From: owner-roc-digest@lists.xmission.com (roc-digest) To: roc-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: roc-digest V2 #78 Reply-To: roc-digest Sender: owner-roc-digest@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-roc-digest@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk roc-digest Monday, February 23 1998 Volume 02 : Number 078 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 08:27:34 -0600 (CST) From: Subject: CAS: (OT)Reagan.com: Larry Harris: Dangerous Kook or Patriot ? (fwd) - ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Sat, 21 Feb 1998 17:45:45 -0600 From: Brenda Jinkins To: CAS Subject: CAS: (OT)Reagan.com: Larry Harris: Dangerous Kook or Patriot ? For education and discussion. Not for commercial use. The Reagan Information Interchange www.reagan.com Larry Harris - A dangerous Kook with Anthrax or Patriot? Microbiologist Harris Has been Warning People About Biological War By: Mary Mostert, Editor The headlines scream: "Man Arrested for Anthrax Possession Bragged he Could "wipe out New York" Larry Wayne Harris and William Leavitt are accused of illegally possessing "the deadly germ anthrax" and, the report states, bragging that they had "enough to attack New York City subways. Yet, further down in the report, the report states that "Harris, identified by the FBI as a member of the Aryan Nations, was previously given probation after pleading guilty to illegally obtaining bubonic plague bacteria through the mail in 1995. He is also author of a self-published book called "Bacteriological Warfare: A Major Threat to North America." "Leavitt, who has no criminal record, owns a microbiology lab in rural Logandale, about 60 miles north of Las Vegas, and another in Frankfurt, Germany, according to the affidavit prepared by FBI Special Agent John H. Hawken." By inference and suggestion the public is led to believe that these men were about ready to "wipe out a city." Yet, that is not what they said and, based on Harris' writings, is actually the opposite of what he believes. In his book, short wave radio shows, cassettes and writings Harris expresses very real concern for what he believes is a plot by Moslems to destroy America with bacteriological warfare. He claims in one of his cassettes that there is an Iraqi "plan to attack America in 100 areas with bubonic plague and anthrax. He describes the dangers and how to protect yourself." Actually, this view of Iraq is quite similar to that now being expressed by President Clinton - that Saddam Hussein is a such a great threat to America that we need to go over and bomb them. At this point in time we do not know what was in the vials that Harris and Leavitt had in the possession. I, frankly, don't know what the laws are concerning anthrax bacteria. Anthrax, after all, is quite common. It usually attacks and kills cattle. And, if Harris believed that the American people need to know how to protect themselves from it, his having a vial of it does not prove that he was going to use it on a city. This is what we have a legal system for. It is up to that system to determine what they were doing - but, as Clinton supporters say on a daily basis, he is innocent until proved guilty. The threat of biological warfare comes not only from Iraq - but from other countries, if we are to believe recent articles on the subject. In November 1997 the Washington Times reported: "China has finished building a major production plant in Iran for special equipment used in making chemical weapons, according to a classified U.S. intelligence report. "The top-secret document says that Chinese technicians completed work in June on a factory that makes "glass-lined equipment" but that final delivery of some equipment for the facility, along with chemical-weapons materials, was held up temporarily by the Beijing government. "Glass-lined equipment is essential in the production of chemical warfare agent precursors and is controlled by the Australia Suppliers Group," the report says. "A U.S. official said building the equipment factory may violate the recently concluded Chemical Weapons Convention, which bars international cooperation in developing poison weapons and which both China and Iran have signed. "The Australia group is a 30-nation forum seeking to halt the spread of chemical and biological weapons by restricting transfers of equipment and materials -- including glass-lined equipment needed to neutralize the corrosive effects of chemicals used in making poison gas. "China and Iran are not part of the group but may be subject to sanctions under U.S. proliferation law." This is Iran, not Iraq. From CIA documents, some members of the Senate clearly feel that Iran is a greater danger for biological warfare than Iraq. "Sen. John Ashcroft, Missouri Republican and member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee," the Washington Times noted, "said China's work in building the facility bolsters a recent CIA report "which says that China is the world's worst proliferator of weapons of mass