-Caveat Lector- from: http://www.zolatimes.com/V3.8/pageone.html <A HREF="http://www.zolatimes.com/V3.8/pageone.html">Laissez Faire City Times - Volume 3 Issue 8</A> The Laissez Faire City Times February 22, 1999 - Volume 3, Issue 8 Editor & Chief: Emile Zola ----- An Interview with Gary Aldrich by Wesley Phelan In 1996, shortly after the publication of Unlimited Access, Gary Aldrich appeared on "This Week" with David Brinkley. The panelists derided Aldrich�s claims that security had broken down in the Clinton White House. After the show, ABC and other networks canceled their remaining interviews with Aldrich. Elizabeth Vargas rounded out the media attack, stating on "Good Morning America" that Aldrich was under fire for "what appears to be sloppy reporting." [1] George Stephanopoulos, a senior adviser to the President, had attempted before the program to convince ABC to cancel its invitation to Aldrich. He accused Aldrich of being a "tool" in a right-wing plot "to destroy" the President. He said that Bob Dole, Clinton�s opponent in the 1996 presidential election, had "a responsibility to repudiate him or he is complicit in this campaign of character assassination". Aldrich�s claims, according to Stephanopoulos, were "vicious", "totally preposterous", "absurd" and "outrageous". [2] Now, two-and-a-half years later, any reasonably informed person knows who is guilty of "sloppy reporting" and who is "vicious", "totally preposterous", "absurd", and "outrageous". On January 12 of this year Ms. Vargas interviewed Larry Flynt on "Good Morning America." She allowed him to air charges against Congressman Bob Barr, pausing only momentarily to note that it "might be a stretch" to imagine that Flynt was a White House tool. [3] Stephanopoulos, for his part, has been sanctioned by a federal judge for not telling the truth in a deposition to Judicial Watch. [4] Vindication is sweet. On February 16, one day after Linda Tripp corroborated his allegations on a nationwide broadcast of Larry King Live, Aldrich spoke to a packed house at Eureka College, Ronald Reagan�s alma mater. Before his presentation, Aldrich granted the following exclusive interview to The Laissez Faire City Times. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ In your book you say that William Kennedy was in charge of dismantling the White House security system. What made you believe that? Aldrich: Well, that was the conclusion we drew after the many times we brought significant problems with security to him, and each time he found a reason not to do anything about them. By �we� I mean the FBI, the Secret Service and permanent staff members who had an interest in security. The next question would be why he did this. The answer is the administration wanted the security system dismantled because otherwise their friends and associates, and the people they were choosing to work for them, would not have been able to gain access to the White House. One of the most under-reported aspects of your book concerns breaches of national security that took place in the White House. Do you have any information that White House employees took classified materials from the White House? Aldrich: No, I don�t. If I did, I would feel obligated to see to it that those documents were promptly returned, and I would not rest until that happened. That is not to say that White House employees did not compromise national security on a daily basis. They did, and they probably still do. One way they did that is by allowing access to people who would never qualify for clearance under any reasonable security system. They also used ordinary analog cell phones to have conversations with outsiders, both from the White House and from Air Force One. These conversations were not on scrambled phones, and the conversations touched on classified information. There are secure phones available for that very purpose. Even the President had conversations over ordinary phones with Monica Lewinsky, and he talked with Dick Morris about serious national security issues. Personnel also left documents on desktops in unlocked offices, with no regard for the security of that material. What is the likelihood that some foreign intelligence agency either attempted to or successfully recorded those conversations? Aldrich: High or higher. It is virtually certain that hostile intelligence agencies recorded all the insecure conversations. In Washington D.C. there is a nonstop attempt to grab and analyze all calls that are not made from scrambled telephones. Everybody in town knows this. You state in your book that Vince Foster did not want the Secret Service to have access to his FBI background check. How do you know that? Aldrich: It was the pattern of conduct on the part of Foster and others. Foster had some conversations with staff members, which have been reported to the oversight committees, in which he indicated that. He asked me questions about the distribution of the materials that would be gathered in such a background check. There was a successful effort on the part of Bill Kennedy to keep background investigations of high level staff away from people like George Saunders, who had been advising the White House on security matters for many years. In addition, not even the Secret Service was allowed to see the background information of employees, high or low. Do you have any idea what Foster might have been so concerned about? Aldrich: He was a man who protected his reputation, and considered his good name to be of immense importance. I think he could have been concerned about any number of things. For example, we now have credible evidence that he and Hillary Clinton had been engaged in an intimate relationship. I first learned of that after he died. Craig Livingstone announced it to me as if it was a matter of fact, in the safe next door to the Office of Security. After Foster died he called me in there and closed the door, and told me that. I was scared to death that now there was one more person who knew about it, and it was I. My concern was that Livingstone might confess to