Senate to Hold Hearings on Able Danger, Info Sharing

Fox News ^ | August 25, 2005 | Catherine Herridge, Molly Hooper and Liza Porteus

[george76]

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., plans to hold a hearing on the "Able Danger" allegations and the larger issue of information-sharing between the Pentagon and the FBI...

Able Danger...learned a year before terror attacks that lead hijacker Mohamed Atta and other terrorists were already in the United States.

One of the central Able Danger claims — that military lawyers blocked the sharing of the Atta information from the FBI in the late summer and early fall of 2000 —will be a priority of the committee's probe...

Some analysts involved with Able Danger have recently gone public with their findings, saying they were discouraged from looking further into Atta, and their attempts to share their information with the FBI were thwarted, because Atta was a legal foreign visitor at the time.

"This story needs to be told. The American people need to be told what could have been done to prevent 3,000 people from losing their lives," said Rep. Curt Weldon.

"There's something very sinister going on here that really troubles me," Weldon told FOX News on Thursday, blasting the Sept. 11 commission for not taking the claims more seriously. He said some panel members were trying to smear Shaffer and Able Danger.

"What's the Sept. 11 commission got to hide?" Weldon asked. "The commission is trying to spin this because they're embarrassed about what's coming out. In two weeks with two staffers, I've uncovered more in this regard than they did with 80 staffers and $15 million of taxpayer money."

Weldon added that at least five people on the federal payroll will testify under oath about the validity of the Able Danger intelligence.

"When this is over, the Sept. 11 commission is going to have egg all over their face," he said.

[lugsoul]

Countdown to the first post decrying the inevitable whitewash...

[atomicpossum]

Arlen "Status Quo" Specter.

[stylin19a]

oh pick me ! pick me !
they better be swearing-in Jamie Gorlick....

[Bigun]

Oh I'm THRILLED that Arlen "Magic Bullet" Specter will hold hearings as there is NO telling what HE may uncover!

[mewzilla]

Countdown to the first post decrying the inevitable whitewash...

And you expect something else?

[lugsoul]

What I expect is whatever those who are steering the process will view as most beneficial to their political fortunes. If Arlen is driving the bus, I'd expect him to use this as an opportunity to ingratiate himself with those superiors he occasionally bucks - so, a cursory glossing over. If others are driving the process, well, then it depends on who...

[Peach]

Weldon said in a statement that doing so "might give the unfortunate impression that its results are predetermined."

The congressman said he spoke to DiRita on Wednesday and that "he was backpedaling left and right," claiming he was misquoted about the status of the search.

[Danae]

Oooo. Thank you Arlen for illustrating just how BRILLIANTLY congress, well shoot the whole bloody government, has WASTED MY MONEY! Goody, now Arlen is gonna waste more of it just to prove what everybody already knows. Hey Arlen, the sky is blue, how bout giving us a commission to prove it. There must be some pork barrel funds left right? </Sarcasm>

This is a dead horse. Everybody knows about Jamie now. We all know where all that crappola came from, Bill and Hill. Lets roast the REAL perps if you are going to do anything Arlen. Otherwise you really ARE wasting our money.

[ImpotentRage]

I was pleased when I first read the headline...then I saw who was chairing the committee. What a joke.

[caisson71]

Senate to hold hearings on Able Danger? Bring out the clowns and dancing asses last used in the 9/11 Commission. There's more Washington theater planned.

[over3Owithabrain]

"The Able Danger memo went into Sandy Berger's pants pocket, travelled downward to his socks, and exited his right shoe"

[WoodstockCat]

Ok, who is on the Judiciary Committee from the Republican side that we can count on calling Gorelick as a witness?

[truth_seeker]

Who is runninbg the Senate? Specter or Frist?

[NormsRevenge]

FR Archives Keyword Search Results for Gorelick Wall

[Dat Mon]

Having this in the judiciary committee is a big, probably fatal mistake. It is an exercise in masochism...AT BEST. If it is to be held in the Senate at all...it should be in Pat Roberts Senate Intelligence committee.

Are we going to be treated to the spectacle of Ted Kennedy, Chuck Schumer, Patrick Leahy et al using this event for more political grandstanding and political attacks on republicans?

The secret (in part) proceedings will be leaked to Gorelick and the other Clintonoids to facilitate their 'prep' work before their testimony.

Its not a matter of stupidity anymore to me...no politician is this stupid.

[Stellar Dendrite]

Frist was running the senate? could have fooled me

[jimbo123]

http://judiciary.senate.gov/members.cfm

Arlen Specter
CHAIRMAN, PENNSYLVANIA

Orrin G. Hatch
UTAH

Patrick J. Leahy
RANKING DEMOCRATIC MEMBER, VERMONT

Charles E. Grassley
IOWA

Edward M. Kennedy
MASSACHUSETTS

Jon Kyl
ARIZONA

Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
DELAWARE

Mike DeWine
OHIO

Herbert Kohl
WISCONSIN

Jeff Sessions
ALABAMA

Dianne Feinstein
CALIFORNIA

Lindsey Graham
SOUTH CAROLINA

Russell D. Feingold
WISCONSIN

John Cornyn
TEXAS

Charles E. Schumer
NEW YORK

Sam Brownback
KANSAS

Richard J. Durbin
ILLINOIS

Tom Coburn
OKLAHOMA

[fantom]

there will many more of these until they get it right. each time this stuff comes up they look more foolish. this isn't about kickbacks , pork or blue dresses . this is a big deal. if weldon and others have the goods , this will be more than any of these hacks can control. slowly the fog will lift. these old fools have had their day . information will rule.

[Spunky]

I was listening to a talk show late last night and Schaffer called in. He was talking about when Ben Venista called into one of the talk shows and said they could not investigate because the TECHNOLOGY that collected the information NO LONGER EXISTED.

Listening to Schaffer talk I got the impression he was saying that Ben Venista was saying they could not investigate because the TECHNOLOGY (ABLE DANGER) no longer existed. That is true. They had disbanded. He said they are desperately trying to get together another group and it will be called ABLE (superior or suspicion or something that started with an S) I can't remember what the S stood for.