Gorelick Licked

The American Spectator ^ | 4.14.04 | Wlady Pleszczynski

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Gorelick Licked

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Published 4/14/2004 12:05:12 AM

His testimony is likely to be overshadowed by the president's news conference, but Attorney General John Ashcroft served notice yesterday that he is one administration player not afraid at all to go on offense against the Democratic louts on the so-called 9/11 commission. The full effect of the bombshell he dropped yesterday afternoon will take some time to settle. "The single greatest structural cause for September 11 was the wall that segregated criminal investigators and intelligence agents," he said in his stirring and air-clearing opening remarks. "Government erected this wall. Government buttressed this wall. And before September 11, government was blinded by this wall." Who built and reinforced this wall? Ashcroft pointed to Justice Department guidelines from 1995 that "imposed draconian barriers to communications between law enforcement and intelligence communities." It was a system "destined to fail." He pointed to investigations impeded by these rules, including efforts that might have nabbed three of the 9/11 conspirators weeks if not days before the attacks. Then he got to his real point. The commission itself may not have known of the 1995 memorandum that laid out these guidelines -- "so I have declassified it for you and the public to review," Ashcroft told the commission. Next, the dagger: "Full disclosure compels me to inform you that its author is a member of this Commission." Ashcroft did not need to name names for all to know that he had just outed Jamie Gorelick, the long-time number two in the Clinton Justice Department and one of the most transparently partisan Democrats on the 9/11 commission. Not only did Ashcroft add to the growing pressure on Gorelick to testify before the commission rather than serve on it, specifically about what she and the administration she served failed to do about terrorism. Above all, he discredited her in the eyes of her fellow commissioners. Clearly she had never informed them of this memorandum. Now they were caught by surprise and made to look foolish. One could detect the power of Ashcroft's bombshell in the subsequent questioning. Richard Ben-Veniste's edge turned to smarm. He greeted the two surprise guests who had accompanied Ashcroft to the hearing, his respected former deputy Larry Thompson and Solicitor General Ted Olson. Ben-Veniste referred to him as "Mr. Olson," and offered renewed condolences on the death of Barbara Olson on 9/11. With Olson on Ashcroft's side, there was no way he could look bad. Ben-Veniste's only pointed question proved an embarrassment, repeating as it did morning press stories fed by Democrat leaks to the effect that Ashcroft would be asked about why he had started flying in government planes and not commercially before 9/11. When Ashcroft replied that all his personal flying had continued to be done commercially, as was his wife's, Ben-Veniste was left red-faced, grasping at a dwindling number of straws. But he couldn't have been more red-faced than Gorelick. Initially she tried mouthing denials to fellow commissioners that she was author of the memo. But when a copy was handed to her, listing her as initialed author, she had nowhere to hide. Her round of questions came last. Unlike Bob Kerrey, say, who was cordial with Ashcroft and even said it was good to see the AG "on the mend" after his recent hospitalization and operation, Gorelick established no human contact during her half-hearted queries -- none of which engaged the central point of Ashcroft's opening statement. The Democrats wanted to play hardball, but ended up clubbed on the head themselves. Wlady Pleszczynski is executive editor of The American Spectator and editor of its website.

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[Torie]

The Dems thought that Ashcroft would be road kill in this hearing. At least that is what I sensed. They apparently were wrong.

[FreedomPoster]

Let's put a link to the declassified Gorelick Memo thread, in this thread:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1116962/posts

[Petronski]

The Murrah Bldg in OK city was blown up on April 19, 1995. Exactly what date in 1995 was that Gorelick memo published?

The Memo itself is undated. I too want to know: just when WAS it promulgated?

[yhwhsman]

Then he got to his real point. The commission itself may not have known of the 1995 memorandum that laid out these guidelines -- "so I have declassified it for you and the public to review," Ashcroft told the commission. Next, the dagger: "Full disclosure compels me to inform you that its author is a member of this Commission."

ROFLMBOFFLM

Is that what you call a byotch slap?

[Danette]

I didn't hear anything about it while switching between CBS and ABC nightly news.....or on Nightline.

Bias media.

[GeronL]

Ben-Veniste referred to him as "Mr. Olson," and offered renewed condolences on the death of Barbara Olson on 9/11. With Olson on Ashcroft's side, there was no way he could look bad

Remember BKO!! Kill terrorists!!

[arjay]

I thought Brit Hume hit Gorelick pretty hard. His guest political commentator, whose name I cannot recall, really slammed the commission as a partisan attack machine.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Ashcroft has been overshadowed a bit by Rumsfeld, but he is a Strong performer and doing a great and super important job!

To hear of his performance is truly heartwarming!

I saw a bit of Reno's performance....YUKE!

[expatguy]

I there anywhere I can see this now? Download it?

[ALOHA RONNIE]

.

NEVER FORGET that NOTHING happened in the CLINTON White House without HILLARY CLINTON knowing about it.

"Whenever BILL CLINTON was away or out of town, HILLARY sat in the Oval Office" =

...Author Chris Andersen in his book 'BILL & HILLARY: The Marriage'..

Ours is to only ask...

........"WHAT FOR..?"

.

[GeronL]

Rope-a-Dope

[Howlin]

Kean ordered NO CLAPPING so they left.

Look for the thread just put up about the 9-11 Widows!

[Utah Girl]

Gorelick tried to deny she was the author of the memo??? How stupid can one get...

[Howlin]

C-SPAN is rerunning the hearing right now; it's almost at the end of Pickard and Black, so Ashcroft is up next.

It's right at the very beginning. Do NOT miss it.

KABOOM!!!!

[Texasforever]

Democrats have a large character flaw. They create personas for other people and then come to believe that creation when dealing with them. They have created the "Bush is stupid" persona and then approach him as they would a stupid person. They then wonder why he outsmarts them. They did the same with Ashcroft and he handed them their heads. They never learn.

[Howlin]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1116962/posts

[GeronL]

AT some points Janet Reno forgot to keep lying, some of the Democrats were really confused.

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

Another thread has the memo images but I can't find a date on them anywhere other than the declassification date, April of this year.

Thanks for keeping me awake long enough to make it to NYPD tonight.LOL

[FlyVet]

Next, the dagger: "Full disclosure compels me to inform you that its author is a member of this Commission."

It's too bad Gore Lick wasn't the one questioning Ashcroft, and I wonder if there was a reason for that. Gore Lick, being a Clintonite, has no shame, otherwise she would have recused herself from the commission. The fox has been appointed to investigate the chicken coop. Clinton scums. The legacy never ends.