Bill O'Reilly blasts Ashcroft and Reno for Corruption

WorldNetDaily.com ^ | January 4, 2002 | Bill O'Reilly

[editor-surveyor]

There is something very wrong inside the Justice Department of the United States and there has been for some time.

Various newspapers are now reporting that under President Clinton, the Federal Bureau of Investigation was ordered to stand down on various terrorist investigations.

One of the most egregious examples is the failure of the bureau to investigate fundraising organizations like "The Holy Land Fund," based in Arizona, which allegedly funneled millions of dollars in donations to Middle Eastern terrorists.

Although the Bush administration has now frozen the assets of the fund, it was apparently allowed to operate for 8 years despite the FBI intelligence that was presented to Mr. Clinton and then-Attorney General Janet Reno. One bureau source told the press that Ms. Reno felt any investigation of "The Holy Land Fund" would lead to anti-Arab sentiment and therefore was opposed to such an investigation.

As always, Ms. Reno will not comment on any aspect of her tenure as attorney general that is at all controversial.

There is no question now that under Ms. Reno and then-FBI Director Louis Freeh, Americans were put at great risk. The Wen Ho Lee-Chinese espionage case still has not been explained, and the fact that the 19 Sept. 11 terrorists weren't even on the FBI's radar screen is about as frightening as Janet Reno's passion for political correctness.

The current attorney general, John Ashcroft, has made no attempt to examine Ms. Reno's bizarre behavior or update the public about the Marc Rich investigation or anything else. Mr. Ashcroft specializes in looking dour and stonewalling. While Congress is attempting to get documents about President Clinton's dubious foreign fundraising and FBI abuses in Boston, Ashcroft is refusing to cooperate at all.

And this isn't a political issue. Conservative Congressman Dan Burton and liberal Congressman Barney Frank have actually joined forces to try and pry this information from Ashcroft's hands. If that's not amazing, then nothing is.

The truth is that for nearly 8 years, the Justice Department has been corrupt and inefficient. Janet Reno botched nearly every important decision she had to make including Waco and Elian Gonzalez. Time after time, Ms. Reno refused to approve investigative initiatives sought by the FBI. And time after time, Mr. Freeh sat in his plush government office refusing to let the American people know what was happening.

Now Mr. Ashcroft is doing the same thing. There is no reason on this earth why the public should not know the status of the Rich pardon probe. Or the anthrax investigation. And what about Enron, Mr. Attorney General – are you going to look into that? Millions of Americans were hosed while some Enron executives made millions.

How about a comment on that, Mr. Ashcroft?

Here is the whole article.

[hove]

Bill O'Reilly is dead on. I had such hope for Bush's Justice Dept and FBI. But there is little distinction between Bush's crew and Clinton's. In fact Ashcroft may be more dangerous than Reno. And that's hard to fathom. So my question is.......who is controlling Ashcroft?? Who is muzzling this guy?? Are the Clintons involved? How bout Papa Bush? What is up with this???

[CommiesOut]

Pilots? They can't figure out whether these dudes were on any of the passenger lists or not.
If I'm not mistaken even North noticed that.
How about those put options? Did they call the brokers yet? Anybody picked up $2.5 mill check?
Now, let me go back to stalking comrade Osama.

[XJarhead]

Why in the world would John Ashcroft be interested in covering up for Reno and Clinton? That Ashcroft-bashers need to come up with a reasonable explanation for that. Otherwise, this story just smells.

[Eva]

I didn't comment on this immediately because I think that O'Reilly sometimes bends over backward in his attempt to appear fair and balance.

My gut feeling is that Bush doesn't want to discuss the past, including the Clintons because he knows that the liberal media will immediately take the opportunity to push Clinton to the forefront of the news. The Clintons are basicly irrelavant right now, and I for one, would like to keep them that way.

[Ridin' Shotgun]

Last I heard, there were questions about 7 of them. A couple of them are supposedly still flying the friendly skies: one with a Saudi airlines and another in Yemen. It was in the news once and there've been no retractions that I know of, so far.

[Twodees]

Ma'am, I think you're mistaken. You're saying that most on FR don't suspect Ashcroft or Bush of covering for Clinton. What I've been seeing is a handful of people trying to defend the current administration in this respect, not most people on FR.

