I'm from the Government and I'm Here to Kill You

by David T. Hardy

  56. Failure Analysis Associates, Final Assault on Mount Carmel, p. 7 (July 21, 1995).

  57. William Lowry, et al., “Studies of Toxic Gas Production During Actual Residential Fires in the Dallas Area,” Journal of Forensic Sciences, vol. 30, pp. 59, 63 (1985).

  58. Isabel G. Andrade v. Phillip J. Chojnacki, No. W-96-CA-139 (W.D. Tex.), Memorandum opinion dated July 1, 1999, p. 63.

  59. Castillo v. United States, 530 U.S. 120 (2000).

  60. House Report, pp. 306–14, 322–29.

  61. Ibid., pp. 315–21, 330–36.

  62. Ibid.

  63. John C. Danforth, Final Report to the Deputy Attorney General Concerning the 1993 Confrontation at the Mt. Carmel Complex, Waco, Texas (2000), online at https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Final_report_to_the_Deputy_Attorney_General_concerning_the_1993_confrontation_at_the_Mt._Carmel_Complex,_Waco_Texas. (The author is proud of a passage on p. 99 of the report, where the independent counsel states, with regard to accusations of USDOJ perjury, “The Hardy situation is the most troubling.”)

  64. Robert Bryce, “Killing the Messenger: John C. Danforth’s Indictment of Whistleblower Bill Johnston may lead to a Nasty Courtroom Showdown,” The Austin Chronicle, Nov. 17, 2000, online at http://www.austinchronicle.com/news/2000-11-17/79443.

  65. Affidavit of Richardo Ojeda, filed in State of Oklahoma v. Terry Nichols, District Court of Oklahoma County, No. CF-99-1845, dated May 21, 2001.

  66. John C. Danforth, op. cit., p. 98 (Nov. 8, 2000).

  67. Gary Cartwright, “The Case of the Persecuted Prosecutor,” Texas Monthly, Aug. 2001, online at http://www.texasmonthly.com/politics/the-case-of-the-persecuted-prosecutor.

  CHAPTER 6

  1. Glenmore S. Trenear-Harvey, Historical Dictionary of Intelligence Failures, p. 148 (2015).

  2. National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States, The 9/11 Commission Report, p. 271 (2003) [hereinafter “9/11 Commission Report”].

  3. Richard Miniter, Losing Bin Laden, pp. 29–30 (2003).

  4. Ibid., pp. 51–52.

  5. Thus becoming the first Jarhead noncom to become a head of state. See James C. McKinley, “How a U.S. Marine Became Leader of Somalia,” New York Times, Aug. 12, 1996, online at http://www.nytimes.com/1996/08/12/world/how-a-us-marine-became-leader-of-somalia.html.

  6. Rich Lowry, Legacy; Paying the Price for the Clinton Years, p. 300 (2003); Susan Page, “Why Clinton failed to stop bin Laden,” USA Today, Nov. 12, 2001, online at http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/attack/2001/11/12/clinton-usatcov.htm#more. The two sources give somewhat different translations.

  7. “President Clinton’s remarks,” CNN, June 25, 1996, online at http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9606/25/clinton.remarks.

  8. Louis J. Freeh, “Khobar Towers,” Wall Street Journal, June 23, 2006, online at http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB115102702568788331.

  9. Rich Lowry, op. cit., pp. 309–10 (2003).

  10. Louis J. Freeh, My FBI: Bringing Down the Mafia, Investigating Bill Clinton, and Fighting the War on Terror, p. 30 (2005).

  11. Associated Press, “Bombings in East Africa,” New York Times, Aug. 8, 1998. Online at http://www.nytimes.com/1998/08/08/world/bombings-in-east-africa-clinton-pledges-a-hunt-for-those-responsible.html.

  12. BBC News, World: Americas, Clinton Statement in Full, Aug. 26, 1998. Online at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/155412.stm.

