Question: Who would have the clout in the Clinton Administration to squelch an intelligence report that the military wanted to pass on to the FBI?
That’s got to be a pretty short list. First, it would have to be someone with the required security clearance. And second, it would have to be some kind of gatekeeper, someone who would liaise between both the Department of Defense and the Department of Justice.
Such an individual would almost have to work for the White House. Several bloggers are pointing to Jamie Gorelick as a possible culprit but I don’t think she would have had the authority to act on her own in such a sensitive matter. Her name may be on a memo somewhere but an interesting question is would the Justice Department have had the authority to act unilaterally in a matter of national security like this? I think not which brings us back to the White House and the possible involvement of Sandy Berger in preventing this intel from reaching the FBI.
Using timelines developed by AJ at The Strata-Sphere and Dr. Sanity two things jump out at you.
The first is the time that Berger was in the National Archives stealing documents compared to when staff members for the 9/11 Commission were interviewing Congressman Weldon’s source for Able Danger. Berger is accused of stealing the documents “during two visits to the National Archives in September and October 2003.” The 9/11 staff people visited the Afghan-Pakistan border in October of 2003 to interview the Able Danger team member.
Coincidence? Or Connection?
It would depend on what Berger knew about the Committee’s plans. Would Berger have known that they were going to interview the Able Danger team member? If so, who would have tipped him off? It would have to have been a partisan who was privy to the comings and goings of the investigative staff, many of whom were current and former Justice Department attorneys.
Curiouser and curiouser, no?
Try this on for size. Commission member Jamie Gorelick worked in the same high-powered Democratic party law firm as 9/11 Commission Staff General Counsel Daniel Marcus. The firm includes such luminaries as Lloyd Cutler, known as “the ultimate Washington power broker” who passed away in May. Gorelick joined the firm in 1997 while Marcus left in 1998. If Berger was tipped off by someone with specific knowledge of both the Able Danger operation and Commission staff travel plans to interview one of the AD team members, it would make sense for this someone to have had access to documents so that all traces that the Clinton administration knew of the operation’s warning but didn’t tell the FBI could be removed.
That someone could have been Berger himself.
Perhaps its time to reopen one of the really nagging questions surrounding the formation of the 9/11 Commission itself; why was Jamie Gorelick the only member of the Commission from either the former or current administration who had an axe to grind? In a March 5, 1995 memo to the FBI Director Louis Freeh, Gorelick reminded the director of the “wall” between foreign intelligence gathered and the FBI investigation into the first World Trade Center attack:
In the memo, Ms. Gorelick ordered Mr. Freeh and Ms. White to follow information-sharing procedures that “go beyond what is legally required,” in order to avoid “any risk of creating an unwarranted appearance” that the Justice Department was using Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrants, instead of ordinary criminal investigative procedures, in an effort to undermine the civil liberties of terrorism suspects.
Could one of the reasons Gorelick was placed on the Commission be that she would have been perfectly positioned to give a heads up to some of her friends in the Clinton Administration when troubling questions were coming up? Remember the context here. This was an election year. It was one of the major Democratic themes that 9/11 happened because the Bush Administration ignored warnings given by their predecessors. It would certainly be inconvenient if it came out that the Clinton White House had known of Mohammed Atta almost a year before the attacks.
The other curious thing that jumps out at you when looking at the timeline was that the second meeting with the Able Danger team member took place on July 12, 2004. Berger resigned from the Kerry campaign on July 21 after the document story came out. The Commission released its Final Report the very next day. Can’t say for sure if it means anything. After all, the FBI had been investigating Berger since February. It’s just curious that the information about the investigation would have come out when it did. It was remarked at the time that a probable culprit for leaking the Berger investigation was the Bush Administration trying to distract attention from the release of the 9/11 Commission report due the next day. That makes sense. But how about a little different take.
However, let me ask this—when would people prefer to have the information that the 9/11 Commission was denied access to highly classified material relating to the Clinton Administration’s response to terrorism—after the report came out, or before? For that matter, when would the commission itself prefer to find this out? I’d say it’s better to have this information in the public eye now, especially since the commission made such a show about public testimony, including that of Sandy Berger. If they publish a report based on incomplete evidence, I want to have that information in hand before assessing its credibility.
In this scenario, the Commission itself (who had been informed of the Berger matter) leaked news of the investigation to bolster its credibility. Possible, but let’s try a “wag the dog” scenario.
Suppose you had a PR problem with a former Clinton national security official who was being mentioned as the probable next Secretary of State in a Kerry Administration. You know that once the investigation comes to light that this officials dream of heading up the State Department is finished. But in order to minimize PR damage, you leak news of the investigation into this official’s conduct the day before some other news is absolutely going to swamp it; say, the release of a much anticipated bi-partisan report on the 9/11 attacks?
Just thinking out loud…
11:59 am
Testing Blockquote
This post is just to test what the blockquote formatting looks like in the template.
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12:07 pm
Able Danger, Atta Update III
Well, it seems the 9-11 Commission is having to restate the history of events regarding the fact DoD intelligence, using an intelligence gathering methodology in a new way (on public records here in the US), identified two of the 9-11 ring leaders and…
12:38 pm
Hey Oliver Stone Jr.: Sounds a little paranoid, but within the realm of possibility.
2:46 pm
[...] of conjecture and just flail about with made up “facts” is the properly titled Rightwing Nuthouse: “Such an individual would almost ha [...]
