Justice Department Caves In (re: Sibel Edmonds)

[paulthompson]

This is a press release from a non-profit hot off the press, but I'm sure the mainstream media will have stories on this later in the day. Good news for whistleblower Sibel Edmonds and open government!

http://www.pogo.org/p/government/ga-050202-classification.html

Justice Department Caves In: Allows Publication
of Retroactively Classified Information

Lawsuit Challenged Classification of Public Information

WASHINGTON , D.C. – A hearing scheduled for this morning before U.S. District Judge John D. Bates was abruptly cancelled after the Justice Department gave up and admitted that the information it had retroactively classified could be released to the public.

Last June, the Project On Government Oversight (POGO) sued then-Attorney General John Ashcroft and the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) for retroactively classifying information related to whistleblower Sibel Edmonds’ allegations of wrongdoing in an FBI translation unit. The suit alleged that the retroactive classification was unlawful and violated POGO’s First Amendment right to free speech.

The information at issue was presented by the FBI to the Senate Judiciary Committee during two unclassified briefings in 2002. The information was referenced in letters from U.S. Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) and Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) to DOJ officials. The senators’ letters were posted on their Web sites but were removed after the FBI notified the Senate in May 2004 that the information had been retroactively classified (see POGO's alert.)

During a June 2004 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Ashcroft defended the decision to retroactively classify the information, claiming that its further dissemination could seriously impair the national security interests of the United States, even though for more than two years the information was widely available to the public.

[cthrumatrix]

1. don't look for corporate media cartel to cover this at all.... Sibel has

"the goods" on people and they will not let her testify.

[HereSince1628]

2. So the election is over, they kept control, no danger of impeachment

so its a good time to do some cleaning.

[tom_paine]

4. Exactly...all these fucking Totalitarian Scum are the same

Suppress information until it no longer matters if it gets out and the damage is done.

[Occulus]

14. They WILL get caught in the act eventually, TP.

In their hubris and their arrogance, they will attempt to reach too far and, in so injudiciously extending their necks, condemn themselves to the spectacular fall they so richly deserve.

It may not even happen until 2006 or 2007, but I have little doubt it will happen eventually. Their own actions will take them down. My only fear is, they take us all down with them.

[lovuian]

3. Another way of hiding the truth Delay Delay Delay!!!

this is where justice has failed us immensely!!! But the truth is coming out thats good!!!

[Supersedeas]

5. what did it cost the taxpayers to cater to this incompetent *holes

[The Backlash Cometh]

6. kick

[struggle4progress]

16. and again

:kick:

[cascadiance]

19. and again...

[robertpaulsen]

7. Big kick for Sibel. Thanks Paul!

:kick:

[paulthompson]

8. Thank Sibel

Still nothing in the mainstream media about this important development.

[annabanana]

9. Sigh..The sheeple would say "Sibel who?" if they did....

There may be a one-liner just before commercial break, maybe..

[Peace Patriot]

10. Congratulations, Sibel! And profound thanks! n/t

[Doremus]

11. Someday when sanity returns, people will know Sibel's name

Her name will be listed among the courageous patriots who fought back, often with dire personal consequences, during the Dark Ages of 2000-2008.

Thank you for your courage Sibel.

[paulthompson]

12. One mainstream article so far, from UPI

Shaun Waterman is one of the last remaining decent journalists, even if he does work for the kooky Reverend Moon media empire:

http://www.washtimes.com/upi-breaking/20050222-072936-1680r.htm

FBI abandons whistleblower secrets claim

By Shaun Waterman
UPI Homeland and National Security Editor

Washington, DC, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- The Department of Justice has abandoned its claim that allegations made by a fired FBI translator are secret, paving the way for a court case that will air embarrassing allegations about incompetence, poor security and possible espionage in the translation unit of the Bureau's Washington Field Office.

---

But note that the gag order on Sibel Edmonds will probably still remain:

He declined to say what effect this might have on the department's assertion of the "state secrets privilege" but added that the department's lawyers would be filing papers in the case on Thursday that might make its position clearer.

