Posted on 10/19/2005 7:50:36 PM PDT by Jim Robinson
Former Clinton Chief of Staff John Podesta recently wrote a scathing article about former FBI Director Louis J. Freeh. Freeh made some harsh comments about his life at the FBI during the Clinton scandal years, and Podesta simply could not resist the knee-jerk urge to defend his ex-boss.
Those who know me well also know that I have little love for the former FBI Director. His tenure at the helm of the bureau was a disaster. Freeh can best be described as a "Luddite" in terms of his understanding of modern technology. I am almost certain that his new book was hand-written with a sharp quill and a bottle of ink.
However, my opinion of John Podesta and his former boss sinks to depths well below that of the former FBI Director. Thus, when John Podesta accused Freeh of playing fast and loose with the facts, I simply could not resist the urge to test his skill with the truth.
Podesta's article may be written on a modern word processor, but it is inaccurate on one critical issue. Podesta claims, "Freeh's account of the unfolding of the Khobar Towers investigation is also riddled with distortions and inaccuracies. For example, Freeh writes as if no acknowledgment of Iranian involvement in the bombing was made until after George W. Bush came into office," noted Podesta in his Washington Post op-ed.
"This is false: The Clinton administration publicly and unequivocally placed blame on senior Iranian officials. Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder made this point at a press conference on October 4, 1999," said Podesta.
Unfortunately for Podesta, his assertion that Eric Holder placed the blame on Iran on October 4, 1999, just does not hold water. According to the official release from the Department of Justice for October 4, 1999, Holder avoided any accusations directed at Tehran: "The U.S. investigation of the attack at Khobar is ongoing. We are investigating information concerning the involvement of Saudi nationals, Iranian government officials and others. And we have not reached a conclusion regarding whether the attack was directed by the government of Iran."
Just to make sure that I was not the only one to pick up on this little point, Fox News reported on October 17, 1999, that "U.S. Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder said earlier this month that his department was investigating a possible Iranian role, but had not reached a conclusion."
And to cover the issue from the Saudi perspective, the Arabian-based Gulf Wire reported the same thing: "Meanwhile, the issue of Iranian involvement in the case was addressed by U.S. Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder last week. ‘We are investigating information concerning the involvement of Saudi nationals, Iranian government officials and others.' He added, ‘We have not reached a conclusion regarding whether the attack was directed by the government of Iran.'"
Brother John
Of course, this is not the first time I have written about Mr. Podesta and his fantastic ability to obscure reality. I have had dealings with Mr. Podesta before over his conflict of interest with his brother Tony Podesta.
While writing an article on supercomputer exports, I found that John had given a donation to the DNC that he said occurred while employed by his brother Tony, a powerful D.C. lobbyist. However, this donation took place when John was actually employed at the White House for Bill Clinton.
John took great pains to quickly change the donation record at the FEC to reflect the fact that he was indeed employed at the White House. It is the only such donation he made while working for Clinton.
Yet, the donation record opened a whole new world of documentation hidden inside the Clinton White House. John Podesta ran the Clinton policy for high-tech computer exports at the same time his brother - and former employer - ran the lobby effort for high-tech U.S. computer companies.
Supercomputers for China and Russia
In the early 1990s, several U.S. computer CEOs formed a joint lobby organization called the CSPP, or Computer Systems Policy Project. By 1994 Tony Podesta, the brother of John Podesta, ran the multimillion-dollar corporate lobby effort through his firm, Podesta Associates, using an employee, Ken Kay, as the CSPP executive director.
In 1994, the CSPP association with Tony Podesta quickly paid off. Several CSPP members won exclusive trade deals through Clinton and Ron Brown. CEO James Treybig of Tandem went with Ron Brown on a trade trip to China in August 1994. Treybig concluded an exclusive $150 million export of mission-control computers for the Chinese Army Long March space rocket.
In June 1995, Ken Kay led the delegation of CSPP CEOs into a closed meeting inside the White House. In this closed meeting, the CEOs from AT&T, Apple, Compaq, Digital, HP, Unisys, Cray, Silicon Graphics, Tandem and others were sworn to secrecy. The CEOs could not talk under penalty of law.
The Clinton administration made top-secret designs and top-secret contracts available to the CSPP computer companies. In exchange for their cooperation and silence, the companies would be given lucrative export deals and access to even more advanced technology left over from the cold war.
Yet, while it is true that CSPP members thrived on high-tech exports authorized by the Clinton administration, it is also true that Clinton and Gore thrived on the millions of dollars in donations and soft money made available from CSPP members such as Apple, AT&T, Digital and Silicon Graphics.
For example, once inside the White House the CSPP CEOs were given a detailed briefing by a State Department expert on supercomputers and nuclear weapons. Shortly after the meeting, CSPP member Silicon Graphics sold several supercomputers to a Russian nuclear weapons lab under the pretense of "civilian" uses.
Waiver or Pardon?
Nor is the Clinton cronyism hard to find. In response to a request for an interview, White House lawyers acknowledged that John Podesta did indeed have a conflict of interest problem with his brother Tony and the CSPP. According to White House counsel, in 1997 President Clinton solved the Podesta problem by signing a legal waiver absolving John Podesta of any conflict of interest. Clinton has to date refused to show the legal waiver obtained by John Podesta. Nor did Clinton's attorneys explain why John Podesta felt it necessary to obtain a waiver in 1997 for actions he took in 1994 and 1995.
Of course, a legal waiver for possible criminal actions committed in the past is not a waiver but a pardon.
It is just this kind of activity that FBI Director Freeh missed inside the White House. Freeh had so many scandals coming at him on a daily basis, it was hard to decide which to investigate - so he elected to investigate none.
As a reward for his inept leadership, Clinton took space in his book to blame Freeh for the China-Gate scandal.
Of course, the Clinton pardon or waiver - whichever you prefer to call it - removed any fear of prosecution or investigation. Thus, John Podesta can rest easy with a fat bank account and a cushy job heading a fake think-tank inside Washington, D.C.
Dear John - I know you have no conscience but next time - check your facts
Big classic ping
Facts?? We don' need no stinkin' facts. Seriously, facts are so inconvenient for the Clinton crime family.
Curious? Not at all. He was a very neat, tidy sort of person. Since he made the effort to wipe all those nasty fingerprints off his gun after he shot himself to death, why wouldn't he have cleaned away the powder residue as well?
Help Congessman Weldon. Write (E-mail) Donald Rumsfeld and tell him to let all the witnesses and information concerning Able Danger loose!
He asked for that on the Michael Savage show last night.
God forbid the clintoons get anywhere near the White House again.
I do not believe a word out of Podesta's mouth. I might believe him if he would disassociate himself from the Clinton Administration, where lying was the MO.
bookmark bump
"You can get all kinds of wounds in an air crash".. ???
Really? Like bullet holes?? And Vincent Foster.. You haven't heard yet about him? Should I check back next week?
I didn't offer an opinion of the Foster forensics, since I feel I don't know enough to entertain a solid opinion, but I am very suspicious about how that whole thing happened.
Yeah, comedian, check back next week, particularly since I don't plan to be here.
Ron Brown wasn't shot, and I don't think you can find any reputable medical examiner who'll say he was. Scenarize all you like, but that was a plane crash.
And yeah, I've "heard about" Vince Foster -- how would I not have, if I referred to him? Waggish fellow, run along and play now.
I can't wait to read former FBI Director Louis J. Freeh's book. Hopefully they will have it at Walmart when I go shopping at the end of the month. First Aldrich, excellent book and now Freeh. Hopefully there will be many more whistle blowers that the MSM will not be able to shut up.
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