From: Congressman Robert Wexler
To: [...]
Sent: Wednesday, April 23, 2008 2:12 PM
Subject: FBI Torture Cover-Up?
Dear [...],
This morning, during a hearing in the House Judiciary Committee, I
questioned FBI Director Robert Mueller on his agency's response to
claims - made by his own FBI agents - that the CIA was torturing
prisoners. I wanted to find out why, if the FBI's own agents had
alleged illegal actions were taking place, there was no investigation
into the CIA's illegal and immoral practices.
Mueller's responses, which I would like you to read below, create
new concerns and call for further investigation in the days ahead.
I believe Mr. Mueller owes more to Congress and the American people
than the half-answers he gave in his testimony today.
I would urge you to contact the editors and news departments of
your local media and ask them to look into the responses below. It
is critical that this discussion takes place beyond emails and blogs
and is covered by the mainstream media.
In two weeks the Judiciary Committee will be holding hearings to
investigate the fact that the highest levels of the Bush Administration
sanctioned and ordered the torture of prisoners in United States
custody. This is intolerable and we must vigorously oppose this
policy that demeans our nation and offends our conscience.
Please read the below transcript of my exchange with Mr. Muller.
This is a deeply troubling interchange which should be alarming to
all Americans.
Congressman Robert Wexler
----------------------------
(TRANSCRIPT:)
Robert Wexler: Thank you Mr. Chairman. Mr. Director, in January of
2006, the New York Times reported that the NSA wireless wiretapping
program had produced thousands of leads each month that the FBI had
to track down, but that no Al-Qaeda networks were discovered. During
a July 17, 2007 briefing, FBI deputy director John Pistole indicated
that the FBI was not aware of any Al-Qaeda sleeper cells operating
in the United States. In August of 2007 Congress passed the Protect
America Act, giving the intelligence community greater access to
electronic communications coming into and out of the United States.
I have two questions in this regard.
RW: Has the FBI found any sleeper cells yet? One
RW: Two. Has the NSAs wireless wiretapping programs either before
the Protect America Act or after led to the prosecution and conviction
of any terrorists in the United States?
Robert Mueller: Well, as to your first question as to whether we
have found affiliates or, as you would call them, cells of Al-Qaeda
in the United States, yes we have. Again, I cannot get into it in
public session, but I would say yes we have. With regard to the
relationship of a particular case or individual to the terrorist
surveillance program, again that is something that would have to
be covered in a closed session.
RW: Alright, Mr. Director. An LA Times article from October, 2007
quotes one senior federal enforcement official as saying quote the
CIA determined they were going to torture people, and we made the
decision not to be involved end quote. The article goes on to say
that some FBI officials went to you and that you quote pulled many
of the agents back from playing even a supporting role in the
investigations to avoid exposing them to legal jeopardy end quote.
RW: My question Mr. Director, I congratulate you for pulling the
FBI agents back, but why did you not take more substantial steps
to stop the interrogation techniques that your own FBI agents were
telling you were illegal? Why did you not initiate criminal
investigations when your agents told you the CIA and the Department
of Defense were engaging in illegal interrogation techniques, and
rather than simply pulling your agents out, shouldnt you have
directed them to prevent any illegal interrogations from taking
place?
RM: I can go so far sir as to tell you that a protocol in the FBI
is not to use coercion in any of our interrogations or our questioning
and we have abided by our protocol.
RW: I appreciate that. What is the protocol say when the FBI knows
that the CIA is engaging or the Department of Defense is engaging
in an illegal technique? What does the protocol say in that
circumstance?
RM: We would bring it up to appropriate authorities and determine
whether the techniques were legal or illegal.
RW: Did you bring it up to appropriate authorities?
RM: All I can tell you is that we followed our own protocols.
RW: So you cant tell us whether you brought it; when your own FBI
agents came to you and said the CIA is doing something illegal which
caused you to say dont you get involved; you cant tell us whether
you then went to whatever authority?
RM: Ill tell you we followed our own protocols.
RW: And what was the result?
RM: We followed our own protocols. We followed our protocols. We
did not use coercion. We did not participate in any instance where
coercion was used to my knowledge.
RW: Did the CIA use techniques that were illegal?
RM: I cant comment on what has been done by another agency and under
what authorities the other agency may have taken actions.
RW: Why cant you comment on the actions of another agency?
RM: I leave that up to the other agency to answer questions with
regard to the actions taken by that agency and the legal authorities
that may apply to them.
RW: Are you the chief legal law enforcement agency in the United
States?
RM: I am the Director of the FBI.
RW: And you do not have authority with respect to any other
governmental agency in the United States? Is that what youre saying?
RM: My authority is given to me to investigate. Yes we do.
RW: Did somebody take away that authority with respect to the CIA?
RM: Nobody has taken away the authority. I can tell you what our
protocol was, and how we followed that protocol.
RW: Did anybody take away the authority with respect to the Department
of Defense?
RM: Im not certain what you mean.
RW: Your authority to investigate an illegal torture technique.
RM: There has to be a legal basis for us to investigate, and generally
that legal basis is given to us by the Department of Justice. Any
interpretations of the laws given to us by the Department of Justice.
(talking over each other)
RW: But apparently your own agents made a determination that the
actions by the CIA and the Department of Defense were illegal, so
much so that you authorized, ordered, your agents not to participate.
But thats it.
RM: Ive told you what our protocol was, and Ive indicated that weve
adhered to our protocol throughout.
