-Caveat Lector- ------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date sent: Fri, 8 Jun 2001 03:59:21 EDT Subject: Danforth's Supreme Gambit To: undisclosed-recipients:; ************************* Waco Tragedy News ************************* (6/8/01) Danforth's Supreme Gambit by James Bovard (6/7/01) Last week marked the official launch of former Sen. John Danforth's campaign to snare a nomination to the Supreme Court. Danforth got a big splash in the Washington Post on Friday, in which he declared that the FBI sought to stonewall his Special Counsel investigation of Waco. Danforth stated his belief that the FBI may not have turned over all the evidence to his investigators. But he reassured the Post and the Establishment that, regardless of whatever evidence the FBI withheld, "there is no chance that it would have any effect on our findings." It is unusual for a prosecutor to absolve his target after publicly admitting that he failed to fulfill his duty to gather all the necessary information to make an informed judgment. But Danforth went much further. Earlier this year, Danforth sent a personal note to Janet Reno: "I've heard you talk about the decision you made in Waco. I have had the chance as your special counsel to review that decision. I did not pass judgment on it in my report but I want you to know that I think you did exactly the right thing." Perhaps Danforth gives Reno credit for the fact that, despite the final assault Reno authorized on April 19, 1993, most children in Texas didn't die that day. Danforth apparently considers it no blemish that Reno initially justified the final assault because of ongoing child abuse -- yet, after this charge collapsed, Reno shrugged off her error: "I now understand that nobody in the [FBI] told me that it was ongoing. We were briefed, and I misunderstood." It was a harmless error, except for the kids who were gassed or burned to death after Reno misunderstood. Danforth presumably approves of Reno's statement in congressional testimony when she compared the 54-ton tanks used in the final assault to a "good rent-a- car." Reno clearly knew what she was doing when she personally chose Danforth to investigate her, the Justice Department, and the FBI. Danforth's recent comments highlight how he continues to view Waco primarily as an opportunity to offer personal absolution to the federal government and high-ranking government officials. As for his critics, Danforth has a term for them. As the Post put it, Danforth complains "that 'conspiracy theorists' will always find fault with his investigation." Danforth rushed to issue his Waco report days before George W. Bush announced his vice-presidential choice. Now, with the Supreme Court session ending later this month and rumors of pending retirements, Danforth is racing to get his name in the news again. Unfortunately for Danforth, his credibility continues to deteriorate week by week. A key part of Danforth's investigation into Waco was the re-enactment of the FBI's final assault. However, filmmaker Mike McNulty charged in a <A HREF="http://www.flirproject.com/";>new documentary</A> (www.flirproject.com) that Danforth's team tested the wrong weapons and ammo in the re-enactment -- producing results not worth a plug nickel. (See Bovard, <A HREF="http://www.spectator.org/campaign/bovard/bovard.htm";>The Latest Waco Fireball</A>). On June 1, an Associated Press article quoted Robert Stewart, one of Danforth's chief investigators, conceding that the re-enactment failed to use the same type of assault rifle the FBI used on the final day at Waco. Since Danforth's report focused heavily on muzzle flash evidence to prove that no federal agents fired at Davidians before and after their home burst into flames, use of the wrong weapon makes a mockery of Danforth's analysis. Filmmaker McNulty says regarding the use of the wrong weapon for the re-enactment: "The question is what did Danforth know and when did he know it?" McNulty suggests that if Danforth knowingly misrepresented the accuracy of the re-enactment, he may face problems regarding 18 U.S. Code Section 1001 -- making false statements to a federal officer -- for his comments to Federal Judge Walter Smith and U.S. attorneys, as well as his testimony to the U.S. Senate. (Given the way this law is administered, however, only private citizens normally face legal peril.) In any event, Congress shouldn't wait for a Danforth nomination to the Supreme Court to question him about his $12 million investigation of Waco and why he turned it into a self-promotion gambit for himself. James Bovard is the author of "Feeling Your Pain": The Explosion & Abuse of Government Power in the Clinton-Gore Years (St. Martin's Press). ------- End of forwarded message ------- -- Best Wishes If a poet has any obligation toward society, it is to write well. Being in the minority, he has no other choice. Failing this duty, he sinks into oblivion. Society, on the other hand, has no obligation toward the poet. A majority by definition, society thinks of itself as having other options than reading verses, no matter how well written. Its failure to do so results in its sinking to that level of locution at which society falls easy prey to a demagogue or a tyrant. This is society's own equivalent of oblivion. - Joseph Brodsky <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! 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