Freeh: Gorelick Ignored Terror Warnings

NewsMax.com ^ | 4/12/04 | Carl Limbacher and NewsMax.com Staff

[kattracks]

In her first year as Deputy U.S. Attorney General in the Clinton administration, Sept. 11 Commissioner Jamie Gorelick was warned that lax U.S. immigration policies made the U.S. a tempting target for terrorists, former FBI Director Louis Freeh revealed on Monday, suggesting that Gorelick did little to remedy the situation.

"Protecting our homeland from attacks by foreign terrorists had long been the FBI's priority," said Freeh, in a lengthy Wall Street Journal op-ed piece.

"Back in September 1994, I recommended to Deputy Attorney General Jamie Gorelick that the DoJ strengthen investigative powers against suspected 'undesirable aliens,' accelerating deportation appeal proceedings and limiting U.S. participation in a visa waiver pilot program under which 9.5 million foreigners entered the U.S. in 1994."

Freeh that he also recommended "that we include provisions for the detention and removal of undesirable aliens, under a special, closed-court procedure."

"I also criticized alien deportation appeal procedures which often took years to conclude. Finally, I recommended legislation to provide the FBI with roving wiretap authority to investigate terrorist activities in the U.S."

But if Gorelick took Freeh's warnings seriously, she didn't make much headway with her superiors.

By 1996, under the Clinton administration's Citizenship USA program, thousands of criminal suspects were rushed through the naturalization process without proper background checks in order to get them on the voting roles on time for that year's presidential election.

According to former Justice Department investigator David Schippers, under the accelerated procedures, the U.S. was swarmed with:

• More than 75,000 new citizens who had arrest records when they applied.

• An additional 115,000 citizens whose fingerprints were unclassifiable for various technical reasons and we're never resubmitted.

• Another 61,000 people who were given citizenship with no fingerprints submitted at all.

At least one new citizen was already in jail by the time he was naturalized under the Clinton administration program.

According to Schippers's 1999 book, "Sell Out," Jamie Gorelick was tasked with expediting the new rules under which criminal background checks were suspended for new immigrants.

[CyberAnt]

And .. how many emails have you sent out making those points ..??

By not saying anything .. aren't we doing the same as the press and ignoring the issue ..??

When I want to send a specific message to different media, I prepare a generic message and then I either send it using a multiple mailout (using bcc (blind carbon copy): so that each recipient doesn't know you've sent it to anyone else). Or, I go to the different websites to send my message - one at a time.

I spent most of yesterday sending out portions of the NYT press release regarding the "suspicious activity" portion which showed that after 9/11 - the WH went back to that document and checked to see if there were any items related to 9/11 - none were found. This does not change the media's opinions, but it tells them .. the public knows .. END OF STORY. I mean, if the NYT can't find ANYTHING in the PDB - there aint nothin' THERE.

I think if you look around today .. you will not find but a few holdouts still trying to make something out of the PDB.

So .. you have a great argument and I think you should attack the media for it - specifically showing how egregious was Kerrey's calling Dr. Rice as "Dr. Clarke", and the out of line statement about a "white Christian army against a Muslim nation". Just let 'em have it!!

[elbucko]

If I were Freeh I would go out guns blazing.

Darn straight.

[ravingnutter]

The Airline Commission DID have strict regulations recommended for the airlines to secure cockpits, regs that would have cost the airlines a fortune. Gore tossed them for $500,000 in campaign donations from those same airline.

See my post #58...all morning I have been pursuing Gore's inaction while he was in office.

[CyberAnt]

I'm going to jump in here, because the two in San Diego had been in America for over 2 years.

[MHGinTN]

You used the word 'infiltrated'. It is more like planted, by the dnc power lusters seeking to use the commission for political hack attacks!

[Diogenesis]

"Back in September 1994, I recommended to Deputy Attorney General Jamie Gorelick
that the DoJ strengthen investigative powers against suspected 'undesirable aliens,' accelerating
deportation appeal proceedings and limiting U.S. participation in a visa waiver pilot program under which 9.5 million foreigners entered the U.S. in 1994."

GORELICK MUST BE REMOVED FROM THE COMMISSION NOW

[Steve_Seattle]

And .. how many emails have you sent out making those points ..??

I'm probably regarded as a pain-in-the-ass by the local newspapers; I send in a lot of letters-to-the-editor, and a lot of them are published, but I obviously can't do it every day on every topic. My last one was last week (I don't know if it was or will be published), mentioning the fact that - two years ago - Sen. Bob Graham (D) had described the notorious 8/6/01 memo as outdated and generalized information, not specific to 9-11. This was to counter the media feeding frenzy suggesting that the memo was a "smoking gun."

[CyberAnt]

Chris on FNS exposed the fact that Ben-Venista had asked Dr. Rice a question, and then he went immediately to asking her the name of the PDB. When Chris brought that out, B-V got that little sheepish grin on his face which said to me - ooooops! I've been caught.

I didn't realize he had ask her a question first - and so when she wanted to go back and answer that question, HE DIDN'T WANT HER TO ANSWER IT BECAUSE HE WANTED TO BE ABLE TO SAY - SHE REFUSED TO ANSWER! He got caught by the very competent Dr. Rice, and I'm sure it made him mad.

[leprechaun9]

Gore lick sounds like as activity with the former VP, something that would be more characteristic of the Clintoooon administration!

[1Old Pro]

Gorelick, Bob Kerrey, Bill Klintoon et al, they all did NOTHING. This commission should be behind closed doors while we're at war. Instead, it's a political partisan platform for the Democrat Bush haters.

[noodler]

This is the main history which should be in the papers and on television but won't because of the liberal death-wish to take Bush down.

[CyberAnt]

Excellant! Even if she doesn't testify (which should now be required), at the very least I believe this tempers her statements and her questioning quite a bit.

[CyberAnt]

And .. somebody should make mention that Gore dropped ALL HIS DEMANDS FOR THOSE CHANGES after he received donations to his campaign from the airports/airlines.

[Steve_Seattle]

"Instead, it's a political partisan platform for the Democrat Bush haters."

True. We knew what the problem was more than a year ago - lack of communication between the CIA and FBI, the FBI dropping a couple of potential leads because of bureaucratic inertia, lackadaisical enforcement of immigration regulations, and a liberal sprinkling of political correctness. All this talk of high-level briefings, budget cuts, etc., is largely irrelevant. the current National Review summed it up concisely: the cumulative effects of our political culture allowed 9-11 to happen.

[CyberAnt]

Hmmmm? Maybe the commission needs to be FReeped on this issue.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

"planted" would have been a better word!

[anniegetyourgun]

I suppose you're both right.

[tang-soo]

By 1996, under the Clinton administration's Citizenship USA program, ...

Hey I think I've got something here. Wasn't 1996 an election year? Naw, nobody would have drawn that connection before.

[Guenevere]

bttt

[Solson]

I'm involved locally with the Bush Campaign and am active. However, e-mails do very little in getting the story out. Only with a legitimate, well funded, and outward activism regarding the news will we be able to make a large difference. So, I choose to make calls rather than send e-mail. E-mail is so overused nowadays no one know what's serious and what's not.

I would personally love to see the FR network start issuing press releases through PR Newswire on all of these stories. Moreover, it would help establish a higher degree of legitimacy on FR exclusives if they were released through the newswire. THAT is what I mean when I bemoan the fact of limited readership.