comfort to terrorists" around the world. "Your action," he wrote to Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill, "makes a mockery of the grief of the families who lost their own on December 21, 1988. You could not have spent much time with the families, certainly not as much time as others involved in the investigation and prosecution." Mueller led the investigation into the airplane bombing that killed 270 when he was at the Justice Department. In the letter, which he also sent to the families of the victims, Mueller recounted seeing a teenager's single sneaker and toys in the suitcase of a victim who was heading home to spend Christmas with his children. He ended the letter on a frustrated note: "Where, I ask, is the justice?"