Columnist Jeff German: Knowlton’s expertise to enhance panel on terrorism

Friday, Oct. 31, 2003 | 5:19 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION Nov. 1 - 2, 2003

Jeff German's column appears Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays in the Sun. Reach him at german@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4067.

IT WASN'T one of Gov. Kenny Guinn's most-publicized appointments.

But the quiet naming of Ellen Knowlton last week to the Nevada Homeland Security Commission could become one of the governor's most important decisions.

It certainly is intriguing.

Knowlton, you see, is the special agent in charge of the Las Vegas FBI office and a prominent member of the federal government, which many Nevadans have loved to hate over the years.

Our acrimonious relationship with the feds dates back to the 1960s, when Attorney General Robert Kennedy, in the middle of a war on organized crime, instructed the FBI to conduct widespread wiretapping of the casino industry.

In the 1980s the FBI was accused of overreaching in an investigation that led to the impeachment of U.S. District Judge Harry Claiborne and in a sweeping undercover probe that ensnared several politicians on bribery charges.

And there have been heated battles with other federal agencies -- such as the Bureau of Land Management over the use of public lands, the Internal Revenue Service over a crackdown on tip-reporting and the Department of Energy over storing high-level nuclear waste near Las Vegas.

But singling out Knowlton for the part-time state position breaks that bitter tradition. And frankly, I think that's good.

Guinn didn't publicly announce the appointment, as he did a month ago when he named 18 other commission members, including Sheriff Bill Young and former Sheriff Jerry Keller. Her name simply appeared on the list of commission members in the posted agenda of the panel's upcoming meeting on Wednesday.

The appointment was made after Guinn's general counsel, Keith Munro, concluded that there was nothing in state or federal laws preventing the governor from naming Knowlton to the commission, which was created by the Legislature this year to oversee the state's efforts to combat terrorism.

One of the commission's key duties is recommending where to allocate millions of anti-terrorism funds coming into the state from the federal government.

Guinn spokesman Greg Bortolin acknowledges it is rare to name a federal official to a high-profile state panel, and he couldn't recall whether the governor has previously made such an appointment.

All of Guinn's recent predecessors, former Govs. Bob Miller, Richard Bryan, Bob List and Mike O'Callaghan, also couldn't recall putting a top federal official on a state commission while that official was still in federal service.

"This is a unique situation because of the nature of the commission," Bortolin says. "The FBI is a valuable component of homeland security."

That it is, which is why, if Knowlton's selection is indeed proper on a procedural basis as Guinn contends, it makes a lot of sense.

The FBI is the leading law enforcement agency on the Southern Nevada Joint Terrorism Task Force, which was put together after the Sept. 11 attacks two years ago. Federal, state and local law enforcement agencies all have members on the task force.

Jerry Bussell, the governor's homeland security advisor, says Knowlton should be able to give the Homeland Security Commission access to important worldwide intelligence information collected by the FBI.

She brings a lot to the table in the war on terrorism.

Her appointment may be unusual, given Nevada's troubled history with the federal government.

But it also may turn out to be very prudent -- and crucial to the state's efforts to protect the homeland.