IT problems blamed in McVeigh case

Antiquated FBI computer systems likely caused the bureau to lose thousands of documents about the Oklahoma City bombing that the government failed to turn over to Timothy McVeigh's attorneys.

News of the mistake came just days after the FBI reported that it had selected DynCorp to spearhead its Trilogy program, a three-year plan to upgrade its information technology infrastructure.

The Justice Department notified McVeigh's attorneys of the documents on May 10, acknowledging that they should have been made available during the discovery phase of the bombing trial, according to a Justice statement.

The documents include investigation reports, interview notes and physical evidence such as photographs, correspondence and tapes, Justice officials said.

FBI archivists in Oklahoma City found the 3,135 documents as they made a final search for records related to the bombing at the agency's 56 field offices. Neither FBI nor Justice officials would comment on the specific systems that the bureau uses to track such documents.

Attorney General John Ashcroft postponed McVeigh's scheduled execution until June 11 to give his lawyers and the government an opportunity to review the material.

The document mix-up follows the FBI's award of the first contract under its Trilogy program. The contract will provide for the upgrade of the FBI's worldwide IT networks, computer systems and selected software applications, officials said.

The contract has a value of more than $51 million in the first year, FBI officials said. About $100 million has been collected for the program from previous funding approvals.