Posted on 05/26/2002 1:02:57 AM PDT by Spar
Bump to the Heavens!!!
Whistle-blower says FBI HQ rewrote search warrants for terror suspect
Associated Press Newswires | 5-24-02 | By JOHN SOLOMON
Do we know what they finally found? Was there information that, had it been known prior to 9/11, would have been helpful in stopping the terror?
We know some of it, and yes it would have been helpful.
FEDS SET TO MAKE CASE AGAINST '20TH HIJACKER'
The computer search turned up documents about crop dusting
Indictment expected in hijackings: Suspect is called would-be pilot; anthrax tie seen to conspiracy
He received several thousand dollars from Germany and also had several conversations with the man in Hamburg who rented Atta the apartment where the cell met.
There was a security expert on this morning that said that ALL of the agent-attorneys in the FBI were removed or reassigned and civilian attorneys were put in their place....UNDER LOUIS FREEH.
This may explain the reorganization of the FBI that Ashcroft announced some months ago. It also might explain why there are terrorism task forces. I assume these attorneys are civil service types.
I don't have further information on this than what I heard this morning. If anyone had on Fox and Fiends and heard the guy, it would be good if you got his name, which I didn't catch.
Hindsight is obviously easier, but this is very troubling.
Robert Mueller III is a political hack and a liar.
If I remember correctly, the Wall Street Journal warned this country about Mueller during his nomination process.
In her letter, Ms. Rowley was especially critical of the F.B.I. director, Robert S. Mueller III, whom she wrote had made "misleading" public statements on how the F.B.I. handled the Moussaoui case both before and after Sept. 11, according to officials who have read her letter. She asserted that Mr. Mueller had been covering up for the bureau on the Moussaoui case since the attacks.
"Certain facts have been omitted, downplayed, glossed over, or mischaracterized," Ms. Rowley said, referring to Mr. Mueller's public statements since the hijackings, said officials who have copies of the letter.
Your memory is quite correct
This means the presumed front-runner is Mr. Mueller, who took personal charge of the BCCI probe. If he is nominated, a number of questions need to be asked. How did BCCI manage to gain entry into the U.S. banking system and acquire First American? Did the U.S. intelligence community grease the skids for BCCI at critical junctures? Was the Justice Department part of the solution to the BCCI mess, or part of the problem?
When Mr. Mueller took over the Criminal Division, critics in Congress and the media were already raising questions about Justice and BCCI. He stepped into this breach, telling the Washington Post in July 1991 that maybe indeed there was an "appearance of, one, foot-dragging; two, perhaps a coverup." He denied the coverup claims, specifically rejecting a Time magazine report that the U.S. government was seeking to obscure its role in the scandal partly because the CIA may have collaborated with the bank's operatives. Perhaps Justice should have been more enthusiastic and aggressive about the case, he told the Post, but "nobody has ever accused me of lacking aggression."
Still, the problems with Justice persisted. And the timing of some of Mr. Mueller's moves raised eyebrows. In September 1991, Justice indicted six BCCI figures and a reputed Colombian drug lord on racketeering charges. The indictment was unveiled just minutes after then-Congressman Charles Schumer issued a report sharply critical of Justice Department handling of the case. As Peter Truell and Larry Gurwin noted in their authoritative book, "False Profits: Inside BCCI," the indictment was merely "warmed-over information from an investigation that had ended nearly two years before."
Mr. Mueller also engaged in a running series of battles with the Manhattan District Attorney, Robert Morgenthau. According to news reports over the years, Justice prosecutors were instructed not to cooperate with Mr. Morgenthau's office, documents were withheld, and attempts were made to block other federal agencies from cooperating. In July 1992, both Mr. Mueller and Mr. Morgenthau simultaneously but separately indicted Mr. Clifford and his top aide Robert Altman in the BCCI scandal, with Mr. Morgenthau finally winning the right to try the men. Mr. Clifford was later dropped from the case due to infirmity and Mr. Altman was eventually acquitted. The curious and distracting fight over jurisdiction stands to be revisited.
Janet Reno named Mr. Mueller interim U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California in 1998; he was confirmed for the position in 1999. He was sent to reform an office marked by trouble, and his success or lack of it should be closely examined. His position as FBI front-runner, we read, was won by showing the ropes to new Attorney General John Ashcroft when he was home alone at Justice without a confirmed staff.
With Mr. Mueller's splendid paper credentials, we initially thought he must be a top-flight professional, whatever his misfortunes with BCCI. When we sought out some former Justice officials and others whose views we trust, we were surprised by negative returns, BCCI aside. While we hesitate to traffic in anonymous slams, let it be said that informed doubt exists about not only his independence, but his managerial competence.
On general principles, our view is that it would be a mistake to appoint as FBI head anyone who had any role in the failed BCCI probe. Too many important questions remain unanswered, and we clearly need another stand-up guy after the Clinton depredations at Justice. On the evidence we can see, Mr. Mueller would be a peculiar choice indeed.
I'm personally familiar with the extensive fraud and chicanery that goes on inside the U.S. Attorney offices, DOJ and the FBI.
Having personally charged Mueller's competition for Director of the FBI, Thomas E. Scott with alleged racketeering back in late 1998, nothing surprises me when it comes to public and/or political corruption at the DOJ or FBI.
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