Gorelick 1995 memo, etc:
Background:
PDF of the declassified Jamie S. Gorelick 1995 memo: (at the time, the deputy attorney general)
nationalreview.com
..."memo, entitled "Instructions on Separation of Certain Foreign Counterintelligence and Criminal Investigations," contained orders to FBI Director Louis Freeh and others."...
worldnetdaily.com
Excerpts From Attorney General's Testimony on Sept. 11 and Counterterrorism
nytimes.com
..."somebody did make these rules. Somebody built this wall. The basic architecture for the wall in the 1995 guidelines was contained in a classified memorandum entitled "Instructions for Separation of Certain Foreign Counterintelligence and Criminal Investigations." The memorandum ordered F.B.I. director Louis Freeh and others, "we believe that it is prudent to establish a set of instructions that will more clearly separate the counterintelligence investigation from the more limited by continued criminal investigations." These procedures, the memo went on to say, which go beyond what is legally required, will prevent any risk of creating an unwarranted appearance that FISA [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act] is being used to avoid procedural safeguards, which would apply in a criminal investigation. This memorandum laid the foundation for a wall separating the criminal and intelligence investigations, as a matter of fact established the wall following the 1993 World Trade Center attack, which at the time was the largest international terrorism attack on American soil, the largest prior to Sept. 11. Although you understand the debilitating impact of the wall, I cannot imagine that the commission knew about this memorandum, so I have had it declassified for you and the public to review. Full disclosure compels me to inform you that the author of this memorandum is a member of the commission. By 2000, the Justice Department was so addicted to the wall, it actually opposed legislation to lower the wall. Finally, the USA Patriot Act tore down this wall between our intelligence and law enforcement personnel in 2001."...
For Members of Panel, Past Work Becomes an Issue in the Present
nytimes.com
..."From 1994 to 1997, Ms. Gorelick, now a lawyer in private practice, was deputy attorney general under Janet Reno in the Clinton administration. This is the most direct conflict between the members' responsibilities on the commission and their past positions that has arisen in the public hearings. But all 10 members were once public officials, and all bring some baggage to the proceedings."...
Includes:
..."Gorelick's baggage seems somewhat heavier than the others'. Last week, questioning Ms. Rice, Ms. Gorelick asserted: "We have big systemic problems. The F.B.I. doesn't work the way it should, and it doesn't communicate with the intelligence community." On Tuesday, Ms. Gorelick did not flinch at Mr. Ashcroft's opening statement. She simply looked up from her notes and stared at him. When her turn came at the hearing Tuesday morning to question Ms. Reno and Louis J. Freeh, who was director of the F.B.I. when Ms. Gorelick was in the Justice Department, she disqualified herself. "Because I worked closely with Director Freeh and Attorney General Reno, I've decided not to participate in this questioning at all," Ms. Gorelick said. "As my colleagues know, the vast preponderance of our work, including with regard to the Department of Justice, focuses on the period of 1998 forward, and I have been and will continue to be a full participant in that work." In the same vein, when she questioned Mr. Ashcroft, she did not mention his testimony about her memorandum. And at the end of the day, she declined to comment to reporters about Mr. Ashcroft's statement. After the hearing, the commission chairman, Thomas H. Kean, did not seem particularly exercised by Mr. Ashcroft's remarks, but he told reporters he wished the memorandum had been given to the panel earlier. In an interview in January, Ms. Gorelick, who has been questioned formally by the commission staff about her time in the Justice Department, said potential conflicts and recusals were the price the commission had to pay for having members and staff assistants with extensive experience in national security.
Sensenbrenner wants Gorelick to resign from Sept. 11 commission
Associated Press
duluthsuperior.com
"WASHINGTON - House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner called on Jamie Gorelick to resign from the Sept. 11 commission Wednesday, citing a memo she wrote as a deputy attorney general on separating counterintelligence from criminal investigations. "Scrutiny of this policy lies at the heart of the commission's work," said Sensenbrenner, R-Wis. "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." On Tuesday, Attorney General John Ashcroft released the declassified 1995 memo from Gorelick containing instructions that "more clearly separate" counterintelligence from criminal investigations. He said the "wall" between counterintelligence and criminal investigations was a key impediment to terrorism probes before the Sept. 11 attacks. The Landmark Legal Foundation, a conservative law firm, also has called on Gorelick to step down, citing the memo. A phone message left with the Sept. 11 commission was not immediately returned Wednesday |