RW: My time is up. Thank you very much Mr. Director.
Dear [...],
This morning, during a hearing in the House Judiciary Committee, I
questioned FBI Director Robert Mueller on his agency's response to
claims - made by his own FBI agents - that the CIA was torturing
prisoners. I wanted to find out why, if the FBI's own agents had
alleged illegal actions were taking place, there was no investigation
into the CIA's illegal and immoral practices.
Mueller's responses, which I would like you to read below, create
new concerns and call for further investigation in the days ahead.
I believe Mr. Mueller owes more to Congress and the American people
than the half-answers he gave in his testimony today.
I would urge you to contact the editors and news departments of
your local media and ask them to look into the responses below. It
is critical that this discussion takes place beyond emails and blogs
and is covered by the mainstream media.
In two weeks the Judiciary Committee will be holding hearings to
investigate the fact that the highest levels of the Bush Administration
sanctioned and ordered the torture of prisoners in United States
custody. This is intolerable and we must vigorously oppose this
policy that demeans our nation and offends our conscience.
Please read the below transcript of my exchange with Mr. Muller.
This is a deeply troubling interchange which should be alarming to
all Americans.
Congressman Robert Wexler
----------------------------
(TRANSCRIPT:)
Robert Wexler: Thank you Mr. Chairman. Mr. Director, in January of
2006, the New York Times reported that the NSA wireless wiretapping
program had produced thousands of leads each month that the FBI had
to track down, but that no Al-Qaeda networks were discovered. During
a July 17, 2007 briefing, FBI deputy director John Pistole indicated
that the FBI was not aware of any Al-Qaeda sleeper cells operating
in the United States. In August of 2007 Congress passed the Protect
America Act, giving the intelligence community greater access to
electronic communications coming into and out of the United States.
I have two questions in this regard.
RW: Has the FBI found any sleeper cells yet? One
RW: Two. Has the NSAs wireless wiretapping programs either before
the Protect America Act or after led to the prosecution and conviction
of any terrorists in the United States?
Robert Mueller: Well, as to your first question as to whether we
have found affiliates or, as you would call them, cells of Al-Qaeda
in the United States, yes we have. Again, I cannot get into it in
public session, but I would say yes we have. With regard to the
relationship of a particular case or individual to the terrorist
surveillance program, again that is something that would have to
be covered in a closed session.
RW: Alright, Mr. Director. An LA Times article from October, 2007
quotes one senior federal enforcement official as saying quote the
CIA determined they were going to torture people, and we made the
decision not to be involved end quote. The article goes on to say
that some FBI officials went to you and that you quote pulled many
of the agents back from playing even a supporting role in the
investigations to avoid exposing them to legal jeopardy end quote.
RW: My question Mr. Director, I congratulate you for pulling the
FBI agents back, but why did you not take more substantial steps
to stop the interrogation techniques that your own FBI agents were
telling you were illegal? Why did you not initiate criminal
investigations when your agents told you the CIA and the Department
of Defense were engaging in illegal interrogation techniques, and
rather than simply pulling your agents out, shouldnt you have
directed them to prevent any illegal interrogations from taking
place?
RM: I can go so far sir as to tell you that a protocol in the FBI
is not to use coercion in any of our interrogations or our questioning
and we have abided by our protocol.
RW: I appreciate that. What is the protocol say when the FBI knows
that the CIA is engaging or the Department of Defense is engaging
in an illegal technique? What does the protocol say in that
circumstance?
RM: We would bring it up to appropriate authorities and determine
whether the techniques were legal or illegal.
RW: Did you bring it up to appropriate authorities?
RM: All I can tell you is that we followed our own protocols.
RW: So you cant tell us whether you brought it; when your own FBI
agents came to you and said the CIA is doing something illegal which
caused you to say dont you get involved; you cant tell us whether
you then went to whatever authority?
RM: Ill tell you we followed our own protocols.
RW: And what was the result?
RM: We followed our own protocols. We followed our protocols. We
did not use coercion. We did not participate in any instance where
coercion was used to my knowledge.
RW: Did the CIA use techniques that were illegal?
RM: I cant comment on what has been done by another agency and under
what authorities the other agency may have taken actions.
RW: Why cant you comment on the actions of another agency?
RM: I leave that up to the other agency to answer questions with
regard to the actions taken by that agency and the legal authorities
that may apply to them.
RW: Are you the chief legal law enforcement agency in the United
States?
RM: I am the Director of the FBI.
RW: And you do not have authority with respect to any other
governmental agency in the United States? Is that what youre saying?
RM: My authority is given to me to investigate. Yes we do.
RW: Did somebody take away that authority with respect to the CIA?
RM: Nobody has taken away the authority. I can tell you what our
protocol was, and how we followed that protocol.
RW: Did anybody take away the authority with respect to the Department
of Defense?
RM: Im not certain what you mean.
RW: Your authority to investigate an illegal torture technique.
RM: There has to be a legal basis for us to investigate, and generally
that legal basis is given to us by the Department of Justice. Any
interpretations of the laws given to us by the Department of Justice.
(talking over each other)
RW: But apparently your own agents made a determination that the
actions by the CIA and the Department of Defense were illegal, so
much so that you authorized, ordered, your agents not to participate.
But thats it.
RM: Ive told you what our protocol was, and Ive indicated that weve
adhered to our protocol throughout.
RW: My time is up. Thank you very much Mr. Director.
No comments:
Post a Comment