Blumenthal: Freeh 'Bears a Lot Of Responsibility' for 9/11 Attacks

NewsMax.com ^ | 5/24/03 | Carl Limbacher and NewsMax.com Staff

[kattracks]

Hillary Clinton's media surrogate Sidney Blumenthal charged Saturday that former FBI Director Louis Freeh "has a lot of responsibility to bear" for leaving America vulnerable to the 9/11 attacks.

In an interview with WABC Radio's Monica Crowley, Blumenthal said he was "very close" to Mrs. Clinton during her tenure as first lady, adding, "I am still her friend."

Moments later he launched into an attack on Freeh, who penned an op-ed piece for the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday excoriating the Clinton administration for dragging its feet on the Khobar Towers bombing investigation.

"That story by Louie Freeh is completely false," a suddenly emotional Blumenthal charged. "Louie Freeh was operating under a self delusion and his story is completely false about that."

Blumenthal alleged that instead of making terrorism his top priority, Freeh did not use all the resources that were available to him. "He used it instead for internal cyber security in the FBI," Mrs. Clinton's surrogate said.

In the next breath Blumenthal blamed Director Freeh for leaving America vulnerable to the 9/11 attacks.

"[Freeh] was consumed with fantasies that were all false about terrorism," the Clinton insider told Crowley. "And he led himself into an alley and never reformed the FBI, which was dysfunctional and played a role, as we know, in not reporting material that could have led to preventing 9/11. I think Louis Freeh has a lot of responsibility to bear."

Blumenthal also insisted that ex-President Clinton had not committed a crime when he lied under oath about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky.

"Lying under oath when you're talking about the nation's chief law enforcement officer - don't you think that's a crime?" Crowley asked.

"No," Blumenthal shot back. "He was never convicted of that. He was misleading but he was not convicted. It was a minor matter that happened in something involving sex."

Earlier in the week, Blumenthal offered a similar defense to rebut charges that Mrs. Clinton's chief of staff had accepted $50,000 from campaign finance scandal whistleblower Johnny Chung inside her White House office.

"It was a mistake for [Maggie Williams] to take that money," Blumenthal told WLIE Radio's Mike Siegel. "But you know what, there was no crime committed and no administration official was ever convicted or indicted for any crime involving campaign finance."

Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:

Sen. Hillary Clinton
War on Terrorism

[Defender2]

Carter, Clinton, and the then Democratic controlled House and Senate reduced our defenses to the point where 09/11/01
occurred!!!! Thank God, the Bush administration is correcting their mess!!!!

[kattracks]

AMEN!!!

[RichInOC]

Gee, Sid, you make Louie Freeh sound like he didn't belong running the FBI. Just one question: Who was the idiot who appointed him?

[Freedom'sWorthIt]

major clinton crisis is now in session - Go, Freeh, Go - tell it all - only YOU can provide the info needed to stop another Clinton hell from hitting this country and the world!

[kattracks]

And, if he was so incompetent, why didn't the clintons fire him?

[Madstrider]

"He was never convicted of that. He was misleading but he was not convicted. It was a minor matter that happened in something involving sex."

Sid, Sid, Sid: You just don't get it, do you?

[Madstrider]

But you know what, there was no crime committed and no administration official was ever convicted or indicted for any crime involving campaign finance."

Thank you, Janet Reno!

[RichInOC]

These people are truly pieces of work.

[Fresh Wind]

So, if I rob a 7-11 store at gunpoint but am never arrested, tried, or convicted, does that mean that no crime was committed?

Also, I wonder what Mr. Blumenthal would have to say about H*****y's "FJB" tirade?

[KC_Conspirator]

Sid is a bonfide liar. Klinton lost his law license for crying out loud. Sid represents all that was bad in the 90's and the pre-911 world.

[malia]

The buck stops where---?!

[backhoe]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/723210/posts

Liars-- and Sleaze, Incorporated... ( my files on the clintons and friends )

various links | 7-27-02 | The Heavy Equipment Guy

[flagbrigade]

We can all thank Sid and all the Liar Lawyers who set up the firewall between the FBI and the CIA which prevented critical info from getting to those who could have prevented the Massacre of Sept llth. All in the name of privacy at the expense of our National Security.

Never forget that the lessons learned from Pearl Harbor where efficerated by the actions of some sleazy attorneys. What was it Shakespeare said?

[Semi Civil Servant]

"No," Blumenthal shot back. "He was never convicted of that. He was misleading but he was not convicted. It was a minor matter that happened in something involving sex."

That pretty much sums up Beelzabubba. At the same moral level as the sleeziest criminal with a good lawyer. Does Sid have any idea about the nature of the moral sewer he lives in and the parasites he so cluelessly defends? I don't think so.

[xm177e2]

Freeh and Clinton both deserve a lot of condemnation for their role in not protecting this country. As does Bush, for not demanding real and immediate reforms at the FBI the day he stepped into office.

[Timeout]

Reading this, it occurred to me that I haven't read one single news article about sexual harrassment since the bent one was in office.

Funny how the media's fixation with women victims has disappeared.

[Susannah]

Throughout 2001, prior to 9-11, there were five warnings via the FAA to airlines advising extreme caution and with specific information on what to check for. The warning closest to 9-11 was> Aug. 16, 2001 - FAA issues information circular warning carriers to be on alert for potential attack by people using weapons disguised as cellphones, key chains or pens.


Truly amazing that Reno, Freeh, or anybody can be pointed at other than Clinton. When it's Bush in charge...it IS Bush.

[Susannah]

"And, if he was so incompetent, why didn't the clintons fire him? "

Since Clinton was under investigation, it would have been unwise for him to even confront the FBI. Good for the country but not for the leader!

PBS has a number of articles regarding the plane hijacking plans that were found following the 1993 WTC bombing. The plans were reviewed in 1995 and everyone in Congress was assured that things were under control>>
http://www.pbs.org/search/search_results.html?neighborhood=%2523&q=bojinka&btnG.x=11&btnG.y=11

[South Dakota]

Truly amazing that Reno, Freeh, or anybody can be pointed at other than Clinton. When it's Bush in charge...it IS Bush
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Pardon me but the clinton administration knew in 1995 that terrorists were training to fly airplanes into large buildings. reno freeh billy KNEW THIS

An attempt to reform security at airports was killed by algore and billy clinton, well before Mr Bush took office