BREAKING!!! - Weldon says records were ordered destroyed!! (Able Danger)

Dom Giordano Show - 1210AM Radio "Big Talker" - Philadelphia | 29 AUG 05 | Vanity

[Lancey Howard]

Congressman Curt Weldon (R - Pennsylvania) gave another exclusive interview to Dom Giordano this evening (Monday) and broke the news that he will be giving a speech on September 8th (next Monday) during which he will present yet another 'Able Danger' witness. This new witness will attest (and will swear under oath when called) that he was "ordered to destroy records" relating to the 'Able Danger' program.

This order to destroy the records occurred prior to 9-11-01. Weldon intimated that it happened during the Clinton Administration.

The witness, who Weldon did not name, says that he was ordered to destroy records and was threatened with jail if he failed to comply. Weldon said that he has the names of the people involved, including the person who gave the order, and HE WILL NAME THEM in his speech.

Congressman Weldon also said that his staff has met with Senator Arlen Specter's (R - Pennsylvania) staff regarding the upcoming Judiciary Committee hearings. Weldon wants to be sure that everybody is on the same page. Weldon also said that he will do whatever he has to do to make sure that ALL the facts come out and that the process "is not manipulated".

Curt Weldon is like a pit bull on a steak. He expressed disgust with the "incompetence" of the 9-11 Commission and said that the victims of the 9-11 terror attacks deserve answers. Weldon is determined to see that they get them.

Weldon did express confidence in Tim Roehmer and John Lehman and speculated that perhaps the poor job done by the Commission was the result of an incompetent staff. Weldon sounded amazed and disappointed that so much important information was either glossed over or swept under the rug by the Commission.

Weldon will give his September 8th speech either to the National Press Club or to a "9-11 families" group which has asked him to speak. He apparently hasn't nailed down the exact venue yet.

(For those unfamiliar with Dom Giordano, he is a very good conservative local talk show host here in the Philadelphia area, an area which includes Curt Weldon's district. Weldon comes on Dom's show often and, like this evening, sometimes breaks news.)

[Republic]

One amazingly informative post regarding what happened at the upper levels of the DOG under clinton. Thank you TPC!

[ravingnutter]

There was a story on here yesterday about a data mining project on China that was shut down because it identified Condi as a Chinese spy or something like that, just because she was Provost at Stanford. They said it proved that open source data mining was not reliable. Could that have been part of AD?

[An.American.Expatriate]

Here's what I don't get... The contractor puts on the show and rather than getting praise, he gets horrified looks and...

DOD Regulations a the time (may be different now!) precluded the collection (for use) of information regarding US Persons.

The "for use" clause is important!!

The military was not prohibited from receiving information regarding US Persons, but, unless a clear and compelling case could be made otherwise, it could neither retain nor dissemminate the data!

The military could NOT pursue an active investigation of a US Person.

This alls means, if YOU were to walk in to an MI office and provide information regarding a US Person being involved in Espionage or Terrorism, MI could pass that info to the FBI (upon approval from the lawyers and the AG). They could NOT attempt to obtain any further information independantly!

To make matters even worse, if, during the course of an investigation, it becomes clear that US Persons are involved, the investigation STOPS! The results to that point are reviewed and passed to the FBI (via the AG).

Finally, although I would LOVE to pin this on Gorelick & the Clinton Administration - 90% of these restrictions were already in place during the Reagan Administration! Gorelick merely created an even HIGHER hurdle (for whatever nefarious reasons!!). This is the legacy of Hoover & the Vietnam Era.

[ravingnutter]

You are correct...as I explained to someone earlier who said AD was shut down in Feb 2001, only Rummy had been confirmed at that point and barely had the key to the executive washroom, much less enough info to make a decision to close down AD.

BUSH APPOINTEE CONFIRMATION LIST

DEFENSE:

