For a guy whose job is all about intelligence, FBI chief Robert Mueller showed a stunning lack of it Wednesday when he blithely told a Senate panel that he still hasn’t bothered calling NYPD’s top cop about the latest terror threat.
Never mind that New York lost thousands of people on 9/11 and the city remains the nation’s No. 1 terror target.
If Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly wanted to know more about the foiled Yemeni underwear bomb plot, he could have picked up the phone and called, Mueller sniffed.
“As I told Ray, he’s always welcome to call,” he said, repeatedly referring to the commissioner as “Ray.”
Mueller found himself being grilled by Sen. Chuck Schumer about his secret-hoarding after Kelly fumed Friday that the NYPD had been left in the dark on the details of the plot.
“That’s the type of information, quite frankly, that we need, deserve,” Kelly vented.
The FBI finally got around to briefing NYPD brass Monday — but Mueller made no effort to contact Kelly.
“I have not on this issue,” Mueller admitted. “I met with him about a month ago.”
That wasn’t good enough for Schumer. “Just a suggestion for the continued good operation, give him a call on this,” he said. “He didn’t ask me to ask you to, I am. Do that. Thanks.”
Mueller said he’d be happy to take Kelly’s call.
“I know,” Schumer quickly replied. “Let’s not get into who calls whom. I am asking you to call.”
Finally, a light bulb went on. “I’m happy to do it,” Mueller replied.
The NYPD declined to comment on Mueller’s appearance.
“No, no, no, no,” Mueller insisted. “There are always bumps in the road. And every six months or so, Ray Kelly and I get together and discuss those bumps in the road and move on.”
Mueller may say the FBI and the NYPD work well together, but an FBI source said that’s far from true.
“It’s been tense,” the source said. “There were always problems, but the people on the ground worked together. Now, there is much more tension on the ground, about who knows what, when.”
John Feal, a 9/11 activist who was injured while working at Ground Zero, said it’s exactly this kind of interagency squabbling that enabled the terrorists to attack.
“It just means we’re going to repeat 9/11 all over again,” he said.
Rep. Pete King (R-L.I.), who heads the House Homeland Security Committee, said “the bottom line” is that Kelly should have heard directly from Mueller.
“We have to assume that sooner or later, everything targets New York.”
By Alison Gendar AND Corky Siemaszko / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
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