destruction." "The CIA report not only designated China on nuclear and chemical, but it also indicated that that included biological weapons," Mr. Ashcroft said during a luncheon meeting with reporters and editors at The Washington Times. "Other orders paid for by Tehran's Razak Laboratories in 1995 and Chemical and Pharmaceutical Industries in Tabriz, but not delivered, include 49 metric tons of alkyl dimethylamine -- used in making detergent -- and 17 metric tons of sodium sulfide, a chemical used in making mustard gas." In a different article, entitled "New Agent XV Said to be in Iraq," the Washington Times talked about Larry Harris and his efforts to warn the American people about the dangers of biological warfare. Noting that the information in the article, reporter Richard Finke wrote: "This report is highly reliable as it is sourced from publicly available media and well-placed private individuals within sympathetic intelligence departments. It was verbally reported to me directly and previous experience has been acutely accurate. "Larry Harris, Registered Microbiologist, previously much maligned as 'Dr. Frankenstein,' has his book on civil defense against Biological Warfare now in the Library of Congress, according to his publisher, Virtue International. In fact, it has been declared to be an item of "emminent domain" subject to open government use as needed without obligation to obtain the author's prior permission (for a fee yet)! His book is available for $19.95." So, what's really going on here? Has the government captured a dangerous enemy of the American people and foiled a mad man's attempt to destroy a city? Or, perhaps, has the government captured and silenced a patriot who knows too much? The timing of Harris arrest seems odd. Is this all part of an effort to confuse and propagandize the American people? Unfortunately, when the President of the United States is a known liar, only a very na=EFve American would automatically believe White House commentary on this or any other subject. Perhaps the President is telling the truth - but, with his record, we are taking a big risk assuming that what he says is true. To comment: mmostert@waveshift.com HotTopics Online Preprocessor Copyright =A9 1996, 1997 Waveshift Inc. =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D This mailing list is for discussion of Clinton Administration Scandals. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send electronic mail to majordomo@majordomo.pobox.com. In the message body put: unsubscribe cas - - ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 08:23:48 -0600 (CST) From: Subject: RE: 5th Anniversary Brutal BATF Waco Raid (fwd) - ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Sat, 21 Feb 1998 19:59:25 -0500 From: Carol Moore Reply-To: act@efn.org To: Carol Moore Subject: RE: 5th Anniversary Brutal BATF Waco Raid WACO DEMO AT WASHINGTON POST & BATF HEADQUARTERS IN D.C. Members of the Committee for Waco Justice in Washington, D.C. will commemorate the fifth anniversary of the brutal BATF raid on the Branch Davidians on February 28, 1993. Please join us: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27TH 12:00 noon at Washington Post, 15th and L Street, protest and leaflet 12:30 p.m. (approx) walk/cab to BATF headquarters at 650 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., protest and leaflet Below is the letter we wrote to Washington Post editors and writing explaining why we would be protesting there. Feel free to join us. Email CarolMoore@kreative.net or call 202/635-3739 or 202/797-9877. (Note: New Waco photographs, including of past Committee demonstrations, are now available at: http://www.kreative.net/carolmoore/waco-photos.html and http://www.kreative.net/carolmoore/cwj-photos.html ) *** COMMITTEE FOR WACO JUSTICE Date: February 13, 1998 To: Editors and Writers of the Washington Post Re: February 27 "Waco" Demonstration at the Washington Post Saturday, February 28th is the fifth anniversary of the day 76 heavily armed agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms headquarters made a military-style assault on 135 people=96mostly women, children and elderly people=96living at the Branch Davidian church outside Waco, Texas, killing six civilians. On Friday, February 27th, when offices are open, we will hold our fifth protest at BATF headquarters, at noon. We have decided that before that protest we will protest at the Washington Post. It is true that most newspapers have not done enough independent research to properly report on government agents' crimes at Waco. Never the less, we have chosen to protest at the Washington Post because: a) it has refused to cover the ample evidence that BATF agents illegally shooting from helicopters killed four Davidians on February 28, b) of the Post's hypocrisy in acting like it is fairly covering current sexual-related charges against Clinton, when it has ignored ample evidence of his involvement in, and obstruction of justice related to, the mass murder of civilians by