A government watchdog opened an investigation Thursday into claims that the selection of Maryland as the FBI's new multibillion-dollar headquarters location involved a decision-making process tainted by a conflict of interest.
The inspector general for the General Services Administration, the agency tasked with choosing the location, confirmed the investigation in a letter to Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), whose home state lost out during the process.
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"My office is initiating an evaluation of GSA’s selection of the site," Inspector General Robert Erickson wrote.
"Our objective will be to assess the agency’s process and procedures for the site selection to relocate the FBI Headquarters," Erickson added. "We intend to begin this work immediately and will share with you and the relevant committees a copy of any report which may result from this evaluation."
The inspector general's announcement came after the GSA revealed this month it had chosen Greenbelt, Maryland, over Springfield, Virginia, following a contentious decadelong feud between the two states over which would ultimately host the headquarters.
In a surprise turn, FBI Director Christopher Wray responded in a letter to employees shortly after the announcement of the new location that he was dissatisfied by the choice. He wrote that a panel had unanimously chosen Springfield as the preferred site before a lone GSA official with a "potential conflict of interest" stepped in and unilaterally selected Greenbelt.
"Unfortunately, we have concerns about fairness and transparency in the process and GSA's failure to adhere to its own site selection plan," Wray wrote in the memo.
The official in question, Nina Albert, worked as a top Biden-appointed employee in the GSA and had final say over the selection of Greenbelt, according to public documents about the selection.
Before joining GSA, Albert was a vice president at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority until July 2021.
WMATA and the state of Maryland own the land chosen for the new FBI campus, and WMATA stands to benefit from the roughly 11,000 employees expected to use the facility, which will be situated in the immediate vicinity of the Greenbelt Metro station.
While Maryland leaders have celebrated the decision and brushed off any notions of an unfair process, Virginia lawmakers have on a bipartisan basis aligned with Wray and conveyed outrage about it.
Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA), who represents Springfield, called the process "contaminated" in a House hearing this month.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) joined a group of Virginia leaders in calling for a decision reversal, saying the process had been "irrevocably undermined."
GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan has denied any wrongdoing by her agency.
"I will tell you that we fully vetted Ms. Albert because we knew of her prior employment at WMATA," Carnahan said in congressional testimony this month, adding that Albert "was hired as the top public building official and real estate expert at GSA."
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Several of the Virginia leaders applauded the inspector general's inquiry announcement, saying in a joint statement, "Given the overwhelming evidence suggesting that the General Services Administration (GSA) administered a site selection process fouled by politics, we agree that an inspector general investigation is the appropriate next step."
They also called on GSA to pause any activity related to the relocation while the investigation remains open.