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| Gorelick Rejected Attempt to Revise ’Wall’ Memo | |
| 2004-04-30 | |
| (CNSNews.com) - One of America’s most prominent federal prosecutors sought changes to the 1995 "wall" memo authored by then-Deputy Attorney General Jamie Gorelick, but most of the concerns expressed by U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White over the barriers erected between criminal and counter-intelligence investigations were rejected. According to documents obtained by CNSNews.com, White, who was the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, spelled out her concerns shortly after Gorelick wrote the memo establishing the new guidelines for federal investigations. The reply that followed came from Michael Vatis, deputy director of the Executive Office of National Security, with Gorelick signing off on Vatis’ language. White was concerned that Gorelick’s new guidelines for investigations had made it too complicated for the FBI to contact the U.S. attorney’s office and launch a probe of suspicious activity. White suggested that only the Office of Intelligence Policy and Review at the Department of Justice needed to approve such an investigation, and not the department’s criminal division. However, the Vatis/Gorelick memo offered a blunt reply. "I recommend rejecting this change," the June 19, 1995 document stated. "[A] USAO (U.S. attorney’s office) should not be notified of a national security investigation -- particularly one that has not yet developed into a criminal case -- without the approval of the AAG (assistant attorney general), Criminal Division." The Vatis/Gorelick memo also addressed White’s reservations over how the new investigative guidelines would impact a probe under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). White contended that once the Justice Department’s Criminal Division had decided that criminal law enforcement concerns existed in a FISA investigation, the appropriate U.S. attorney should be contacted. Vatis rejected this notion as well. "Notifying the USAO as soon as law enforcement concerns exist -- but before Crim. thinks that the investigation should ’go criminal’ -- is simply too early," the document stated. The June 19, 1995 memo from Vatis/Gorelick was included in a batch of documents released Wednesday by the Justice Department in response to a request by U.S. Senators John Cornyn, (R-Texas) and Lindsay Graham, (R-S.C.). The senators, in a joint statement, asked the department to "provide key Gorelick documents" in response to the September 11 Commission’s "failure to hear testimony from a key Clinton administration Justice Department official (Gorelick), preventing the Congress from receiving a full accounting of intelligence and enforcement procedures that led to the tragic attacks." A separate statement, released by Cornyn’s office late Wednesday, charged that the newly released documents "substantially discredit former Deputy Attorney General -- and current 9/11 Commission member -- Jamie Gorelick’s claims of limited involvement in the promulgation of ’the wall’ separating counterintelligence and law enforcement agencies. "Specifically, the documents show that she was substantially involved in the development of the information-sharing policy and contradicts statements that the department’s policies under the Clinton-Reno administration enhanced, rather than restricted, such vital information sharing," Cornyn stated. "These documents show what I’ve said all along: Commissioner Gorelick has special knowledge of the facts and circumstances leading up to the erection and buttressing of ’that wall’ that, before the enactment of the Patriot Act, was the primary obstacle to the sharing of communications between law enforcement and intelligence agencies," Cornyn’s statement continued.
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| Posted by:Mark Espinola |
| #5 Mark Steyn put it best I think. The reason why these 9-11 commision is not getting the notice in the public as it "should" is because you can't drive while looking in the rear view mirror. There is fighting in Fallujah and Najaf, there is still work to be done in Iraq, and Congress' big obsession is what did and did not happen 2 and 3 years ago. |
| Posted by: Ben 2004-04-30 4:59:55 AM |
| #4 boy..this backfired on the Dems' way beyond the Bush Administration's wildest dreams. I'm glad this happened as these hearings will be a treasure trove for the historians. They got the info, under oath, and while memories were still fresh and documents still undestroyed. |
| Posted by: B 2004-04-30 4:06:45 AM |
| #3 Can anyone dig up the first "Who Is Jamie Gorelick" editorial that the WSJ wrote on her original Clinton-era nomination? |
| Posted by: someone 2004-04-30 4:01:24 AM |
| #2 If she won't testify, maybe we can get her to appear onteh Daily Show like Kerrey did. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2004-04-30 3:39:30 AM |
| #1 She wont testify and that will put an end to this farce. Americans know its a farce and partisans will want a new venue for attack. I think (and has anybody seen this slim ball lately) Dick, miserable failure, Gephardt should renew his bid for the golden trophy. |
| Posted by: Lucky 2004-04-30 1:22:54 AM |