  13. Rich Lowry, op. cit., p. 318.

  14. “Breaking News, President Clinton Vows to Hold USS Cole attackers accountable,” CNN transcripts, Oct. 12, 2000, online at http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0010/12/bn.44.html.

  15. 9/11 Commission Report, p. 191.

  16. Gerald Posner, Why America Slept, p. 101 (2003).

  17. Barton Gellman, “U.S. was Foiled Multiple Times in Efforts to Capture bin Laden or Have Him Killed,” Washington Post, Oct. 3, 2001, online at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/09/AR2006060900911.html.

  18. Gerald Posner, op. cit., p. 103.

  19. Barton Gellman, op. cit.

  20. Richard Miniter, op. cit., p. 102.

  21. Alexandra Poolos, “Afghanistan: The Taliban’s Rise to Power,” Radio Free Europe, Sept. 18, 2001, online at http://www.rferl.org/a/1097442.html.

  22. George Tenet, op. cit., pp. 104–05.

  23. Richard Miniter, op. cit., p. 168.

  24. Technically, it would be double hearsay, each component of which must qualify for admission into evidence. Bin Laden saying he did it would be admissible in his prosecution, within the rule’s exception for statements of a party opponent. But the witness’s claim that he heard someone else describe bin Laden’s confession would not be admissible.

  25. Richard Miniter, op. cit., p. 198.

  26. Ibid., pp. 198–99.

  27. See Grant J. Lilly, “In the Crosshairs: Lifting the Ban on Assassination,” American Diplomacy (June 2006), online at http://www.unc.edu/depts/diplomat/item/2006/0406/lill/lilly_crosshairs.html.

  28. Richard A. Clarke, Against All Enemies, p. 204 (2004).

  29. Ibid., pp. 145, 204 (2004).

  30. Richard Miniter, op. cit., p. 87.

  31. George Tenet, At the Center of the Storm, pp. 30–31 (2007).

  32. 9/11 Commission Report, p. 260.

  33. National Security Presidential Directive 1, online at https://fas.org/irp/offdocs/nspd/nspd-1.pdf.

  34. Online at https://fas.org/irp/offdocs/nspd/nspd-1.pdf.

  35. Richard Clarke, op. cit., pp. 231–32.

  36. Ibid., p. 237. It should be noted that FBI Director Louis Freeh contends that Clarke, whom he describes as “the self-appointed Paul Revere of 9/11,” was quite a minor player in counterterrorism: “Here’s what I remember about Dick Clarke: almost nothing of any significance.” Louis J. Freeh, My FBI: Bringing Down the Mafia, Investigating Bill Clinton, and Fighting the War on Terror, p. 297 (2005). CIA Director George Tenet, on the other hand, reports dealing with Clarke on many occasions. George Tenet, op. cit., pp. 131, 143–45, 151, 200 (2007).

  37. Robert H. Churchill, To Shake Their Guns in the Tyrant’s Face (2012).

  38. Online at http://www.constitution.org/y2k/megiddo.pdf.

  39. For those too young to remember and fellow Mac users for whom it was irrelevant—the Y2K bug resulted from operating systems that stored year dates as two-digit strings, so that 1999 was stored as 99. There were various fears as to what would happen on January 1, 2000, when the two-digit date string would become 00. The operating systems might crash entirely, or they might start dating files as 1900 rather than 2000. But by 2000 enough operating systems had been upgraded to where very little actually happened.

  40. General Accounting Office, Combatting Terrorism: Need for Comprehensive Threat and Risk Assessments of Chemical and Biological Attacks, Sept. 1999, online at http://www.investigativeproject.org/documents/testimony/167.pdf

  41. Office of the Inspector General, A Review of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Program: Threat Assessment, Strategic Planning, and Resource Management, report no. 02-38, Sept. 2002, online at https://oig.justice.gov/reports/FBI/a0238.htm.

  42. Richard Blair, “FBI’s ‘Phoenix’ Memo Unmasked,” Fortune.com, Oct. 12, 2011, online at http://fortune.com/2011/10/12/fbis-phoenix-memo-unmasked.