federal agents at Waco. (Evidence of both are enclosed.) It is inevitable that President Clinton will be exposed as the criminal sexual predator he is. This is some small form of justice for "Waco" since Clinton justified federal agents' killing 82 Davidian men, women and children because of David Koresh's alleged depredations. However, the larger issue remains: if the press allows federal agents to get away with these murders, it becomes co-conspirator to future mass murders of civilians in the United States. We will be protesting to encourage Washington Post editors and writers to take an honest look at evidence that agents fired from helicopters and of Clinton and his cronies culpability and obstruction of justice in the Waco massacre As you may know, the film "Waco: The Rules of Engagement", which covers these and many other issues, has earned an academy award nomination for best documentary. I would encourage all Post writers to see this film immediately. (See http://www.waco93.com ) Also, we are enclosing a copy of member Carol Moore's book The Davidian Massacre. Please address any questions to her at 202-635-3739. Or visit her web page http://www.kreative.net/carolmoore/davidian-massacre.html **** FACT SHEET: EVIDENCE OF PRESIDENT CLINTON'S OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE IN THE 1993 WACO MASSACRE This sheet outlines just some of the evidence that President Clinton, through his various appointees, intentionally obstructed justice in covering up negligent and intentional homicide by federal agents of 82 Branch Davidians--24 men, 35 women and 23 children. Clinton's brutal comment April 20, 1993 is typical of a co-conspirator, not a President: "I was, frankly, =91surprised,' would be a mild word to say, that anyone would suggest that the Attorney General should resign because some religious fanatics murdered themselves." ** One of the chief planners of the February 28, 1993 BATF raid on the Branch Davidians was Bill Clinton's personal friend William Buford, Special Agent in Charge of Little Rock BATF. According to a March, 1993, Wall Street Journal article, the day after the February 28 raid, then-Deputy Treasury Secretary Roger Altman visited the injured Buford in a Texas hospital and reported back to Clinton. Congress never asked Altman or Buford about what they discussed. Did President Bill Clinton have foreknowledge of, or involvement in, the Waco raid which he has not revealed? ** During the siege against the Davidians news reporters claimed that the White House was "micro-managing" the FBI's actions at Waco. However, during 1995 Congressional hearings former Associate Attorney General Webster Hubbell denied he discussed the subject more than once with President Clinton. Attorney General Janet Reno initially asserted Hubbell had spoken to Clinton on April 19th but withdrew her statement when Clinton and Hubbell denied it. * An FBI report on White House counsel Vince Foster's suicide revealed that his wife, Lisa, told the FBI that Foster felt responsible for the deaths of the Davidians. Lisa Foster must be quizzed about what Vince Foster told her about his and the White House's involvement in the Waco massacre. During the House Waco hearings the White House released Foster's "Waco file" which contained only one memorandum. In August, 1997, journalist Ambrose Evans-Prichard revealed Foster's former executive assistant, Deborah Gorham, told the Senate Banking Committee in June, 1997, that Foster kept a file on the Waco incident locked in an office cabinet. Evidently Congress did not ask her if it contained more than the one memorandum previously released to Congress. Linda Tripp was also a Foster aide. What could she tell us about the White House's involvement in Waco?? * Confidential memoranda and handwritten notes presented during the 1995 House Waco hearings revealed that the Treasury Department, under pressure from the Justice Department and Webster Hubbell, halted its post-February 28 shooting review investigation because agents' stories "did not add up." The Justice Department protested that the interviews were generating "exculpatory" material that could help the Davidian defendants at trial. Webster Hubbell even threatened to go to Bill Clinton if the Treasury Department did not cooperate in the suppression of such exculpatory evidence. During the hearing, representatives quizzed defense attorneys on this suppression of evidence. However, Congress never asked Webster Hubbell about his role in squelching these interviews. And even though Hubbell promised to produce his personal "Waco files" to Congress, he did not do so. * On April 19, 1993, Reno and Hubbell sat in the FBI Operations Center in Washington, D.C. for four hours watching the tank attack on Mount Carmel. Reno mentioned during the 1993 house hearings that she talked to Clinton at 11:00 a.m. on April 19th, just before she left the Operations Center. Incredibly, Congress never asked her then, or during 1995 hearings, about the content of this conversation! Did Clinton