[paulthompson]

13. The Washington Post picked it up...

Access to Memos Is Affirmed

Classified Status Can't Be Changed

By R. Jeffrey Smith
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, February 23, 2005; Page A17

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A45322-2005Feb22.html

The Justice Department has backed away from a court battle over its authority to classify and restrict the discussion of information it has already released, handing a local advocacy group a victory by granting it explicit permission to publish letters written by two senators that contain the contested information.

[Al-CIAda]

15. Sibel Edmonds- FBI Whistleblower, interview

State Dept. Quashed 9/11 Links To Global Drug Trade
 -FBI Whistleblower

Sibel Edmonds- FBI Whistleblower, interview
SE: Everything – from drugs to money laundering to arms sales. And yes, there are certain convergences with all these activities and international terrorism.
CD: So with these organizations we're talking about a lot of money –
SE: Huge, just massive. They don't deal with 1 million or 5 million dollars, but with hundreds of millions.
CD: From your previous testimony and the examples I want to bring up next, it would seem that organized crime with terrorist links is really holding the reins inside powerful governments, even the American one. No?
SE: That may be, but I don't know. I didn't get high enough up on the ladder to find out. With all of this suspicious and unprecedented "state secrets" obstructionism from Ashcroft, it might seem that way, but I don't have any direct information.
CD: But what do think, within departments such as the Pentagon and the State Department. Do you suspect certain high officials may be profiting from terrorist-linked organized crime?
SE: I can't say anything specific with regards to these departments, because I didn't work for them. But as for the politicians, what I can say is that when you start talking about huge amounts of money, certain elected officials become automatically involved. And there are different kinds of campaign contributions – legal and illegal, declared and undeclared.
CD: Could this apparent toleration of dangerous criminal groups in the midst possibly be interpreted to mean that American policy is driven by the "ends justify the means" philosophy?
SE: But how are the ends possibly met by such activities? To this day, I just can't see how. What is happening does not benefit 99.9 percent of Americans – just a very small elite.
I'm no expert, but from what I have personally seen I can say that our national security is being compromised every day, because important investigations are being stopped, and potentially important clues are being overlooked. It's absolutely incredible that even after 9/11, certain individuals, foreign businessmen and others, among others, are still escaping scrutiny.
Okay, perhaps talking about the pre-9/11 world they could get away with saying "we didn't know," but to continue doing so – I mean, what if we are attacked by nuclear or chemical weapons, what will be their next excuse? That "we didn't know" it could happen? Come on! I can prove they are lying, because they know."
http://www.breakfornews.com/Sibel-Edmonds-Story.htm

[bunny planet]

17. Kick!

:kick: :kick: :kick:

[sattahipdeep]

18. Payback in Judges-Judge John D. Bates

By E. J. Dionne Jr.

Friday, January 10, 2003; Page A21

You have to hand it to President Bush and his judge-pickers.

Or consider the ruling of Judge John D. Bates in December declaring that
Congress's General Accounting Office -- and thus the public -- had no right to learn the specifics
about meetings between Vice President Cheney's famous energy task force and various energy
executives and lobbyists. The same John Bates, an appointee of the current president, was an
attorney for Ken Starr's Whitewater investigation and pushed hard and successfully for the
release of various White House documents related to Hillary Rodham Clinton's activities.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A35856-2003Jan9.html

Sibel Edmonds Letter To Thomas Kean

Today, almost three years after 9/11, and more than two years
since this information has been confirmed and made available to
our government, the administrators in charge of language departments
of the FBI remain in their positions and in charge of the information
front lines of the FBI’s Counter terrorism and Counterintelligence
efforts. Your report has omitted any reference to this most serious
issue, has foregone any accountability what so ever, and your recommendations
have refrained from addressing this issue, which when left un-addressed
will have even more serious consequences. This issue is systemic and
departmental. Why did your report choose to exclude this information
and this serious issue despite the evidence and briefings you received?
How can budget increases address and resolve this misconduct by mid-level
bureaucratic management? How can the addition of a new bureaucratic layer,
“ Intelligence Czar”, in its cocoon removed from the action lines, address
and resolve this problem?

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page/FH05Aa01.html

Intelligence Czar :eyes:

[seemslikeadream]

20. "Coincidence theory" cannot explain Sibel Edmonds

"Coincidence theory" cannot explain Sibel Edmonds
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=3005036

Do you know this woman?