  43. Office of the Inspector General, A Review of the FBI’s Handling of Intelligence Prior to the September 11 Attacks, Nov. 2004, online at https://oig.justice.gov/special/0506/chapter3.htm.

  44. 9/11 Commission Report, p. 273.

  45. George Tenet, op. cit., pp. 201–2.

  46. “Coleen Rowley’s Memo to FBI Director Robert Mueller,” TIME, June 3, 2002, online at https://web.archive.org/web/20020602115353/http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101020603/memo.html.

  47. Ibid.

  48. Ibid.

  49. Margaret Talbot, “The Way We Live Now,” New York Times Magazine, Sept. 28, 2003, online at http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=ifissues&Template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=21662.

&
nbsp; 50. Bob Egelko, “FBI Checking Out Americans’ Reading Habits,” SF Gate, June 23, 2002, online at http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/FBI-checking-out-Americans-reading-habits-2826830.php.

  51. Technically, the sound to sound-plus-noise ratio.

  52. Brian Wingfield, “Dress Code May Hinder Their Work, Air Marshals Say,” New York Times, July 17, 2004, online at http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/17/us/dress-code-may-hinder-their-work-air-marshals-say.html.

  53. Ibid.

  54. “U.S. Air Marshals Dodge ‘Suit Nazis,’” Washington Times, Dec. 23, 2004, online at http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2004/dec/23/20041223-104021-4191r/.

  55. See 49 U.S. Code §44921.

  56. “Faulty rules blamed for gun’s firing,” Washington Times, Mar. 28, 2008, online at http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/mar/28/faulty-rules-blamed-for-guns-firing/.

  57. Michael Ross and John M. Broder, “Aspin Rejects Calls for His Resignation,” Los Angeles Times, Oct. 8, 1993, online at http://articles.latimes.com/1993-10-08/news/mn-43575_1_secretary-aspin; “Aspin Defends Refusal of Armor for Somalia,” NWI.com, Oct. 8, 1993, online at http://www.nwitimes.com/uncategorized/aspin-defends-refusal-of-armor-for-somalia/article_b158f774-9413-5ec4-80e9-12beec647aa4.html.

  58. The downing of the helicopters was unrelated to a lack of American armor, but the fact that the rescue column took fourteen hours to reach the trapped soldiers, some of whom died of wounds while waiting, certainly was. The American commander had to locate and recruit Pakistani and Malaysian units that were equipped with armor, albeit of the Vietnam era.

  CHAPTER 7

  1. Online at http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=6960824&page=1.

  2. Mark Landler, “Clinton Says U.S. Feeds Mexico Drug Trade,” New York Times, Mar. 25, 2009, online at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/26/world/americas/26mexico.html?_r=0.

  3. John Dodson, The Unarmed Truth, p. 3 (2013).

  4. The description of the firefight and of Agent Terry’s death is taken from the Declarations of Timothy Keller, William Castano, and Gabriel Fragoza, United States v. Manuel Osorio-Arellanes, No. CR 11-150-TUC-DCB (D. Ariz).

  5. Mike Detty, Guns Across the Border: The Inside Story, pp. 2–3 (2013). See also Office of the Inspector General, Dep’t of Justice, A Review of ATF’s Operation Fast and Furious and Related Matters, p. 31 (Nov. 2012), online at https://oig.justice.gov/reports/2012/s1209.pdf [hereinafter, “OIG Report”].

  6. Mike Detty, op. cit., pp. 24–25, OIG Report pp. 36–37.

  7. OIG Report, p. 66.

  8. Hinsley v. Standing Rock Child Protective Services, 516 F.3d 668 (8th Cir. 2008).

  9. OIG Report, p. 50.

  10. Ibid., p. 50.

  11. Ibid, pp. 68–69.

  12. Mike Detty, op. cit., p. 248.

  13. Ibid., p. 259.

  14. Congressional Research Service, The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF): Budget and Operations for FY2008, FY2009, and FY2010, online at https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/RL34514.html.