tell her to press on with the attack? Did he tell her to leave Webster Hubbell in charge? What instructions did he give her?? There is ample similar evidence of cover-up by the Clinton White House and executive branch in both the 1993 and 1995 Congressional "Waco" hearings, in the conduct of the Treasury and Justice Department investigations into the massacre, and in the prosecution of Davidian defendants. Clinton's deliberate suppression of evidence and obstruction of justice in the massacre of 82 civilians at Waco is a far more heinous crime than that of asking an intern to lie under oath about their sexual affair. A separate independent counsel must be appointed to find evidence of negligent and intentional homicide of the Davidians and of systematic cover-up of those crimes that goes all the way up to President Clinton. Fact Sheet assembled by Carol Moore, author, The Davidian Massacre. *** WACO: FEBRUARY 28, 1993 EVIDENCE OF DEADLY GUNFIRE FROM BATF HELICOPTERS Probably the most blatant cover-up regarding the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms' (BATF) February 28, 1993 raid on the Branch Davidian religious group near Waco, Texas is the cover-up of the fact that agents shot from helicopters, killing as many as four Davidians. This act is unprecedented in American law enforcement. Had it not been so successfully covered up by federal agencies, Congress and the press, there would have been a public outcry leading to prosecution and imprisonment of BATF Agents. During a May, 1995 televised debate, Carol Moore, author of the book The Davidian Massacre, asked former BATF Director Stephen E. Higgins, who approved the raid, if BATF agents should be charged with murder should evidence of lethal firing be indicated. He replied, "Absolutely. If they fire at someone who was not firing at them or pointing a weapon at them it would absolutely be murder." Mr. Higgins, like the rest of the federal establishment, refuses to admit these murders were in fact committed. Many believe federal agents subsequently sabotaged negotiations and conducted a vicious April 19, 1993 assault which burned Mount Carmel to the ground in order to destroy bullet hole evidence of helicopter gunfire, as well as evidence of indiscriminate gunfire from the ground. (Davidian survivor David Thibodeau claims firing from helicopters left 100 bullet holes in the walls and roofs. And it is well known that one of the double front doors, the one containing evidence BATF shot first and furiously, was never found after the fire.) Below is substantial evidence, presented in rough chronological order, that BATF agents shot from at least one of the three helicopters which approached Mount Carmel at the beginning of the BATF raid. (Two helicopters were small observation craft containing National Guard pilots and one BATF agent; the third was a large Blackhawk containing two National Guard pilots and approximately eight BATF agents.) ** Discussions of Using Helicopter Gunfire as a Diversion One document indicating agents considered using such gunfire was found among thousands turned over to Congress. A handwritten note by some unknown Treasury Department review official who had interviewed BATF agents read: "HCs [helicopters] as a diversion. Simultaneous gunfire. Worked in Seattle. Three to four hundred meters from boundary. Hover. Practiced at Hood." (Assumedly BATF agents practiced this maneuver at Fort Hood, where they trained for the raid.) ** Questionable Helicopter Pilot Testimony At trial three National Guard helicopter pilots denied the helicopters had circled Mount Carmel before the beginning of the raid, as if scoping it out for targets. However, KWTX-TV cameraman Dan Mulloney and reporter John McLemore testified they saw the helicopters do just that. This cast doubt on the guardsmens' testimony that there had been no shooting from the helicopters. ** Agent Admitted Agents Were Armed and Willing to Fire During the House Waco hearings, BATF agent Davy Aguilera, who was in the Blackhawk helicopter, revealed that BATF agents in that aircraft had had their weapons loaded during the raid. He also disclosed agents had been told they would be permitted to fire in self-defense. When asked if any agents had fired, Aguilera answered, "No." Raid co-commander Phillip Chojnacki responded to the same question with, "Not to my knowledge." Representative Melvin Watt then submitted "for the record the statements of a number of individuals who were actually on the helicopters who deny that they fired at any point." However, these were merely statements of National Guard helicopter pilots, not BATF agents. ** Agent Admitted Agents Might Have Fired BATF audio tapes reveal that immediately after the gunfight, BATF agent James Cavanaugh, a temporary negotiator, argued by telephone with David Koresh about whether there was firing from the helicopters. Cavanaugh then admitted, "I'm not debating the fact that there might have been fire from the helicopters but what I'm telling you is there were no