7:24 pm
Able Danger, Atta Update IV
UPDATE III:
If you look at Rick Moran’s post pondering the timing of Bergler’s purloining of Clarke documents for accidental destruction, and how he might have been tipped off about the concurrent Able Danger briefing to the commission, y…
8:33 pm
The Gorelick Wall & Sandy Berger
And this is where Sandy Bergers burglary comes into play. What was the documents that he took and destroyed? Could it be that Able Danger was told to stop looking at people in the US by one Mr. Berger?
10:20 pm
Able Danger
I was wondering if the Able Danger stuff might turn out to be the right-wing equivalent of the “Downing Street Memo,” but apparently it’s true:
The Sept. 11 commission knew military intelligence officials had identified lead hijacker Mohamed Atta…
10:44 pm
Able Danger, Everywhere!
It’s starting to feel like a blogswarm…thanks to utron, AJStrata (read his latest Able Danger news here) and Greg Bullock (whose latest delicious takedown of MoDo can be found here) for pointing out these links from Little Green Footballs, Captain …
10:51 pm
This will be the biggest story of the summer. Members of the 9/11 Commission will go to prison for this, no question.
Incoming! Blogswarm!
6:49 am
Sorcerer of Wonkavator
Today’s dose of NIF - News, Interesting & Funny … Thank.God.Its.Friday, seriously!
2:47 pm
The Gathering Storm
Michelle Malkin has an excellent round-up of commentary on the Able Danger story, which is slowly gathering into a major scandal -- one that could, conceivably, circle back to Sandy Berger's trousers, Iraqi spies, Mohammed Atta's …
2:47 pm
Of course it was Berger who released the news of the investigation at a time least likely to harm him or Kerry. http://www.americanthinker.com/articles.php?article_id=3704
11:22 pm
[...] computer. The warrant was rejected because FBI officials feared breaching the wall.” Right Wing Nut House has an interesting theory: Could one of [...]
10:45 am
Great Aritcle & Post!
I would like to throw the main question asked here right back at you though—but from the opposite point of view and one that reflects the Frustrations voiced by many who are looking at Justification for RE-ELECTING up coming seats in 06’:
You ask, ” WHO would have to POWER to use and the power to LEVERAGE others silence any probe into ; Sandy Berger , the distruction/removalof documents and/or the PLANTING of possibly NEW ( made-up) documents NOT there before?”
“I” ask, ” WHO on the other side of the isle, ( Republicans ) or others outside the whole LOOP -with maybe not even directly related interests -has the
” Power ” or ear of thoses , or Leverage of those ( blackmail?)who COULD re-open an investigation into Berger-Gate and has used their means on the Republicans end to if not STOP—to help mentor/push for the closure and end of all debate/discussion/or even future PROMIS to look further into THIS equally Crimnally Situation and act!?”
I can think of no better place than Washington D.C. these days ( shamefully!) where the term C.Y.A. and ” Play the Game ” has not only been included in this years updated edition of Websters’! But seems to be incorporated in POLITICIANS registered as ” Republicans ” where they themselves have not only shown THEIR lack of Support for our Elected Commander & Chief—but as gone so far as to invent/re-invent other issues for the sole purpose of Red-Herringly pushing ” Berger-gate “,
” 9//1 Commison-Gorlick-Gate ” , ” Able-Danger-gate ” and ” NY Times-Leak-Gate ” totally out of the picture.
It is easily enough to be able to spot those with Anarchist, Anti-American agendas in the streets with their Moving-On PROFESSIONALLY-MASS PRODUCED signs that read,” Bush’s War for OIL!” or![]()
they STILL are handed without questioning it and walk around with THOSE still on campuses!)
” Whole war concocted in Teaxas ” ( or MY favorite idiocy,” END the DRAFT
But when you can not tell WHO in the Seante and Congress is really NOT on the American people’s side even though they are REGISTERED republicans/Conservatives—it makes for a big mess on deciding just who IS on ” our Side ” and does the Big Bad Wolf ALWAYS wear a Fur custom/Big, bad teeth?? or are they also wearing little Red Riding-capes as well??
I praise President Bush for not falling into that trap of ” jumping through hoops ” of responding to all that the dems and Libbies through out to the press—But that doesn’t leave our other elected officials off the hook for NOT responding to the false charges, accusations-and taking action THEMSELVES to go after the Lefts Traitorous-Pro-Terrorist stances—leaks that only help our enemies-and showing SUPPORT for our President in the face of being attacked themsleves by the big-gun dems and liberal controled Media.
“WE” all want Able danger to come out!
“WE” all want Gorelick to be called before anSpecial investigation!
“WE” all want an investigation into the NY TIMES!
If President Bush can’t do it for his own reasons—who is stopping this on our end who should be exposed too!-like the Professional politicians they have turned into!
There’s only one of you—there’s only one of Rush Limbaugh-Mark Levin-NewsMax-Ect.
There ARE Republican SENATORS and in CONGRESS—WHO is NOT carrying their fair share of the weight! let’s find out and hold them to the fire!!
Darth AirBorne
STILL ashamed that the GOP has written off NEW YORK STATE the cowards they are!
3:27 am
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3:05 pm
[...] Right Wing Nut House has an interesting theory: Could one of the reasons Gorelick was placed on the Commission be that she would have been perfectly positioned to give a heads up to some of her friends in the Clinton Administration when troubling questions were coming up? Remember the context here. This was an election year. It was one of the major Democratic themes that 9/11 happened because the Bush Administration ignored warnings given by their predecessors. It would certainly be inconvenient if it came out that the Clinton White House had known of Mohammed Atta almost a year before the attacks. [...]