  15. OIG Report, pp. 72–73.

  16. John Dodson, The Unarmed Truth: My Fight to Blow the Whistle and Expose Fast and Furious, pp. 42–43 (2013).

  17. See generally David A. Keene, Shall Not Be Infringed: The New Assaults on Your Second Amendment (2016).

  18. Stephen Dinan, “Obama Blames U.S. Guns in Mexico,” Washington Times, Apr. 17, 2009, online at http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/apr/17/obama-blames-us-guns-in-mexico.

  19. Dennis Wagner, “Burke of Fast and Furious Had Anti-Gun History,” Arizona Republic, Jan. 28, 2012, online at http://archive.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2012/01/27/20120127dennis-burke-fast-furious-scandal-career.html.

  20. Document obtained from the Clinton Presidential Library. The assault weapons ban was part of the 1994 Crime Act, referenced in the memo.

  21. Undated fax from Department of the Treasury, Office of Policy Development, to Dennis Burke, obtained from the Clinton Presidential Library.

  22. OIG Report, p. 110.

  23. Online at http://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/10-29-12-Exhibits-for-Fast-and-Furious-The-Anatomy-of-a-Failed-Operation-Part-II-of-III-Report.pdf.

  24. OIG Report, p. 128.

  25. Ibid., p. 115.

  26. Ibid., p. 119.

  27. Ibid., pp. 120–21.

  28. Ibid., pp. 128–29.

  29. Sharyl Atkinsson, “Documents: ATF used ‘Fast and Furious’ to make the case for gun regulations,” CBS Evening News, Dec. 7, 2011, online at http://www.cbsnews.com/news/documents-atf-used-fast-and-furious-to-make-the-case-for-gun-regulations.

  30. Ibid. See also OIG Report, p. 181.

  31. Sharyl Atkinsson, Fast and Furious, p. 57 (2012).

  32. OIG Report, p. 182.

  33. Katie Pavlich, Fast and Furious: Barack Obama’s Bloodiest Scandal and its Shameless Cover-up, p. 46 (2012).

  34. John Dodson, op. cit., p. 74.

  35. Ibid., p. 49.

  36. Ibid., pp. 49–50.

  37. Ibid., pp. 56–57.

  38. Joint Staff Report, The Department of Justice’s Operation Fast and Furious: Accounts of ATF Agents, p. 43, online at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/nation/documents/atf-fast-and-furious-4.html [hereinafter, “Joint Report”].

  39. Ibid., p. 28.

  40. Ibid., p. 36.

  41. Ibid., pp. 37–38.

  42. Ibid., p. 23.

  43. Ibid., p. 24.

  44. Hearings before the House Committee on Oversight and Gov’t Reform, Operation Fast and Furious: The Other Side of the Border (112th Cong., 1st Sess.) p. 65 (July 26, 2011).

  45. Newell became Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Phoenix Office in 2006. After establishment of the Denver Field Division late the following year, Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, and Utah were given to Denver. “ATF Opens New Field Division in Denver,” Dec. 10, pp. 2–7, online at http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/atf-opens-new-field-division-in-denver-58654957.html.

  46. Statement of William Newell before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, July 26, 2011, online at https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/7-26-11_Newell_FF_Testimony.pdf.

  47. Dennis Wagner, “Burke of Fast and Furious Had an Antigun History,” Arizona Republic, Jan. 28, 2012, online at http://archive.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2012/01/27/20120127dennis-burke-fast-furious-scandal-career.html.

  48. J. J. Hensley, “Feds Link Arizona Buyers to Drug Cartels’ Guns, Arizona Republic, Sept. 18, 2010, online at http://archive.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2010/09/18/20100918gunbust0918.html.

  49. Joint Staff Report, Part. 2 (Oct. 29, 2012), pp. 92, 96. Online at https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/10-29-12-Fast-and-Furious-The-Anatomy-of-a-Failed-Operation-Part-II-of-III-Report.pdf.

