From FBI derailed case against al Qaeda man, May 11, 2007 8:26 AM, by Bill Myers and Scott McCabe, The Examiner (a Washington, D.C., journal):
WASHINGTON (Map, News) - A turf battle between an immigration agency and the FBI nearly derailed a terrorism investigation, allowing a suspected al Qaeda fundraiser to continue his work, a former top immigration official alleged.
Joe Webber, a former executive in Immigration and Customs Enforcement, told The Examiner that in late 2003, his agents developed information that a man in the Houston area was allegedly raising money for al Qaeda. But the FBI sat on applications for wiretaps of the suspect for months, letting evidence slip through the cracks, Webber said.
Webber has accused top FBI officials, including former FBI task force leader Michael Morehart — the current special agent in charge of administration in the FBI’s D.C. office — of burying the investigation.
Morehart could not be reached for comment. But FBI officials insisted they handled the case properly. Director Robert Mueller addressed a media breakfast Wednesday and said he was “absolutely” sure the bureau was cooperating with other federal agencies.
Webber said the delays in the Houston-area case could have deadly consequences.
“I can’t tell you how many dollars were actually collected, but if you look at an AK-47 round — that’s about 13 cents in Iraq or Afghanistan,” Webber said. “So if 13 cents left this country, it’s significant.”
The man continues to raise money for al Qaeda, sources familiar with the investigation said.
Webber’s allegations raise the possibility that, nearly a decade after the Sept. 11 attacks, federal law enforcement agencies still aren’t working together to root out terrorist cells in the U.S.
“This is not an isolated incident as they would leave you to believe,” Webber said.
In a partially classified report by the Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General, the FBI admitted the delays but blamed it on the local FBI office and Webber’s agents.
The inspector general agreed with the FBI in its report.
Webber condemned the inspector general’s report. He said the inspector general didn’t put anyone under oath and did not require Morehart to take a lie detector test.
Webber has the support of U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who has accused the FBI of worrying more about “who’s getting the credit” than stopping terrorists.
In 2005, as it was finishing its report on Webber’s allegations, the Justice Department’s inspector general office opened a review of 10 cases in which the FBI is alleged to have stalled investigations to protect its turf.
“Where is that report?” Webber asked. “The bottom line is, the FBI is not going to let anyone else prosecute a counterterrorism case.”
"In 2005, as it was finishing its report on Webber’s allegations, the Justice Department’s inspector general office opened a review of 10 cases in which the FBI is alleged to have stalled investigations to protect its turf."
Ten cases!
Ten cases that were being investigated, that we hear about after doing a little research. And we haven't heard the findings from that review, either.
From Delay of Game or Pass Interference?
And, he says, what was making his blood boil during the wait, was the news he was hearing out of Iraq: terrorists offering reward money for the deaths of Americans.
Webber: “It was $3,000 for the death of a U.S. Serviceman, $2,000 for the death of an Iraq Serviceman, and $1,000 for a U.S. contractor.”
Corderi: “Without terrorist financing, that wouldn't be possible.”
Webber: “Correct. If they don't have the means of support to carry it out, they can't do it....”
Ten investigations delayed, that we know about.... A review that began in 2005, and we still haven't heard the results....
How much terrorist money is that? How many dead and wounded American and coalition service personnel is that? How many dead Iraqi civilians, who die by the dozens in terrorist attacks, is that?
The comment in the article quoted here has FBI Headquarters blaming it on the local office; but the article quoted in my other post has Webber saying they were getting great cooperation from the FBI office in Houston.
Recall Sibel Edmonds' remark in my post America's Secret Police (which references the transcript of an interview):
And here is another thing, the agents themselves, we’re talking about the street level agents, case agents, these are patriotic great guys. So it was not these agents going and violating these rules, but it was taking place within the FBI’s administrative headquarters and the higher-ups within the Justice Department.
The pattern (and I will post more evidence of this) is of FBI Headquarters not letting anyone else investigate terrorism-related cases. And then, someone at FBI Headquarters is selective of which cases the FBI investigates, and how.
President George W. Bush, Thursday, September 20, 2001:
"Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists."
"Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists."
Somebody in FBI Headquarters is with the terrorists.
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