Posted on 09/21/2005 1:37:31 PM PDT by YaYa123
Specter: Pentagon may be obstructing committee Officials ordered witnesses not to testify about secret program.
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Department of Defense "ordered five key witnesses not to testify" about a secret Pentagon unit that some claim identified several of the 9/11 hijackers more than a year before the attacks, Sentate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter said Wednesday.
"That looks to me as it may be obstruction of the committee's activities," Specter, R-Pennsylvania, said at the start of his committee's hearing into the unit code-named Able Danger.
Before Wednesday's hearing, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said the Pentagon was concerned about discussing a classified program in an open hearing and it had worked with the committee to provide a Department of Defense representative to testify. That representative was the acting assistant to the secretary for intelligence oversight, William Dugan
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
I never thought I'd say this but, Go Arlen!
I called it.
I said the media would focus on the blocking of witnesses more than the fact that the data was deleted back in May / June of 2000.
Well, whaddaya know? CNN covers today's Able Danger Hearing, at least with this unattributted, online article.
I hope someone can tell us if Wolf Blitzer mentions it on air.
I told you they wouldn't mention that the data was deleted while Clinton was in office.
BUMP
Well, nuffsenuff, so far, the media hasn't paid much attention to any of it! I took notes of today's hearing, you can read them here:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1488759/posts
The Pentagon sent Dugin to testify on behalf of his boss, Rumsfeld. Specter noted how evasive and non-responsive Dugin was.
Rumsfeld had better get out in front of this or the 9/11 families and the MSM will be out for blood. And before someone says this is the Rove plan, just so he can turn around and blame it on Clinton, forget about it.
We've been saying that for 5 years and it hasn't happened yet. That's not how Bush operates.
That "United States of America" thing was an interesting experiment in self government. Too bad it didn't last long.
I still can't find reports of today's hearing at MSNBC or ABCNews.com, or CBSNews.com Still looking, but only found mention at FOXNews.com and much later, CNN.
Meanwhile back on the Animal Farm.
"Pentagon gags 'Able Danger' team
UPI, by Shaun Waterman"
was an article posted earlier today on Lucianne.com, but it disappeared too quickly for me to be able to read it, much less post it here.
I think it's accurate to say the MSM is not interested in today's hearing.
If Arlen wants to listen to these people, he can ask the committee to vote global immunity to anyone who testifies. Then the military is without excuse.
I don't think the MSM will be out for blood on this one. Too risky, they will just continue to bash Bush on Iraq, NO, and the high prices at the pump.
Congress is going to make this much more confusing than it needs to be. Congress makes the laws that make it nearly impossible for covert agents to do their jobs, especially if any of the covert stuff is happening in the US or involves any contact whatsoever with an American citizen.
We really only need a few basic questions answered:
1) Was Atta or the Brooklyn cell identified before 9/11.
2) Who as told about Atta/Brooklyn and what did they do with the info.
3) Who ordered the information destroyed and why.
#3 was partially answered today so we're left with two questions.
Hours after Lt. Col. Shaffer revealed that he'd been muzzled, Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman told the New York Times that open testimony on Able Danger "would not be appropriate."
Probably won't hit the networks for a few hours at least. The folks at DU are already foaming at the mouth. This is way too juicy for the NYT to pass up.
Heads up: Michael Savage is devoting his whole show today on Able Danger along with a Weldon interview and audio clips from C-SPAN 3.
C-span tonight:
09:25 PM EDT
2:19 (est.)
Senate Committee
Able Danger and Intelligence Sharing
Judiciary
Arlen Specter , R-PA
Curt Weldon , R-PA
Maybe Hillary has Rumsfeld's FBI file.
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.