  50. Joint Report, p. 36.

  51. Joint Report, p. 38.

  52. Sari Horwitz & James Grimaldi, “U.S. Gun Dealers with the Most Firearms Traced over the Past Four Years,” Washington Post, Dec. 13, 2010.

  53. James Grimaldi & Sara Horwitz, “As Mexico Drug Violence Runs Rampant, U.S. Guns Tied to Crime South of Border,” Washington Post, Dec. 15, 2010.

  54. Ibid.

  55. John Dodson, op. cit., p. 158.

  56. Mike Vanderboegh, online at http://sipseystreetirregulars.blogspot.com/2010/12/border-patrol-agent-killed-with-atf.html.

  57. John Dobson, op. cit., p. 167.

  58. Ibid., p. 172.

  59. Online at https://www.scribd.com/doc/47909152/ATF1-1.

  60. Online at https://web.archive.org/web/20110508031440/http://grassley.senate.gov/about/upload/Judiciary-ATF-02-04-11-letter-from-DOJ-deny-allegations.pdf.

  61. Peter Yost, “Justice Dept. Details How It Got Statements Wrong,” Associated Press, Dec. 2, 2011, online at https://www.yahoo.com/news/justice-dept-details-got-statements-wrong-215322145.html?ref=gs.

  62. Ryan J. Reilly, “Ex U.S. Att
orney Called Grassley’s Staff ‘Stooges for the Gun Lobby’ for Fast and Furious Probe,” Talking Points Memo, Dec. 2, 2011, online at http://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/ex-u-s-attorney-called-grassley-s-staff-stooges-for-the-gun-lobby-for-fast-and-furious-probe.

  63. John Dodson, op. cit., p. 189.

  64. “ATF Fires Fast and Furious Whistleblower Agent Vince Cefalu.” Polisite, online at http://www.politisite.com/2011/06/27/atf-fires-fast-and-furious-whistle-blower-agent-vince-cefalu.

  65. Elisabeth Meinecke, “The DoJ Corruption that Led to Fast and Furious,” Townhall, Jan. 30, 2012, online at http://townhall.com/tipsheet/elisabethmeinecke/2012/01/30/diary_of_an_atf_whistleblower_and_the_corruption_that_led_to_fast_and_furious.

  66. Interview of Kenneth Melson, p. 39, online at http://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/10-29-12-Exhibits-for-Fast-and-Furious-The-Anatomy-of-a-Failed-Operation-Part-II-of-III-Report.pdf.

  67. Sari Horwitz, “Operation Fast and Furious: Gunrunning Sting Gone Wrong,” Washington Post, July 26, 2011, online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/us-anti-gunrunning-effort-turns-fatally-wrong/2011/07/14/gIQAH5d6YI_story.html.

  68. Ibid.

  69. Richard Serrano, “Justice Department Trying to Shield Officials in Guns Scandal, ATF Chief Says,” The Daily Press, July 19, 2011, online at http://www.dailypress.com/la-na-guns-scandal-20110719-story.html.

  70. Dennis Wagner, “House Memo: Entire Fast and Furious Mission Was a Failure,” USA Today, Feb. 10, 2012, online at http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-02-10/fast-furious/53037494/1; Richard Serrano, “Gun-smuggling Cartel Figures Possibly Were Paid FBI Informants,” Daily Press, July 17, 2011, online at http://www.dailypress.com/la-na-cartel-guns-20110717-story.html.

  71. John Dodson, op. cit., p. 58.

  72. Hearings before the House Committee On Oversight and Gov’t Reform, Operation Fast and Furious: The Other Side of the Border (112th Cong., 1st Sess.) pp. 167–68 (July 26, 2011).

  73. Judicial Watch, Justice Department Documents Reveal Widespread use of Fast and Furious Weapons by Major Mexican Drug Cartels, May 25, 2016, online at https://www.judicialwatch.org/press-room/press-releases/judicial-watch-justice-department-documents-reveal-widespread-use-fast-furious-weapons-major-mexican-drug-cartels-linked-least-69-killings.