the First Lady that he had made a mistake in confiding that to an FBI agent. At the time we were having that conversation, investigators from the L.A. Times and American Spectator were down in Little Rock putting that story together. The White House knew that, and I�m sure Foster knew it. You just alluded to the scene in your book that I found most interesting - - being with Craig Livingstone in the vault. You wrote that the things he told you made your hair stand on end. Then, for two pages, you relate some of the things he told you. A discerning reader might come away believing that you did not divulge everything Craig Livingstone told you. Is that a fair assessment? Aldrich: Well, some of the things I related made my hair stand on end. To be one of the first outsiders to know about this affair was one. Until the American Spectator surfaced the story in December, I had to live with that. Were there other things you have not revealed? Aldrich: There were other things that I did not and can not now reveal. Those things were better given to my own agency, or to congressional oversight people, or to Ken Starr. There is a lot that does not appear in my book because I, a twenty-six year veteran of the FBI, knew what could be made public and what could not. Could some of that information have had to do with intelligence activities that Vince Foster performed on behalf of a government agency? Aldrich: I don�t want to mislead you, but I can�t get into what those things were. May I ask you, in general: did these things touch national security? Aldrich: Yes, they did. Maybe one of these days we�ll know. Aldrich: There�s a lot about this administration we may never know. In Linda Tripp�s deposition to Judicial Watch she stated she saw FBI files stacked hip-high on the floor of William Kennedy�s office. She said there were paths through these stacks. Did you see the same thing? Aldrich: I never saw the files in Kennedy�s office. I did know of them through conversations I had with Kennedy, Livingstone, and Secret Service agents who had seen them. Were you in Kennedy�s office? Aldrich: I was during the early months of the administration; but after he participated in the frame-up of Billy Dale, I never wanted to see him again. Why did the White House requisition those files? Aldrich: Well, you are assuming the files were there because they were requisitioned. Kennedy had files that had never been reviewed. Some of them were background files on his own White House staff. So he did have some that had been the work product of FBI investigations for the Clinton Administration. But he never got around to reviewing those, conveniently. Linda has testified that some of these files were not of Clinton appointees, and were not of permanent staff people. It would be okay for him to have those. What is not okay is for him to have an investigative file for Bill Clinger, which Linda testified he had. Was the breakdown here with the FBI? Should the FBI have refused to turn over a file like that? Aldrich: I don�t know the Clinger file was an FBI file. But if it was, that should have rung alarm bells with the agency. Tripp testified that the appearance of that file matched the appearance of other files, which she was told were in fact FBI files. In her mind, at least, these files were all of a kind. Aldrich: FBI files, the ones I recall, are marked in big black letters, "FBI." It�s pretty hard to miss them. FBI files are the property of the FBI. Generally, they have a tan cover. They have serial markings on them. It is very hard to mistake them for some other kind of file. I don�t know how the White House kept their files. The documents could have been removed from the FBI cover and placed in any other kind of cover. But I am confident, based on my knowledge of the Clinton Administration, that they had files they were viewing improperly. These could have come from the FBI, the IRS, or other government agencies. I believe they had under way a collection campaign to get information about Republicans for their nefarious purposes. They did it over at the State Department and got caught; they did it at the Department of Defense and got caught. We know that. In reading your book, one gets the sense you are very sad about what happened with regard to the dismantling of the White House security system. One also gets the sense that you are sad about what has happened to the FBI over the course of the Clinton Administration. Is that a fair statement? Aldrich: Yes, but not just the FBI; it goes to many other agencies as well. How would you characterize what has happened to the FBI since 1993? Aldrich: I don�t want to confine my comments to the FBI. The Clinton Administration has control over the entire executive branch. They have downgraded security in all agencies, including the Department of Defense, the CIA, the NSA, the FBI, the ATF and the Department of Energy. Christopher Cox�s report has just surfaced some information about problems with the Department of Energy. I knew about these problems as they were happening, because I had friends over at the Department of Energy, who were there when they were dismantling the security program. What has happened to these agencies was termed by one of my CIA buddies, "Hillary�s legacy." She imposed on the agencies her version of how people should be hired and fired and promoted. She is pushing the multiculturalism agenda and the gay-lesbian agenda onto these agencies. The way she has gone about that has caused a downgrading in the quality of the personnel; not because they are gay or lesbian, but because the particular people chosen are just not as qualified as in the past. When the Park Police went through Vince Foster�s pockets in Fort Marcy Park, they did not find car keys in his pocket. They claimed to have turned his pockets inside out. Aldrich: That�s what I understand. The car keys turned up at the morgue after Livingstone and Kennedy visited the body. Did you ever have occasion to ask Livingstone how those keys appeared in Foster�s pocket at the morgue? Aldrich: No. The keys