Coincidentalists sure cherry pick the threads to pile on. They love the "no plane hit the Pentagon" stuff. But give them conspiracy facts - things like BCCI, the CIA's drug trafficking, and Sibel Edmonds - and they're as scarce as a Senator's son in Iraq.

So, who is this Sibel Edmonds?

A 9/11 whistleblower from the FBI translation department. A translator of Turkish and Azerbaijani. She does not speak Arabic.

She is someone the Department of Justice doesn't want you to know. She is subject to an extraordinary "State Secrets Privilege" gag order, which prohibits her going public with her classified testimony. The DOJ even retroactively classified her public testimony.

The DOJ recently admitted the validity of her claims of espionage in the translation department, so we're not talking about a crazy woman here.

And yet, dear coincidentalist, her name does not get a single mention in the Kean Report. (Oh my - clutch it tighter to your breast.)

Though prohibited from speaking in detail, she's still been able to tell us much.

Some hints she gave Jim Hogue of The Boston Chronicle:

JH: I understand why you can't say anything about this, but there are several books out about the Bush ties to the Saudis and the bin Ladens in particular. And in David Griffin's book, The New Pearl Harbor, there is a very good synopsis of the ISI, which is the Pakistani intelligence service. He shows the direct connections between the CIA, the ISI, and Mohamed Atta. He makes a very convincing case that the Pakistani ISI had been helping to plan 9/11 for a long time.

I don't imagine that you are allowed to say much about that.

SE: You are correct. But I can tell you that the issue, on one side, boils down to money--a lot of money. And it boils down to people and their connections with this money, and that's the portion that, even with this book, has not been mentioned to this day. Because then it starts touching some people in high places.

JH: Can you explain more about what money you are talking about?

SE: The most significant information that we were receiving did not come from counter-terrorism investigations, and I want to emphasize this. It came from counter-intelligence, and certain criminal investigations, and issues that have to do with money laundering operations.

You get to a point where it gets very complex, where you have money laundering activities, drug related activities, and terrorist support activities converging at certain points and becoming one. In certain points - and they (the intelligence community) are separating those portions from just the terrorist activities. And, as I said, they are citing "foreign relations" which is not the case, because we are not talking about only governmental levels. And I keep underlining semi-legit organizations and following the money. When you do that the picture gets grim. It gets really ugly.... I can tell that once, and if, and when this issue gets to be, under real terms, investigated, you will be seeing certain people that we know from this country standing trial; and they will be prosecuted criminally.

Sounds crazy. Sounds like tinfoil stuff. And yet John Ashcroft justified her gag order by telling the courts what she knows could cause grievous harm to national security.

What she reminds people to do is to look behind administrations, to the confluence of state, business and criminal interests. Including oil and drugs.

From her interview with Christopher Deliso:

CD: At several points you state that such organized crime networks employ "semi-legitimate organizations" as their point of interface with governments and the "legit" world. Can you explain exactly what you mean?

SE: These are organizations that might have a legitimate front – say as a business, or a cultural center or something. And we've also heard a lot about Islamic charities as fronts for terrorist organizations, but the range is much broader and even, simpler.

CD: For example?

SE: You might have an organization supposed to be promoting the cultural affairs of a certain country within another country. Hypothetically, say, an Uzbek folklore society based in Germany. The stated purpose would be to hold folklore-related activities – and they might even do that – but the real activities taking place behind the scenes are criminal.

CD: Such as?

SE: Everything – from drugs to money laundering to arms sales. And yes, there are certain convergences with all these activities and international terrorism.

CD: So with these organizations we're talking about a lot of money –

SE: Huge, just massive. They don't deal with 1 million or 5 million dollars, but with hundreds of millions.

Fintan Dunne of BreakForNews has a good Sibel Edmonds data dump here.

Get to know her. Until you do, you don't know what you're talking about when you talk about 9/11.

Indira Singh/PTech deep moles in FAA help accomplish 9/11! WTF??
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=2203166

State Dept. Quashed 9/11 Links To Global Drug Trade
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=610235

Sibel Edmonds: Turkey, drugs and 9/11
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=1894035

DOJ Asked FBI Translator To Change Pre 9-11 Intercepts
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=442067




:hi: sattahipdeep :hug: