Leahy/Mukasey "Know Exactly WHO Sent Anthrax Laden Letter"

Yeah, What ABOUT that Anthrax Terrorist?
By: emptywheel Thursday July 10, 2008 5:47 am 1
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Call me crazy. But after viewing this very creepy exchange between Patrick Leahy and Michael Mukasey regarding the anthrax killer, I got the feeling that both of them know exactly who sent those anthrax-laden letters almost seven years ago.

Leahy uses the recent settlement between Hatfill and DOJ to raise the issue. As he raises it, he notes that he is privy to classified information about the anthrax killer, and because of that he has refrained from even discussing the case.

Leahy: I almost hate to get into the case of Steven Hatfill. I've refrained from discussing this, I've refused to discuss it with the press. I've told them some aspects of it I was aware of were classified so of course I could not discuss it but also, considering the fact that my life was threatened by an anthrax letter, two people died who touched a letter addressed to me I was supposed to open, I'm somewhat concerned.

What happened?

Mukasey: That case ...

Then Leahy makes s curious statement: we're paying Hatfill, which means that the guy who committed the crime is going free.

Leahy: We're paying Hatfill millions of dollars, the indication being the guy who committed the crime went free.

I'll let you sort through the logic of that sentence. But know that Mukasey doesn't like it--not at all.

Mukasey: Well, um, I don't understand, quote, the guy who committed the crime, unquote, to have gone free. What I do understand is...

Leahy: Nobody's been convicted.

Mukasey: Not yet.

Leahy: And five people are dead.

Mukasey: Yes, um...

Leahy: And hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent.

Eventually, it seems that Muaksey concedes that he, too, has very specific knowledge about the case.

Mukasey: That case is under active investigation and I need to be very careful about what I say.

Which Leahy seems to confirm. After all, if they didn't have very specific things to say to each other about the pursuit of the anthrax terrorist, then what good would a "private talk" about this be?

Leahy: We won't go any further. As I say, I feel somewhat reluctant because I was one of the targets. But I gotta say, what families of the people who died went through, what families of the people who were crippled went throug, even what my family went through. A lot of people are concerned and I won't say more because we are in open session but I think you and I probably should have a private talk about this sometime.

Mukasey: That's fine.

more at:
http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2008/07/10/yeah-what-about-that-anthrax-terrorist/

I would suggest reading up on the history of this guy, from about 1997 through 9-11. He's the guy who told the White House to take cipro on 9-11.

Last few minutes, fast forward to about 2 hrs 34 minutes into:

rtsp://video1.c-span.org/15days/e070908_mukasey.rm



There is lots of interesting stuff in this whole long hearing - haven't listened to all of it but many on DU will be interested in a variety of topics, e.g., Schumer's questions on Siegelman and Rove.

public servant, in terms of keeping the public informed, that I recall in the Attorney General's office.

Even Ashcroft and Gonzo would attempt to speak directly to the people--Mukasey doesn't even try.

that the court who awarded Hatfill damages may have kept in mind.

There are others who make better suspects--(one, if I'm not mistaken, is caught on security cam in the wrong place at the right time, when he hasn't got his security clearance--)It's hard to tell for sure, because so little information about the case is publicly available, and it all comes from an untrustworthy source--the FBI and DOJ. These are the folks we are supposed to believe about people like Musharraf and AQ Khan. Right.

This is disturbing--I figured Hatfill for the typical DOJ patsy, an innocent man they find convenient to finger, just so they can look less incompetent. He surprised them by striking back.

Iy contradicts my picture of the situation, poor as that is.

http://www.antiwar.com/justin/j022202.html

and the "kamel klub" tried to blame it on Dr. Ayaad Assaad.

I don't know what Leahy was saying, but I have some very sad suspicions that relate to "securing the realm" for the "project for the new American Century."

I don't think they were saying Hatfill is guilty. They were saying that his award for damages means the perp is still at large. My suspicion is that it has something to do with "securing the realm." There are reactionary right wingers who will do criminal acts to achieve their goals in lots of diff. nations. Sometimes they work together. Immediately after the attacks, the admin. tried to blame Hussein. maybe the next anthrax attack (tho I don't think they'll try this again b/c it was so poorly executed -- they were too obvious -- will come from "Iran."

if it were some ordinary fella or gal, they'd have been picked up already...no, this is significant and everyone's afraid to speak.

This is grassy knoll stuff...

Leahy is brave to even bring it up.

If all he wanted was a private conversation with Mukassey, I'm certain that would happen with a note. So, there was some subliminal message here. I'm wondering for whom?

-Hoot

Was it for the media? Someone else?

It'll never happen. Obama will say we need to move on and take care of current business. I can hear him already. And in all honesty, with all the fires he'll have to put out, he will have a lot of pressure on him to do that.

We could follow the Pinochet model and chase them for 30 years. yeah, that's the ticket!

:)

Chasing them would be easer than chasing Pelosi and Conyers. lol

the REAL question is, why hasn't this person/persons been arrested and tried?

A retired CIA guy told me recently, "Cheney should be in jail." But, I think he had a number of reasons in mind.

I would imagine he's Leahy's as well.

or rats out of the same hole, whichever you prefer. Dicky and Donny that is.

1. Who had the means and the motive to mail the anthrax?
2. Who would have benefitted from the mailings?

Two very basic detective questions, yet they go unasked by the victims of the attack.

even to a lay person like me. Leahy knows I'm sure.

They sent it to him.

Why would he protect them?

All Leahy is saying is that because Hatfill has proven that he was not the sender in his civil suit (ie, he won millions of dollars in damages), it stands to reason that whoever did it is still at large(the "guy who committed the crime went free"). It doesn't mean that he knows how that person is.

Basically Leahy is chastising the chief federal law enforcement officer of the nation for not having solved the case.

That said, I certainly wouldn't be surprised if the source was from within the federal government given the strain and weaponization of the spores.

It had to be someone who wanted the Patriot Act passed, and didn't want Leahy and Daschle to further delay passage. That's why they were both targeted. The envelopes were created in such a way as to draw into the post 9-11 web the Palestinians.

The perps likely involve some if not all of: Bush, Cheney, Paul Bremer (who helped write the Patriot Act before 9-11 and was working in the WTC previous to 9-11), Jerome Hauer, Rumsfeld, Feith, Wolfowitz.

One has to wonder.

These great crimes need resolution, because they wounded us all on some level, and this collective wound will not heal unless there is real justice.

These crimes then form their own gravitational fields and people are caught in endless speculation, frustration and anger--the sheer number of websites and blogs that are dedicated to research and exposure of injustices are testament.

Many people here are tired of hearing about these issues, but they direct anger not at the perpetrators but at the messengers, and this puts salt on the wound instead of healing it.

I strongly believe if we are to have hope for the future, we cannot pretend that this wound does not exist. We live every moment of our lives making endless decisions to obey the laws, not only because of the consequences but because it is the agreement we have made with each other to do so.

Upside down justice is a recipe for social unrest, if we wish to have an ethical and functioning society, this has to come from the top down.

edited to add: My sister worked in DC for the government during the anthrax days, and got very sick from the chemicals used to treat all the mail during this time. They irradiated and treated all the government mail long after the anthrax scare, and used something toxic.

forgot to add: :rant: (These f*ckers have turned me into a ranting lunatic.)

The more we learn, the more we see Cheney's sticky fingers in almost every illegal/immoral act of this Administration.

:kick:'n R

Thanks. More inexplicable shit to ponder and keep me up nights. :banghead:

:kick: