- BitsBlog - https://bitsblog.com -

Leaks, Conflicts of Interest, Stonewalling, Lies.  All in a Days Work for Democrat 9/11 Commissioners.

WASHINGTON, April 14 /U.S. Newswire/ — [1]

House Judiciary Committee Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr. (R-Wis.) released the following statement:

“Yesterday, a 1995 memo written by 9/11 Commission Member Jamie Gorelick, in her former role as the second in command at the Justice Department, revealed her actions in establishing the heightened ‘wall’ prohibiting the sharing of intelligence information and criminal information. Scrutiny of this policy lies at the heart of the Commission’s work. Ms. Gorelick has an inherent conflict of interest as the author of this memo and as a government official at the center of the events in questions. Thus, I believe the Commission’s work and independence will be fatally damaged by the continued participation of Ms. Gorelick as a Commissioner. Reluctantly, I have come to the conclusion that Ms. Gorelick should resign from this Commission.

“The Commission’s Guidelines on Recusals state, ‘Commissioners and staff will recuse themselves from investigating work they performed in prior government service.’ Commissioner Gorelick’s memo directing a policy that ‘go(es) beyond what is legally required’ indicates that her judgment and actions as the Deputy Attorney General in the Reno Justice Department are very much in question before the Commission. Indeed Attorney General Ashcroft called this DOJ policy, ‘the single greatest structural cause for September 11 … (and) embraced flawed legal reasoning.’ Commissioner Gorelick is in the unfair position of trying to address the key issue before the Commission when her own actions are central to the events at issue. The public cannot help but ask legitimate questions about her motives.

While it is regrettable that this conflict had not come to light sooner, this Commission’s work and forthcoming recommendations are too important to be questioned in this way, and may be devalued by Ms. Gorelick’s continued participation as a Commissioner. Given Ms. Gorelick’s work as the Deputy Attorney General under Janet Reno, Ms. Gorelick can be quite valuable to the Commission’s work preparing ‘a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.’ However, that contribution should come as a witness before the Commission – not as a member.

“Key figures like former FBI Director Freeh, Director Mueller, Attorney General Ashcroft, former presidential adviser Richard Clarke, and National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice have all testified before the Commission and would have rightly sparked indignation about a conflict of interest had these individuals also been members of the Commission. Testifying before the Commission is Ms. Gorelick’s proper role, not sitting as a member of this independent commission.”

Seems I wasn’t the only one complaining [2]about this one.

Update:

Well, about these two; The American Spectator [3]has lots to say…

“Ben-Veniste’s only pointed question proved an embarrassment, repeating as it did morning press stories fed by Democrat leaks to the effect that Ashcroft would be asked about why he had started flying in government planes and not commercially before 9/11. When Ashcroft replied that all his personal flying had continued to be done commercially, as was his wife’s, Ben-Veniste was left red-faced, grasping at a dwindling number of straws.

But he couldn’t have been more red-faced than Gorelick, who Ashcroft identified as the author of the policy that hamstrung those supposed to protect us. Ashcroft went on from there:

“The single greatest structural cause for September 11 was the wall that segregated criminal investigators and intelligence agents,” he said in his stirring and air-clearing opening remarks. “Government erected this wall. Government buttressed this wall. And before September 11, government was blinded by this wall.”

Initially she tried mouthing denials to fellow commissioners that she was author of the memo. But when a copy was handed to her, listing her as initialed author, she had nowhere to hide.”

The write-up concludes with the obvious point that the leftist “mainstream’ press wants to ignore:

“The Democrats wanted to play hardball, but ended up clubbed on the head themselves.”

I regard this as nothing less than an orginzed effort on the part of the Democrats to make 9/11 a political football. They should be called on it by the American people at the voting booth… and the slimey weasels should be sent packing, en masse.

I’m starting to pick up on a trend among independant voters and even many Democrat voters that’s starting to come to the same conclusion.

Note to the RNC; Fan these flames.

Son of update:

A comment from Matt Hoy [4]says it well:

“Wednesday’s most outrageous comment came from the Republican 9/11 chairman Tom Kean. Questioned about Gorelick’s obvious conflicts of interest, Kean replied: “People ought to stay out of our business.”

Wrong, chairman. This is about the figuring out how to better protect the American people from terrrorism. It’s not “your” business that we have no say in. “