Donald Rumsfeld Secretary of Defense 01/20/2001
Paul Wolfowitz Deputy Secretary 02/28/2001
Dov Zakheim Undersecretary, Comptroller 05/01/2001
Edward Aldridge Undersecretary for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics 05/08/2001
William James Haynes General Counsel 05/17/2001
Victoria Clarke Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs 05/17/2001
Powell A. Moore Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs 05/01/2001
Charles S. Abell Assistant Secretary for Force Management 05/03/2001
David S.C. Chu Undersecretary for Personnel and Readiness 05/26/2001
Douglas J. Feith Undersecretary for Policy 07/12/2001
Jack Dyer Crouch II Assistant Secretary for International Security Policy 08/01/2001
Stephen A. Cambone Principal Deputy Undersecretary for Policy 07/19/2001
James G. Roche Secretary of the Air Force 05/24/2001
Thomas White Secretary of the Army 05/24/2001
Gordon England Secretary of the Navy 05/22/2001
Susan Morrisey LivingstoneUndersecretary of the Navy 07/19/2001
Peter W. Rodman Assistant Secretary for International Security Affairs 07/12/2001
Marvin Sambur Assistant Secretary for Acquisition, Research and Development (Air Force) 11/08/2001
Alberto Jose Mora General Counsel, Navy 07/19/2001
Michael Montelongo Assistant Secretary for Financial Management and Comptroller, Air Force 07/12/2001
Steven John Morello, Sr. General Counsel, Army 07/12/2001
Thomas P. Christie Director, Operational Test and Evaluation 07/12/2001
Dionel M. Aviles Assistant Secretary for Financial Management & Comptroller, Navy 07/12/2001
Michael W. Wynne Deputy Undersecretary for Acquisition and Technology 07/12/2001
Diane K. Morales Deputy Undersecretary for Logistics and Material Readiness 07/12/2001
William A. Navas, Jr. Assistant Secretary for Manpower & Reserve Affairs, Navy 07/12/2001
Michael Parker Assistant Secretary for Civil Works, Army 09/26/2001
Reginald Jude Brown Assistant Secretary for Manpower & Reserve Affairs, Army 07/12/2001
John Stenbit Assistant Secretary for Command, Control, Communications & Intelligence 08/03/2001
Ronald M. Sega Director, Defense Research and Engineering 08/03/2001
John J. Young, Jr. Assistant Secretary for Research, Development & Acquisition, Navy 07/12/2001
Joseph E. Schmitz Inspector General 03/21/2002
Michael L. Dominguez Assistant Secretary for Manpower, Reserve Affairs, Installations & Environment, Air Force 08/03/2001
Nelson F. Gibbs Assistant Secretary for Installations & Environment, Air Force 08/03/2001
H.T. Johnson Assistant Secretary (Navy) for Installations & Environment 08/03/2001
Mario P. Fiori Assistant Secretary (Army) for Installations & Environment 08/03/2001
Sandra L. Pack Assistant Secretary (Army) for Financial Management & Comptroller 11/08/2001
William Winkenwerder, Jr. Assistant Secretary for Health Affairs 10/16/2001
Mary L. Walker General Counsel, Air Force 11/08/2001
Claude M. Bolton, Jr. Assistant Secretary for Acquisition, Logistics & Technology, Army 12/20/2001
Dale Klein Assistant to the Secretary for Nuclear and Chemical and Biological Defense Programs 11/08/2001
Peter B. Teets Undersecretary of the Air Force 12/07/2001
R. L. Brownlee Undersecretary of the Army 11/08/2001
Thomas Forrest Hall Assistant Secretary for Reserve Affairs 10/02/2002
Charles S. Abell Deputy Under Secretary for Personnel and Readiness 11/12/2002

[tiki]

I haope they have the goods on them all and the American people see that. We can't afford another president like the Clintons, ever.

[ravingnutter]

Thank you! That was exactly the story I was looking for on the data mining. Betcha they came "dangerously close" to something they weren't supposed to find. Seems kind of funny that they now come out with that story to discredit open source data mining. Will have to do some research on the author to see if there are any connections to the Clinton Admin.

[An.American.Expatriate]

Who in the chain of command could order the documents destroyed?.....Cohen, Clinton,....a general in charge. The army doesn't take orders from the likes of Gorelick. Who else?

Just about anyone! DOD regulations prohibited the retention or dissemination of information regarding US Persons. Once the decision was made (rightly or wrongly!!) that ATTA & Co (or any one else for that matter) were US Persons under Title 50 USC 1801, the information had to be destroyed!

[Osage Orange]

You have paid NO attention to the good that Specter has been doing this session of Congress, it is apparent.

Actually I have paid some attention.....but maybe I've not paid as close attention as you. I dunno... Please, if you would, give me some examples.

Generally...and in my opinion...Specter is just another poster boy for why we need term limits. I'm not just pulling my opinion out of thin air...there is solid evidence, some prudent thought, and a bit of gut thrown in. And it has nothing to do with Scottish Law. lol!!

If I was Weldon.....Arlen Specter would not have been told any specifics. And maybe Weldon just threw Specter a bone. I dunno....But that was and remains my take.

Sorry we differ.....

FRegards,

[ScaniaBoy]

As always, some excellent comments. Thanks.

[whitecastle1968]

nothing will ever come of this - it never does. The people in power have everything in place to protect themselves.

[Publius6961]

Is Sandy Berger in Jail Yet?

[SueRae]

Thanks for osting to those of us that can't listen in at work. And thank goodness for Curt Weldon. The fact that he's been invited to speak in front of 9-11 families saya volumes. Unfortunately, the old media will not make much of this until the victims' families make a fuss. The story is growing legs and the credit is Weldon's for staying on this like white on rice.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thank you so much for the ping to the fascinating post about the wall, Richard Scruggs, Mary Lawton and all!

The Downside Legacy notes only two incidents concerning Scruggs - both of which indicate that he was politically minded and the latter, that he was not adept at intelligence work.

Concerning Waco - on October 8, 1993 Richard Scruggs, a friend of Reno and head of Justice Department intelligence division wrote the 350 page after action report; Justice Department said in the report that the FBI and ATF acted responsibly and Koresh was to blame; the report was “The gas delivery systems the FBI used were completely nonincendiary”; to the contrary, the FBI told Justice w/I months of the raid it had used incendiary devices but the information was not made available to Congress or the public; the official reports do not mention the hole in the bunker roof or the involvement of ATF dealings with Special Forces senior officers

2. Mishandling of classified information. Politically motivated lack of prosecution:

THE WASHINGTON TIMES 2/14/00 Bill Gertz “….. The Justice Department did not prosecute the former head of its intelligence division despite his admission to investigators that he disclosed classified information, The Washington Times has learned. Richard Scruggs, a friend of Attorney General Janet Reno's, who brought him to Washington, provided secret information to two reporters about an electronic eavesdropping FBI operation against the Japanese group Aum Shin Rikyo in 1995, according to Justice Department officials familiar with the case. Justice Department officials disclosed some aspects of the investigation into unauthorized disclosure on condition of anonymity. It is the first time information has been disclosed from the secret court set up under the 1979 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The Justice Department's downplaying of the Scruggs findings is similar to the CIA's limited response to former director John Deutch, who was caught mishandling classified documents but not prosecuted. In both cases, government officials have charged that security infractions were covered up to protect senior personnel……”

THE WASHINGTON TIMES 2/14/00 Bill Gertz “…..Mr. Scruggs also was singled out for criticism in a recent internal Justice Department report on the department's mishandling of the case of fired Los Alamos scientist Wen Ho Lee, who is suspected of passing nuclear weapons secrets to China. The report by Justice official Randy Bellows criticized Mr. Scruggs for his role in setting the department's intelligence policy, including the decision not to seek a court order allowing the FBI to place Mr. Lee under surveillance early in the espionage investigation. One former U.S. government official said Mr. Scruggs' treatment showed the department covered up security infractions by senior officials, but aggressively pursued similar misconduct for lower-ranking officials. Numerous FBI investigations have been ordered by the Justice Department into other leaks of classified information…….. .CIA Director George Tenet, who is in charge of protecting all secrets, was never notified of the leak investigation, the officials said. The committees of Congress with oversight responsibility for the intelligence community also were not informed…..”

[GOPJ]

Finally, although I would LOVE to pin this on Gorelick & the Clinton Administration - 90% of these restrictions were already in place during the Reagan Administration! Gorelick merely created an even HIGHER hurdle (for whatever nefarious reasons!!). This is the legacy of Hoover & the Vietnam Era.

Is this the point where Hoover's powermania meets natural liberal paranoia? You know, the "oh my God, they're going to look at my library books" stuff?

Gorelick had a reason to create an even higher hurdle -- in spite of information to the contrary from those tasked with protecting the country. You move over that quickly - why? Do you think she's an idiot and that explains it? Hmmmm, actually, that's what I'm thinking. Any legitimate fears that need to be faced in this issue?

[johnny7]

This 'wall' was a joint effort between the Justice Department and DOD under the Clinton administration. Jamie Gorelick served in both.

They worked tirelessly to insulate domestic from foreign... and meld judicial to military so that in essence, any subversive, foreign 'visitor' could avoid detection.

Why Able Danger was shut down... and its information omitted in the 911 Report escapes imagination.

[SueRae]

"Perhaps he wants to position it closer to Berger's sentencing in September."

That was my first thought but it would be right after Labor Day and the Congress should all be back in town by then.

[longfellow]

Weldon intimated that it happened during the Clinton Administration.


Where's the jerk who was giving me crap when i wrote "Clinton Knew"

[ravingnutter]

An FR thread I just found:

Gorelick addressed her 1995 memo to several different people:

* Mary Jo White, US District Attorney, prosecuting the 1993 WTC bombing terrorists

* Louis Freeh, FBI Director

* Jo Ann Harris, Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division (DoJ)

* Richard Scruggs, Chief Counsel, Office of Intelligence Policy and Review

This last addressee makes the connection to the Department of Defense that the Gorelick defenders claim didn't exist. As Tate points out and as the OIPR website makes clear, the DoD looked to the OIPR for legal opinions on anything having to do with the legality of their operations, especially in regard to those involving domestic targets:

The Office of Intelligence Policy and Review, under the direction of the Counsel for Intelligence Policy, is responsible for advising the Attorney General on all matters relating to the national security activities of the United States. The Office prepares and files all applications for electronic surveillance and physical search under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, assists Government agencies by providing legal advice on matters of national security law and policy, and represents the Department of Justice on variety of interagency committees such as the National Counterintelligence Policy Board. The Office also comments on and coordinates other agencies' views regarding proposed legislation affecting intelligence matters.

The Office serves as adviser to the Attorney General and various client agencies, including the Central Intelligence Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Defense and State Departments, concerning questions of law, regulation, and guidelines as well as the legality of domestic and overseas intelligence operations.

The inclusion of Richard Scruggs, the lead counsel at the OIPR, intended to send the message that any advice given to the DoD, CIA, and State regarding the sharing of files had better fall in line with her new stated policy of going "beyond the law" to avoid any appearance of impropriety. Given that Gorelick held a high-profile position within Justice as a political appointee of Bill Clinton, this policy would rightly get attention as an official directive of the President's wishes. The one office that all of these intelligence agencies would consult in terms of sharing and coordination between themselves and law-enforcement operations would therefore have advised all agencies to follow the Gorelick Wall as a standard and as White House policy.

Given that kind of connection, it doesn't take much imagination to understand why all of these agencies became shy about even attempting to stretch the limits of the Gorelick policy.

The notion that Gorelick's memo had no effect outside the DoJ does not stand up to scrutiny at all, once the fact and intent of including Scruggs and the OIPR become known. This shows why Mary Jo White objected so strenuously to this memo and its implementation, and why she went out of her way to antagonize her bosses at the DoJ with a second and more heated memo predicting, correctly, that such a policy would leave America unprotected against the very people she had just successfully prosecuted.

The Gorelick Wall Encompassed Defense, CIA, And State

[An.American.Expatriate]

Is this the point where Hoover's powermania meets natural liberal paranoia? You know, the "oh my God, they're going to look at my library books" stuff?

LOL - yes, it is.

Gorelick had a reason to create an even higher hurdle -- in spite of information to the contrary from those tasked with protecting the country. You move over that quickly - why? Do you think she's an idiot and that explains it? Hmmmm, actually, that's what I'm thinking. Any legitimate fears that need to be faced in this issue?

I passed over the reasons for Gorelick's Wall because they are not yet fully clear. Speculation has abounded as to the reasons (Clintons & China, etc...) but there are no real "facts" to fully support the theories.

But, for what it's worth, here is my opinion. The libs have been screaming since Hoover & Vietnam about "spying" in citizens. The Clinton Clan was a part of that ideological movement. Upon becoming President, Clinton was bound and determined to impose his socialist ideology upon the fabric of America and appointed fellow travellers in key positions (most importantly DoS, DoJ & DoD) The SOLE mission of these people was the reformation of these departments to resemble what the Children of the 60's imagined they should be. This Gorelick used the intial restrictions of the FISA Act (Carter Era) and EO 12333 and made them even MORE restrictive ("beyond what the law requires" IIRC). The plain and simple fact is, that the Clinton's Clan of Cronies wanted to WEAKEN the US and make it beholden to the UN etc... Had the GOP not assumed majority status during his tenure, I shudder to think of where the US would be now....

So, my opinion. I try to keep it out of most discussions and refer to facts instead. Time will tell whether I am even close to the truth.

[FlatLandBeer]

Some how this all sounds like MAJIC 12 stuff...