ANNAPOLIS, Md. (DC News Now) — Gov. Wes Moore held a news conference Friday to address the recent controversy concerning the General Services Administration’s (GSA) choice of Greenbelt, Md. as the new home for the FBI’s national headquarters.
According to a letter that FBI Director Christopher Wray sent to staff members, Wray said he had “concerns about fairness and transparency” regarding the process that led to the selection of Greenbelt in Prince George’s County.
The letter said that a three-person panel that was comprised of two GSA officials and one FBI official unanimously chose Springfield, Va., as the future site according to criteria in the selection process. It stated that the “senior executive” with the GSA, who once worked for Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), rejected the three-person panel’s recommendations, which “is exceedingly rare.”
For quite some time, the location in Virginia seemed to be the frontrunner, given its proximity to the FBI training facility and Quantico.
Maryland officials contended that the federal government’s decision was legitimate. Moore said Friday that the decision was “the right decision for the county and for the FBI, too.”
Moore went on to say, “We’ve always known we won on the merits” and that the FBI will be “more successful in their mission.”
The governor continued to emphasize that the old building in Washington, D.C. was “falling down” and that the GSA “weighed the facts and found that Greenbelt was the best site” for the FBI facility.
