AP Photo/Charlie Dharapak
Former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno testifies before the commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks.
Posted on 04/14/2004 8:13:43 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - Contradicting her successor, former Attorney General Janet Reno said Wednesday that nothing prevented the sharing of FBI intelligence with criminal investigators working on counterterrorism. Reno, speaking Wednesday at the University of Kentucky, took issue with Attorney General John Ashcroft's statement Tuesday that a legal restriction referred to as "the wall" prevented the FBI from sharing information with investigators.
"I know of nothing that would have prohibited, based on what I've seen, proper follow-up" in cases Ashcroft referred to, Reno said.
Reno and Ashcroft testified before the Sept. 11 Commission Tuesday in Washington. Ashcroft blamed Reno for issuing "draconian" guidelines in 1995 that he said made sharing information even more difficult.
On Wednesday, Reno said her guidelines actually required the FBI to contact investigators and discuss cases.
"It was not really restrictions," she said. "It was exactly the opposite situation."
During his testimony on Tuesday, Louis J. Freeh, who headed the FBI from 1993 to mid-2001, noted two primary findings by the commission: a lack of resources to fight terror threats and legal impediments that made terrorism investigations by agents difficult.
Reno also talked about a lack of resources, but said that under Freeh, the FBI did a poor job of keeping track of the information its agents gathered.
"It was important, if counterterrorism was the bureau's priority as it should be, that its resources should match its priorities," Reno said.
Reno was in Lexington to speak to about 300 students at UK's College of Law as part of a commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court's Brown vs. Board of Education ruling. The ruling ended racial segregation in public schools.
Former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno testifies before the commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks.
"You think you are gonna ask me why I dared refuse repeat DOJ requests for investigations of dangerous illegal aliens.
Do you really think you are gonna get to ask me why I arranged to stovepipe intelligence to make intraagency effective communication useless.
Do you really think you are gonna get to ask me why illegal aliens who were felons became voters for our Democratic party.
Do you really think you are gonna get to ask me why I OK'd the use of stolen FBI files on DNC computers.
Not a chance. Following LBJ, your gonads are in my fist.
Your FBI files are in my computer. Now go away. "
"Some wonder whether [Clinton] was distracted by the legal and
political quagmire of the Monica Lewinsky case.
And even former Clinton aides now regret that the
battle with bin Laden and his Al-Qaida organization was never fully joined.
'Clearly, not enough was done,' said Jamie Gorelick,
a former deputy attorney general in the Clinton administration.
'We should have caught this. Why this happened, I don't know.
Responsibilities were given out. Resources were given. Authorities existed.
We should have prevented this.'
Since Reno testified first and made her comment, it was Ashcroft who contradicted her, not the other way around. These people are only trying to make it look like Ashcroft was the one who was lying. I hate the press.
Trying to emulate Slick Willy by telling a BIG whopper and figuring the democrat faithful will drink thier koolaid again.
"She" is not called the rocky mountain oyster of S.E. Florida for nothing.
She should've ended the sentence there.
At least then she'd be telling the truth.
"When the CIA finally told the FBI that al-Midhar and al-Hazmi were in the country in late August, agents in New York searched for the suspects. But because of the wall, FBI headquarters refused to allow criminal investigators who knew the most about the most recent al Qaeda attack to join the hunt for the suspected terrorists.
"At that time, a frustrated FBI investigator wrote headquarters, quote, 'Whatever has happened to this — someday someone will die — and wall or not — the public will not understand why we were not more effective and throwing every resource we had at certain 'problems.' "
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.