were not an issue when I talked to Livingstone about his trip to the morgue. That was only a couple of weeks after the death. No one, to my knowledge, was investigating the anomalies between the Park Police statements about the keys and the fact they were found at the morgue. It was not until much later, after I wrote my book, that the keys became an issue. I am taking a lot of criticism for the position I took on the Foster death. But I took that position long before these facts became known. I took a position on the basis of the facts as I knew them at the time. Based on the best evidence you have now, what do you think happened? Aldrich: The best evidence I have now suggests the body was moved to Fort Marcy Park, that he did not die there. Beyond that I won�t speculate. I am not a forensic pathologist. All the evidence I have is what others have given me since the death. It is easier for others to take a position on the death of Vince Foster. As a career law enforcement officer, I must rely on the facts that I review myself. If Vince Foster had driven a car out of the White House parking lot that day, would there in fact be a videotape of his leaving? Aldrich: I don�t know that there would be. Wasn�t there a taping system that caught all people entering and leaving the complex? Aldrich: I don�t know that to be a fact. I know there are video surveillance cameras here and there. I don�t know that they tape anything. They may. Is it true that the National Reconnaissance Office keeps a close watch on the White House and surroundings, that they perhaps have satellite photos? Aldrich: I don�t know. I�m sure you could not say if you did know. Aldrich: Well, I really don�t know. It�s possible that there are all sorts of recording devices at work down there. I�m sure they have caught me picking my ear, sitting at my desk. I have not tried to become an expert on the Foster death. There are some very high-powered investigators who have made it their job to solve this mystery, and it is a mystery. Those people include Chris Ruddy and Reed Irvine of Accuracy in Media. They have interviewed the witnesses and reviewed the documents. They have real suspicions. I have no reason to dispute those suspicions. Which topic raised in your book has been the most overlooked by Congress and the public? Aldrich: The national security angle in all of this is being totally ignored. When my book came out I expected there would be congressional hearings when I revealed that the security system had been shut down at the White House. House and Senate intelligence and judiciary committees know about it, but have done nothing. It was announced in the papers, then dropped. I thought I would embarrass them into doing something about it. I was wrong. Wouldn�t you say it is hard to shame people who have no sense of shame? Aldrich: Well, I didn�t know that then. I didn�t know no one would have a sense of shame or concern about it. Frankly, the fact that all of these things have happened in the White House, including the Monica Lewinsky mess, is clear evidence of a total breakdown of security. And it is still ongoing. This should clearly be of interest to people who are charged with the responsibility with seeing to it that White House security is protected. Kenneth Starr investigated Bill Clinton for more than four years. The charges he brought to the House Judiciary committee were perjury, obstruction of justice, suborning perjury, and so forth, only with regard to the Monica Lewinsky matter. He investigated Whitewater, Filegate, Travelgate . . . Aldrich: Vince Foster . . . . . . and Vince Foster. In your book you make a clear case that Travelgate was an abuse of power. Some of your comments today indicate you think there was a problem with Filegate. Why, in your estimation, did Ken Starr�s referral not touch these seemingly more important matters? Aldrich: I don�t know. I have no earthly idea why nothing else was in that report. I can�t understand how Ken Starr could say he could find no evidence of misuse of the FBI files, just for one example. The mere possession of an FBI file you shouldn�t have is a misuse. Reviewing it when you improperly possess it is a misuse. The knowledge you now have in your head from that file cannot be erased. If you went on to put it in a database, as Linda Tripp has testified, you have misused it again. If you then allow it to be checked out of the security vault to some other person in the White House complex, which appears to have happened, that is another misuse. If you then use devices such as fax machines to transfer requests pertaining to that file, it would also be wire fraud. So, I don�t understand how Ken Starr can take the position that 900 FBI files, wrongly obtained from the FBI, is not misuse. I have met Ken Starr before, and I think he is an honorable man. However, the question you raise cries out for an answer. I defended Ken Starr for a long time. I am now in a position where I don�t want to defend him any longer on this particular issue. What do you think would have happened if Ronald Reagan or George Bush had used the FBI or the IRS to investigate permanent employees in the White House, as part of a political vendetta to get rid of them so their positions could be filled by political cronies? Aldrich: Well, the mainstream media would have crucified them. What are some of the present repercussions of your book? Aldrich: Linda Tripp appeared on Larry King Live on February 15. She has hinted around before that she was motivated by the treatment I got after my book came out. But she has never been crystal clear about it until that appearance. She stated openly for the first time that what caused her to become an activist was, in part, to get the story out and support what I had done. She is only the second insider from the White House to come out and speak publicly and truthfully about these things. The news is, the media is ignoring it. The White House spent years trying to destroy my credibility. They put my family through hell, put me through vilification, until they thought