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.

[Rummyfan]

The Commission is nothing more than a political witch hunt and an opportunity for Democrats to further bash the Bush Administration.

[Bigg Red]

We FReepers get all giddy when we see these stories. But they go nowhere

&&

Unfortunately, you are quite correct, Solson.

Thanks for the flag, nutmeg.

[Kaslin]

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

Just to channge the subject a little bit as this has nothing to do with Gore. I've always said that Billy Jeff was a great talker but unlike the president took never action. Well I am reading Richard Miniter's book LOOSING BIN lADEN, and on page 68 it says that when Billy Jeff was in San Francisco for a multy-million dollar fundraiser, he stayed at Fairmont Hotel and when he turned on the television he saw what ordinary Americans had been seeing for hours: CNN footage of dead Americans dragged through the streets of Mogadishu while a crowd of Somalis joyfully jumped up and down, shouting "God is great."

It says further that he took action. He He ordered that new images of defeat and disaster in Somalia be kept from the world's television networks. Eight video tapes of the battle made by a P-3 Orion reconnaissance plane circling overhead were quickly marked "classified" Billy Jeff did not want to see those tapes broadcast on CNN.

What action

< /sarcasm>

[softengine]

You're absolutely right. No need to hold your breath here. As if under a spell, they'll tuck their tails between their legs and meander off aimlessly, stare off into space like a bad case of ADD, or bite their nails in fear of speaking up..too frightened to say anything ("Gee, do I bring up this OBVIOUSLY SIGNIFICANT point,or let it go?....Oh, gosh, I just can't decide"..), or otherwise pretend that this is of no consequence.....

And we wonder why we're loosing the game.

[CyberAnt]

I just sent the one to Chairman Kean today: (I'll check my sent file and tell you where I sent the PDB emails). Here's my list: timemag, fox, nydailynews, pickett @suntimes, conason @observer, Blumenthal, Fineman, Krugman, Clift, Pinkerton, Chronicle, NYTimes.

Oh yeah, I got an email this morning from a Jewish newspaper in Kansas - asking permission to print my letter regarding some very hateful statements made about President Bush in an article in their online publication; they want to put it in their print publication too.

Just because some people think you're a "pain" shouldn't stop you, mainly because there are a lot of other people saying the very same thing. Glad to see you're getting printed on a regular basis. Keeping our opinion out there is very important.
_____________________________
Dear Chairman Kean:

Ms. Gorelick, formerly the number two person in the Clinton Justice Department is a Democrat appointee to the Commission. She is charged with preparing a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Ms. Gorelick is an inappropriate choice for that position because she was a former member of the DoJ under the Clinton Administration, and is currently a partner in the Washington law firm of Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering. According to Newsweek, Wilmer, Cutler represents Prince Mohammed al Faisal in the suit by the 9/11 families. The families contend that al Faisal has legal responsibility for the 9/11 attacks.

Due to this revelation of information regarding Ms. Gorelick, there is no other acceptable action left to this committee's Chairman than to dismiss Ms. Gorelick for extreme conflicts of interest.

And .. there are already serious questions regarding the credibility of this commission (which has already been revealed) but now the sincerity of this commission and some of its commissioners to examine the truth of 9/11 is being called into play.

This commission might end up with some good recommendations for change which would benefit America, however, if your credibility and sincerity are in question, I don't think people will be so willing to take your advice. You will have spent my tax money for NOTHING!

Ms. Gorelick must be dismissed for her extreme conflicts of interest to the commission's goals.

Name
City

[surrey]

Terrific letter. Gets right to the point but I fear, no I know, that absolutely no action will be taken.

[Palladin]

Gorelick should be thrown in a Federal prison for collaborating with the enemy.

[samtheman]

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[Eric in the Ozarks]

Nicely put.
My note was three lines but as cordial.

[MamaLucci]

Gore tossed them for $500,000 in campaign donations from those same airline.

Yes, and the burning question is WHY ISN'T THE 911 COMMISSION INVESTIGATING THAT?

[MamaLucci]

David Schippers was all over the INS vote buying scheme
implemented by Clinton/Gore.
Just like now, the lying lib media buried the story.

[nutmeg]

We FReepers get all giddy when we see these stories. But they go nowhere

I know, doesn't it just drive you crazy?! I can't count how many times I've gotten excited over stuff like this, but lately I have the same reaction... why bother? It seems to always go nowhere.

I'm getting pretty pessimistic lately with the way the lamestream media has been handling this whole 9/11 Commission thing... I feel like we're definitely losing the media wars. :-(

[OrioleFan]

If you're ON the commission can you be forced to testify TO the commission. Will Gorelick be called to testify? Will it be under oath? Looks like the the inmates are being allowed to run the prison.

[Fedora]

Ping.

[cricket]

"This commission has been infiltrated with those who have a stake... or a behind to protect!"

Amazing they can sit there . . .with their scathing, judgmental and critical posuturing. Dems always raise the 'incredible' bar; there is no 'high', low enough for these people.

[rocklobster11]

I've got a question:

Tom Clancy predicted terrorists would fly planes into buildings in 1994's Debt of Honor, which ended when a plane was flown into the Capitol building, killing the President and most of Congress

It seems that between 1994 and 2001, if somebody took this work of fiction seriously, they might have thought to either secure cockpit doors and/or change the operating procedure in the case of a hijacking. Obvously, the first change was suggested in a governmental report, but it was killed by Gore in exchange for campaign contributions from the airline industry.

My question is, was there ever any discussion of changing the was airlines respond to hijackings prior to 9-11?

[rocklobster11]

Just in case Osama is a Tom Clancy fan, I'd suggest that you don't stand under the misting systems at the Athens Olympics this year.

[Datom]

Gorlick should be made to resign NOW, NOW, NOW.

Not even a word on FOX about this. What the hell is going on!!!

[goodnesswins]

Hmmmm.....I'm thinking ROPE-A-DOPE...er...DEM.....the PDB that President Bush let out is, I believe, the ONLY ONE EVER RELEASED....this is ONLY the beginning...now we can start looking at PDB's during x42's sorry reign.....well, at least we can ask the DOPES for them....and they'll go scattering to their little holes. JMHO.