Posted on 04/15/2004 6:04:00 AM PDT by ConservativeMajority
WASHINGTON (Talon News) -- House Judiciary Committee Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr. (R-WI) called on 9/11 Commissioner Jamie Gorelick to resign Wednesday over what he says is a conflict of interest he revealed during Attorney General John Ashcroft's testimony before the panel. Ashcroft pointed to a 1995 memo written by the former deputy attorney general that heightened the 'wall' prohibiting the sharing of intelligence information and criminal information.
In a press release, Sensenbrenner said, "Scrutiny of this policy lies at the heart of the commission's work. Ms. Gorelick has an inherent conflict of interest as the author of this memo and as a government official at the center of the events in question."
He cited the commission's own guidelines on recusals that states, "commissioners and staff will recuse themselves from investigating work they performed in prior government service."
Sensenbrenner said, "Commissioner Gorelick's memo directing a policy that '[goes] beyond what is legally required' indicates that her judgment and actions as the Deputy Attorney General in the Reno Justice Department are very much in question before the commission."
In his testimony, Attorney General Ashcroft called Gorelick's DOJ policy "the single greatest structural cause for September 11" and said that the policy "embraced flawed legal reasoning."
Sensenbrenner believes that Gorelick is in the "unfair position of trying to address the key issue before the commission when her own actions are central to the events at issue."
He added, "The public cannot help but ask legitimate questions about her motives."
Ashcroft told the commission in his opening statement that in 1995, the Justice Department imposed a series of draconian restrictions on the FBI. He said the wall created was a barrier between law enforcement and the intelligence community.
"In 1995, the Justice Department designed a system destined to fail," Ashcroft said.
The Attorney General testified that that wall specifically impeded the investigation into Zaccarias Moussaoui, Khalid al-Midhar and Nawaf al-Hazmi. He pointed out that after the FBI arrested Moussaoui shortly before 9/11, agents became suspicious of his interest in commercial aircraft and sought approval for a criminal warrant to search his computer. The warrant was rejected because FBI officials feared breaching the wall.
He also said that 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. It was al-Midhar and al-Hamzi that were among the hijackers of the plane that crashed into the Pentagon.
Ashcroft quoted a chillingly prescient FBI investigator who wrote headquarters about his frustration over the incident.
The memo said, "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.' Let's hope the national security law unit will stand behind their decision then, especially since the biggest threat to us, UBL, is getting the most protection."
He also noted the FBI headquarters response, which was, "We are all frustrated with this issue. ... These are the rules. NSLU does not make them up."
Ashcroft said, "But somebody did make these rules. Someone built this wall."
He then read from the memo that he declassified only days earlier and said, "Full disclosure compels me to inform you that its author is a member of this commission."
He was speaking about Gorelick, who was clearly stung by the revelation. Her subsequent questioning of Ashcroft was not as contentious as some had expected, based on the harsh partisan treatment of other members of the Bush administration.
Gorelick appeared on CNN Wednesday and told Wolf Blitzer that the alleged conflict of interest was "a bogus factual issue."
She pointed out that neither chairmen Thomas Kean nor Lee Hamilton thought she should resign. The former deputy attorney general did confirm the she was the author of the memo, but said that it was "a creature of statute that existed from the mid 1980s."
Gorelick continued to maintain that no conflict of interest existed.
She said, "We're just going to move on from this. ... I'm not going to give any credit to this. ... I'm not going to talk about this, it's not worth it."
Blitzer did not ask her why she did not disclose the memo to the commission during the months prior to Ashcroft's testimony.
Sensenbrenner said, "While it is regrettable that this conflict had not come to light sooner, this commission's work and forthcoming recommendations are too important to be questioned in this way, and may be devalued by Ms. Gorelick's continued participation as a commissioner."
He indicated that Gorelick's work as the deputy attorney general under Janet Reno could be quite valuable to the commission's work preparing 'a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.' He said, "However, that contribution should come as a witness before the commission - not as a member."
The House Judiciary chairman said, "Key figures like former FBI Director Freeh, Director Mueller, Attorney General Ashcroft, former presidential adviser Richard Clarke, and National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice have all testified before the commission and would have rightly sparked indignation about a conflict of interest had these individuals also been members of the commission."
He added, "Testifying before the commission is Ms. Gorelick's proper role, not sitting as a member of this independent commission."
Copyright © 2004 Talon News -- All rights reserved.
In her mind anyway, what little of it there is.
I don't give a fig about her behavior behind closed doors. In public, she became partisan for the express purpose of using the public testimony to attack the President.
And the fact that she did not disclose the memo is damning in and of itself. I wonder how many other memos there are.
I am to the point that I think that somewhere in the Clinton papers in Little Rock is a memo that says: "Let those terrorists in...they gave me a big fat check. Signed, BC"
"Do you really think you are gonna get to 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 and your FBI files are in my computer.
Now go away. "
FREEP and DEMAND THAT GORELICK BE REMOVED!:
Congressman Tom DeLay
Majority Leader Office
H-107 The Capitol
Washington, DC 20515
p. (202)225-4000
f. (202)225-5117
Congressional Office
242 Cannon HOB
Washington, DC 20515
p. (202)225-5951
f. (202)225-5241
FREEP and DEMAND THAT GORELICK BE REMOVED!:
Phone Commission at 202-331-4060
Email Commission at info@9-11commission.gov
put Thomas Kean in the subject line.
DEMAND THAT GORELICK BE REMOVED! FOR EITHER REASON #1 or #2 or both or other reasons suggested above or below.
info@9-11commission.gov
DONT FORGET - PUT THOMAS KEAN IN THE SUBJECT LINE
FREEP and DEMAND THAT GORELICK BE REMOVED!:
Call the President. Leave a meassage at the White House. Switchboard: 202-456-1414
FAX: 202-456-2461
E-Mail President George W. Bush: president@whitehouse.gov
Vice President Richard Cheney: vice.president@whitehouse.gov
BREAKING: Gorelick (put on the Committee by Daschle)
not only created the background for the 911 Atrocities but now is covering it up
for the terrorists. Gorelick is a litigation partner of Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering.
which represents Prince Mohammed al-Faisal al-Saud, the House of Saud,
against a lawsuit filed by a coalition of 600 Sept. 11 families.
Jamie S Gorelick
Vice Chair
Fannie Mae
$2,000 John Kerry
XXXX Williams Ln
Chevy Chase, MD 20815
Jamie Gorelick
Partner
Wilmer Cutler and Pickering
$2,000 Dick Gephardt
XXXXWilliams Ln
Chevy Chase, MD 20815
Jamie Gorelick
Attorney
Wilmer Cutler & Pickering
$1,000 Wesley Clark
XXXX Williams Ln
Chevy Chase, MD 20815
CONCLUSION:
"That criminal, Gorelick, and her supporters are trying to use 'plausible deniability'.
Book her and the rest of them under RICOH, Dano."
(steely)
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