• In the successful conclusion of an investigation that involved hundreds of agents stationed across the globe, four members of the terrorist organization of Osama Bin Ladin met justice in May. A federal jury found them guilty of 302 counts stemming from the 1998 bombings of the American embassies in Tanzania and Kenya.

• Working with Algerian and Canadian officials, the FBI helped secure the conviction of Ahmed Ressam, the so-called millennium bomber. Ressam was caught attempting to enter the United States from Canada with a car full of explosives in the weeks before New Year’s Day 2000.
• In cooperation with Scottish authorities, the men and women of the FBI played an indispensable role in the murder conviction of a Libyan national for the bombing of Pan Am flight 103, an act of cowardice that caused the deaths of 259 passengers and 11 residents of Lockerbie, Scotland.

• A federal jury in Miami convicted five Cuban agents for espionage on behalf of the Cuban government. FBI agents documented a wide-ranging conspiracy, including the spy ring’s complicity in the murder of four Cuban-American humanitarians seeking freedom for their former countrymen. The tireless work of FBI agents literally made
possible the conviction of these criminals, who were part of the largest spy ring known to have been dismantled in the history of the United States.

All FBI employees deserve to share in the honor and gratitude the American people justly feel for these successful investigations. By heeding the call to duty and sacrifice, the FBI has truly become the foremost law enforcement agency in the world. Perhaps, more important, the three words inscribed in the FBI’s seal—fidelity, bravery, integrity—are deeply embedded in the character of the men and women who work here. You have served America well, and both your country and the world are grateful for your sacrifice.

Today, at the dawning of the 21st century—the New American Century—a new challenge arises. A new call goes out. Carved over the entrance to the Department of Justice is this admonition: “Justice in the life and conduct of the state is possible only as
first it resides in the hearts and souls of the citizens.” This inscription serves as a reminder to all of us who work in the Department of Justice. It tells us first that justice is not the duty of government alone but the work of citizens as well. It also cautions us that when the people lose their faith in the institutions they trust to enforce the law, justice is no longer possible.
Each of us here today is a steward of justice.

Each of us has the responsibility to protect the public trust. We have the responsibility, as well, to recognize when the public trust has been shaken.

No American has escaped injury from the espionage to which Robert Hanssen pled guilty. But, for the men and women of the FBI, the wound is deeper. Together, Americans have felt the shame caused by the treachery of a countryman; the FBI has felt the pain inflicted by the betrayal of a brother.

The problem of the Hanssen case joins the difficulty with the files in the McVeigh case in injuring the public trust. And, these cases harken back to earlier tragedies in Texas and Idaho. In each of these cases, the injury was lessened considerably by
the vast majority of men and women in the Bureau who performed their duties with exemplary professionalism and integrity. Men and women like the agents who quietly investigated Robert Hanssen—their colleague and coworker—to reveal his activities and ultimately bring him to justice.