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Police Officer Misled Investigators -OKC Bombing
New York Times ^ | 11/14/02 | THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Posted on 11/14/2002 12:27:33 AM PST by TexKat

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A House committee has halted an inquiry into allegations of a wider conspiracy in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing and asked the Justice Department to investigate a policeman who allegedly provided false information to the panel.

J.W. Reser, the policeman, told the House Government Reform Committee staff that he viewed a videotape of a Middle Eastern man leaving the truck used to bomb the building. He also claimed that he worked as a contract employee for the government, including Army and Navy intelligence.

Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., chairman of the committee, wrote Attorney General John Ashcroft that those statements were false, as were other statements Reser made about his background.

``I write to bring these false statements to the attention of the Department of Justice for investigation and, if warranted, prosecution,'' Burton wrote Ashcroft recently. Army and Navy intelligence officials wrote the committee that they had no evidence Reser worked for the military.

The committee provided The Associated Press with the lawmaker's criminal referral to the Justice Department and other documents, including a sworn statement that Reser provided to the committee.

Reser is a one-time Oklahoma City police officer who left the force more than a decade before the April 19, 1995, bombing, and now works as a Tulsa International Airport policeman.

He did not return a telephone message left with the Tulsa airport police, who confirmed he worked there. Committee officials said Reser has not responded to recent attempts to contact him. Reser's home number is unlisted.

While the bombing took place seven years ago, committee officials said Reser and others had contacted the panel this year seeking a fresh look at any possible conspiracy.

Reser exaggerated his length of service with the Oklahoma City police department, falsely said he served with a special projects unit on the force and described government connections that federal officials said did not exist, Burton contended.

``Mr. Reser's statements have had the potential to cause serious pain and anxiety for the families and victims of the Oklahoma City bombing,'' which killed 168 people, Burton wrote.

Timothy McVeigh was executed on June 11, 2001, for planting the bomb in a truck outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. The only other person charged, Terry Nichols, is serving a life sentence following federal convictions for conspiracy and involuntary manslaughter in the deaths of eight U.S. law enforcement officers.

Nichols also is charged in Oklahoma with 160 counts of first-degree murder.

In a sworn statement to the Government Reform Committee, Reser said he saw a videotape while attending a meeting in Washington with military and civilian intelligence officials as a government contract employee.

He said the two-minute tape ``captured the arrival of the explosives-laden Ryder truck as it parked on the north side of the federal complex shortly before 9 a.m. on April 19. Moments later, I observed an individual descend from the passenger side of the truck. He appeared to be of Middle Eastern extraction with dark hair, olive complexion and a ball cap,'' Reser said.

Rear Adm. R.B. Porterfield, director of naval intelligence, wrote Burton that a Navy search found ``no records of any contract employment of Mr. Reser'' by the service and ``no records of any video or still photographic surveillance cameras in or around the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City ... on April 19, 1995.''

(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...


TOPICS: Breaking News; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; News/Current Events; US: Oklahoma; US: Washington
KEYWORDS: danburton; okcbombing
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1 posted on 11/14/2002 12:27:33 AM PST by TexKat
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To: TexKat
The conspiracy mouth breathers have just had their hearts ripped out.
2 posted on 11/14/2002 12:36:52 AM PST by zarf
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To: zarf
Took the words out of my mouth....ugh
3 posted on 11/14/2002 12:53:23 AM PST by My Favorite Headache
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To: zarf
I'm not sure what "conspiracy mouth breathers" are but that whole John Doe #2 situation still puzzles me.
4 posted on 11/14/2002 1:00:44 AM PST by Texas_Jarhead
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To: Texas_Jarhead
So does this mean that J.W. Reser could have been in on the plot? Why would you go to that extent to make up that story. Surely, not for 15 minutes of fame. This is my first time hearing his name.
5 posted on 11/14/2002 1:27:06 AM PST by TexKat
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To: TexKat
"no record of..." does not mean he never worked for intelligence... naval or otherwise.

very strange... a simple no, he never worked for us, would have been far less ambiguous than "we have no record of..."

that ranks right up there with "I'm sorry, I don't recall any instance like that..."

It all depends on what kind of "contract" worker he was. Certain contract workers would never SAY I was a "contract worker" in public.

The big question for Mr. Burton, who I believe is part of the whole OKC saga... if there is a saga... WHY would this cop lie, to keep out of trouble? To hurt OKC families?

There is something here that smacks of "national security" and coverup here. But I honestly don't know, or worry about it much. We got enough subterfuge and espionage going on nowadays to keep us all busy, worrying about today, instead of yesteryear.

The truth is like cream, it will come to the top one day... after it sets for a while.
6 posted on 11/14/2002 1:54:29 AM PST by recalcitrant
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To: recalcitrant
Damn....maybe Burton and Spector passed it on for the Justice Dept. to investigate......or maybe this has all been a horrible hoax.
7 posted on 11/14/2002 2:01:47 AM PST by Claire Voyant
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To: TexKat
And I thought Dan Burton was on "our" side. The truth is that Burton, like many Stupid Party stalwarts, is long on rhetoric and short on action. Burton made many fiery speechs from the floor of Congress during the Clinton administration, saying all the right things about their despicable acts and probable crimes, but never failed to back off whenever the smoke threatened to catch fire. His performance in this case reflects his attitude perfectly; mouth the truth as long as only the party faithful are listening, destroy the messenger (in the best tradition of the Clintonians) when the possibility for action arises. Burton is a complete joke.
8 posted on 11/14/2002 2:03:57 AM PST by bigunreal
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To: TexKat
>>...A House committee has halted an inquiry into allegations of a wider conspiracy in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing ...<<

The Feds investigating the Feds...like they'll ever come up with anything.

9 posted on 11/14/2002 2:25:42 AM PST by FReepaholic
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To: TexKat
With seven different investigations of the Klintons over eight years, there were very few referals for prosecution. Hell, Clinton, his Ambassador the UN and his Attorney obstructed justice and sought to shut up a witness by offering high paying employment positions. Was it refered?

Of all people, this guy is refered.

Here's something else that stands out. This guy had no way of backing up a lie. If he was lying he would have backed out of this long ago. He walks into the Congress of the United States lying his ass off not sticking to the truth at all? Eh, I'm sorry but I have a hard time believing they still make a model this dumb.

Well, I guess I don't buy off on much these days at first blush. We'll see how this shakes out.

Those who wish to kiss Janet Reno's, Webb Hubbel's, Hillary Clinton's and Louis Freeh's behinds can go ahead. I'll hold out for a better offer.

10 posted on 11/14/2002 2:29:23 AM PST by DoughtyOne
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To: zarf
LOL!
11 posted on 11/14/2002 3:54:34 AM PST by anniegetyourgun
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To: zarf
The conspiracy mouth breathers have just had their hearts ripped out.

Even without a heart, they believe the earth is flat.

12 posted on 11/14/2002 4:30:27 AM PST by Drango
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To: TexKat
Reser's background will be quickly "forgotten" by the conspiracy whackos and his "keen observations" will be repeated for 100 years.
13 posted on 11/14/2002 4:35:08 AM PST by MindBender26
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To: zarf
J.W. Reser, the policeman, told the House Government Reform Committee staff that he viewed a videotape of a Middle Eastern man leaving the truck used to bomb the building. He also claimed that he worked as a contract employee for the government, including Army and Navy intelligence.

Who in their right mind would lie to the Congress, know that they have all of the investigative powers and authority of the entire US at their command.

Something appears twisted here. Is Congress trying to bring it to a halt or just slowing things down for a while?

14 posted on 11/14/2002 4:52:39 AM PST by B4Ranch
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To: zarf
"The conspiracy mouth breathers have just had their hearts ripped out."

Isn't there still recordings of police, fire/rescue, and BATF confirmation of unexploded bombs still in the bldg? Doesn't the presence of unexploded bombs by it's very nature indicate a conspiracy? What of the bldg. on the other side of the street suffering little damage though it was at about the same distance?

It's easy to ridicule and dismiss people who raise uncomfortable questions as tinfoilers but until I see these questions recieve credible answers, I won't be so fast to trust this or any investigation brought to us by the same folks who gave us the single bullet theory.

Besides, Elvis told me this was an inside job.

15 posted on 11/14/2002 5:06:09 AM PST by Hitlerys uterus
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To: B4Ranch
Who in their right mind would lie to the Congress, know that they have all of the investigative powers and authority of the entire US at their command.

I think the key is "right mind." Reser may have wanted his 15 minutes of fame, lied, told the lie often enough until it became the truth to him--and then got caught in his lie.

16 posted on 11/14/2002 5:08:16 AM PST by Catspaw
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To: recalcitrant
["no record of..." does not mean he never worked for intelligence... naval or otherwise. "] {"very strange... a simple no, he never worked for us, would have been far less ambiguous than "we have no record of..."}

. . .thought the same. . .and tinfoil or not, it is not a satisfying response.

17 posted on 11/14/2002 5:34:16 AM PST by cricket
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To: TexKat
What can a reasonable person say about this?

"We don't know what the truth is. We do know the government is not telling the truth. The matter, like so many others, must remain open."

Dan Burton keeps his mouth open an awful ot. Perhaps his mind is open, too. But at least he's keeping the issue on the table, when the full power of the government's bureaucrats wants it buried.

18 posted on 11/14/2002 5:43:01 AM PST by Francohio
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To: TexKat
What can a reasonable person say about this?

"We don't know what the truth is. We do know the government is not telling the truth. The matter, like so many others, must remain open."

Dan Burton keeps his mouth open an awful lot. Perhaps his mind is open, too. But at least he's keeping the issue on the table, when the full power of the government's bureaucrats wants it buried.

19 posted on 11/14/2002 5:43:33 AM PST by Francohio
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To: Hitlerys uterus
To be fair, there is a reasonable explanation of reports of unexploded bombs. There were press reports that the ATF had a missile rigged for use in a sting operation stored in their offices. It was meant to look very real, with small amounts of real propellant and HE payload, but with almost all of it actually inert.

OTOH, it is not credible that the bomb was built by one man. A single 55 gallon drum wieghs about 400# when full. Try getting that onto a truck without a loading dock or liftgate. Try mixing a drum-full of anything. Heck, try mixing lots of pancake batter by hand (say 25# flour, crate of eggs, a few gallons milk...) without an industrial mixer. There is no way any one guy could mix all that ANFO in one night. Look at the number of people who mixed the WTC '93 bomb, and you have a good estimate for how many John Does we need to look for.

There are enough wacky ideas to go around. Some people think TWA800 was hit by a meteor, or that some kind of electromagnetic death ray was used. Why make stuff up? Terrorists are real and they are here, and have been here committing terrorist acts since the 80's, at least. When two embassies are blown up by similar means by Islamic terrorists, looking for terrorist connections in OKC is perfectly rational.

20 posted on 11/14/2002 5:48:59 AM PST by eno_
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