[RnMomof7]

The current attorney general, John Ashcroft, has made no attempt to examine Ms. Reno's bizarre behavior or update the public about the Marc Rich investigation or anything else. Mr. Ashcroft specializes in looking dour and stonewalling. While Congress is attempting to get documents about President Clinton's dubious foreign fundraising and FBI abuses in Boston, Ashcroft is refusing to cooperate at all.

Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely! So why would this be a surprise? It is necessary to protect those that went before so those that will come after will protect you. It is easy,even for a Christian to lie to himself about this..

[GROUCHOTWO]

Right on! The pre-911 brokerage manipulations have gone down the memory hole. Is some one hoping that we will forget this?

[Howlin]

You don't seem to understand that MOST people on FR avoid these silly discussions like the plague; the ones of us who show up are a glutton for punishment and like beating our heads against the wall, which gives you all the false impression that everybody else agrees with you all.

Don't believe me? Search for Judicial Watch or Keyes or Ashcroft; then take a look at how SHORT the threads are when "we" don't show up to defend Bush and Ashcroft from the silly accuastions.

[Howlin]

What I've been seeing is a handful of people trying to defend the current administration in this respect, not most people on FR.

Ah, not to put too fine a point on it, but there ARE just a handful of you guys.

[Snow Bunny]

Thanks so much for the ping. I appreciate it very much.
Maybe if O'Reilly gets on the band wagon like this it will help. I sure hope so.
I only agree with O'Reilly about half and half... sometimes he is way too liberal for me and other times I sit here cheering him on big time for what he says and does. LOL

But when he is on target and I agree with him he is a good one for not letting go of things.
Thanks again ES !!!
(((HUG)))

[Twodees]

So, once a day has passed, any crime is a "past issue"? Would you want your county prosecutor to take that attitude the day after your mother was murdered, when everyone in the county suspects one person? Imagine him and the sheriff telling you that they just want to move on, that your momma is dead and the crime is in the past.

Clinton's crimes were massive in scope and their effects will continue to become apparent for decades. Bush's little pinche political plans can go hang. Presidents have no business trying to manipulate the economy anyway, but the President is the chief law enforcement official in the country. Investigating Clinton's crimes is definitely part of Bush's job. He'd better do his job or we'll be caught flatfooted again by another Clinton time bomb like 9/11.

[Mortimer Snavely]

Unbelievable.

Having said all that, let me add that when the country is attacked, it is necessary, as foul as it is to swallow down, to support the existing government.

[Twodees]

Ma'am, that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. The Clintons are most certainly not irrelevant. They're still very dangerous to our country, particularly if they're left unpunished. Letting them skate so that there will be fewer news reports of them will accomplish what, exactly?

You don't let criminals go to keep their faces off of the TV news. Letting them go allows them to recreate their image and mount another atack on our country once the liberal media has had a chance to gloss over the public perceptions formed toward the end of Clinton's tenure.

Wherever you got this idea, I suggest you examine what you're saying. Maybe your sense of the ridiculous will kick in for you.

[AAABEST]

I was hoping for an administration that I could get behind 100% I'm growing tired of carping; I'd like to smile for a while.

A man of my heart.

[markn]

Clinton with a Reno hair-cut.

[Twodees]

FR has about 75,000 members, correct? It's accurate to say that most FReepers avoid commenting on anything. I know it's important to you to feel that GOP koolaid drinkers are the majority here, but that's absurd. You folks are simply the loudest minority here at the present time.

[GROUCHOTWO]

This is small consolation to those families whose loved ones died on that terrible day.

[Saundra Duffy]

I heard O'Reilly's rant on this. Good grief! If John Ashcroft weren't there, we'd probably all be dead. For victory & freedom!!!

[JulieRNR21]

Thanks for the ping....O'Reilly proscribes to the idea that the 'powerful protect the powerful' so he thinks this is what Ashcroft is doing for Reno but the final score isn't in yet....

I'm willing to be a bit more patient. I have a hunch that a lot will be coming out during the investigations into why the 9-11 attacks happened as well as during the JEB/Reno race for FL governor.