they had dispensed with me. And the mainstream media was a big part of that. They only left me alone when they thought I was no longer a threat to their political agenda. So today, when news comes out that what I wrote in the book is true, you don�t see reporters from the Washington Post knocking on my door. You don�t see reporters from CNN with their cameras to capture the moment. It was news that I was a pathological liar. It was news that I was motivated by greed, or that I had no credibility. But when it turns out that those reports were all concocted by the White House to discredit me, it�s not news. It is sad when the truth is no longer news in this country. The liberals own the media in this country. We, meaning people who celebrate the truth, have only a few outlets in this country. But those outlets are scared to death of being considered advocates of anything. And so there is no mention of Linda Tripp�s appearance and her corroboration of my charges, in Investor�s Business Daily, the Wall Street Journal, or the Washington Times. The objective press does itself no favors by ignoring news like we heard on Larry King Live. They need to point a finger at the other news outlets, and remind people what those outlets did when a particular witness came forward, like me. They need to refresh the people�s memory of persons, to help them understand what is happening in our society today. Linda Tripp came forward and said, "I back up everything Gary said. These people who are criticizing him were not there. I was there, he was there, and we both saw the same things." This is amazing news; it�s man bites dog, but no one is covering it. That�s the news. How would you judge the performance of Republicans in the House during this impeachment process? Aldrich: I would give the Republicans in the House, particularly the House managers, a great deal of credit. But not all Republicans in the House deserve credit. Chris Shays deserves to switch parties. So does Peter King. They should file applications to become Democrats. I don�t think the party needs people like that. I will never send another dollar to the national Republican organization, for fear they will take a penny of it and give it to traitors like King or Shays. How would you judge Trent Lott? Aldrich: I was embarrassed by his behavior before the Senate during the trial. His demeanor was all out of proportion to the events that were transpiring. The times he spoke he seemed to be overboard in his affability. This was a solemn time, impeaching a president. For him to so nonchalant about it, almost flippant, was totally inappropriate. Dick Morris has stated that when House Judiciary Committee investigators talked to him, they said they feared for their own safety as a result of their investigation of the President. How much credence do you give those remarks by Dick Morris? Aldrich: As a matter of fact, I intend to conduct an investigation into those remarks, since I have some access to the retired agents he was talking about. I will have an opportunity soon to ask them what they had in mind. But, there are numerous stories floating around about people who have either been injured or killed because they were in close proximity to some of Bill Clinton�s scandalous behavior. The two that stand out as beyond controversy are Gennifer Flowers� neighbor, Gary Johnson, and Jerry Parks. Johnson had videotapes of Clinton visiting Flowers in the apartment across the hall from his. He came home one day to find his apartment burglarized, and then was severely beaten up. Jerry Parks worked for the 1992 Clinton campaign. He was owed some $80,000 by the campaign. He attempted to get payment on that. He had been hired to conduct investigations on the women who allegedly had been with Clinton, who might pose a problem if the relationships were disclosed. His home was burglarized and his files taken. More importantly, after he made a demand on the White House for the money he was owed, he was assassinated mob style down in Little Rock. To my knowledge there has never been any suspect surfaced in that killing. These are two prime examples of people who had information damaging to Clinton, who paid serious, even the ultimate, consequences. What do you expect to see next in Washington D.C., now that the impeachment process has run its course? Aldrich: The impeachment process is finished, but the scandalous conduct certainly is not. I expect that from now until the end of Bill Clinton�s presidency, there will be continual investigations of the scandals that are left over and have never been resolved. There will also be investigations of new scandals, which will surely surface, if the sun comes up tomorrow. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ NOTES 1.http://www.mediaresearch.org/news/reality/1999/fax19990114.html 2.http://www.assumption.edu/WebVAX/ETnew/wclin01Jul96.html 3.http://www.mediaresearch.org/news/reality/1999/fax19990114.html 4.http://www.federal.com/jun29-98/Judicial ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Professor Wesley Phelan may be contacted at [EMAIL PROTECTED] -30- from The Laissez Faire City Times, Vol 3, No 8, Feb. 22, 1999 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Published by Laissez Faire City Netcasting Group, Inc. Copyright 1998 - Trademark Registered with LFC Public Registrar All Rights Reserved Disclaimer The Laissez Faire City Times is a private newspaper. Although it is published by a corporation domiciled within the sovereign domain of Laissez Faire City, it is not an "official organ" of the city or its founding trust. Just as the New York Times is unaffiliated with the city of New York, the City Times is only one of what may be several news publications located in, or domiciled at, Laissez Faire City proper. For information about LFC, please contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] ----- Aloha, He'Ping, Om, Shalom, Salaam. Em Hotep, Peace Be, Omnia Bona Bonis, All My Relations. Adieu, Adios, Aloha. Amen. Roads End Kris DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