mounted guns, no outside mounted guns, on those helicopters." ** Government Claims the Helicopters Took Davidian Gunfire BATF agents and National Guard pilots claim that when the helicopters got within 350 meters of the building, they were fired upon and forced back. Photographs show several holes in the aircraft. If the Davidians did indeed fire at the helicopters--before or after BATF agents fired--Aguilera's testimony makes it clear agents felt they did have a right to fire back. And it is likely they did so. ** BATF Video Shows Helicopter Diving Towards Building A BATF agent took video footage from the Blackhawk helicopter which clearly shows the Blackhawk diving down towards the back of the building--and that it is clearly closer than 350 meters. The video clip ends abruptly at that point. A simple projection of the speed and trajectory of the helicopter's approach suggests it did fly over the swimming pool and building, as Davidians allege below. The National Guard pilot of the Blackhawk did admit at trial that the helicopter flew as low as 50 feet off the ground. Also, during this approach several sounds like gunfire can clearly be heard on the BATF video. A civil suit attorney calculates that these sounds only could have come from the helicopter. (The BATF video reveals that a second video was taken by BATF agent Ted Royster. BATF claims this is Royster's personal video tape and refuses to release it, claiming it contains no incriminating material.) ** KWTX-TV Video Shows Helicopter Shoot Davidian on the Watertower One of two KWTX-TV cameramen shot video from the road southwest of Mount Carmel. As seen in the movie "Waco: The Rules of Engagement," a helicopter southwest of the building and water tower veers back towards them just as movement from what is evidently a person is seen on top of the tower. Seconds later, the individual disappears, very possibly shot by agents in the helicopter. ** KWTX-TV Video Shows Shots Fired From Sky Another KWTX-TV cameraman followed BATF agents onto the grounds of Mount Carmel. His camera also caught footage of the helicopter above veering back. Soon after, he took the often shown video of an agent being shot at through the wall of the second story room. This shot also displays evidence that at least four bullets were fired from above just two to three minutes into the raid. The sounds of aircraft overhead can be heard. Bullet holes can be seen appearing in the roof and eaves of the building and the projected trajectory of the bullets appears much too steep to have come from the four story tower, from which some Davidians were firing. ** Davidians Complained About Firing to 9-1-1 Operators Early in the raid, in a phone call to 9-1-1, now-deceased Davidian Wayne Martin cries out: "Another chopper with more people; more guns going off. They're firing. That's them, not us." Now-deceased Steve Schneider adds, "There's a chopper with more of them. Another chopper with more people and more guns going off. Here they come!" In the next hours Martin warns repeatedly that BATF should keep helicopters at a distance. ** Davidians Complained About Helicopter Gunfire On Negotiation Tapes During the 51 day siege, David Koresh and Steve Schneider insisted to FBI negotiators that BATF agents had shot from the helicopters and killed Davidians. They repeatedly claimed that FBI agents wanted to burn Mount Carmel to destroy the evidence of this and other lethal firing. ** Thirteen Davidian Survivors Claim They Saw Firing or Evidence of Firing Marjorie Thomas testified under oath at trial that she and two other women near their third floor window saw a helicopter approaching the building with a person hanging out. As the helicopter drew nearer, several bullets came through the window, flying over the womens' heads. Kathryn Schroeder testified under oath at trial that she saw bullet holes in the ceiling of the four story tower, holes that could only have been made from shooting from the sky. Kevin Whitecliff stated at allocution before sentencing: "There were three or four helicopters buzzing around shooting at people. I thought I was going to die." Rita Riddle told reporters in March, 1993, "I heard them spraying the building when they went over," and stated in a signed affidavit that she saw a bullet come down through the ceiling from the sky. Clive Doyle has testified before Congress and written in an affidavit that Winston Blake was killed from a bullet that, from the trajectory through the wall, only could have come from a helicopter. (Jaime Castillo in a statement to Texas Rangers and David Thibodeau before Congress and in a signed affidavit make the same claim.) Doyle also states that he himself saw a helicopter directly above the swimming pool. Renos Avraam stated at allocution that BATF came in "with helicopters blazing. Davy Aguilera, he was firing one of them. He ain't going to deny it. Helicopters blazing." (Both Clive Doyle and David Thibodeau have testified that Avraam told them he was in the back of the building and saw the firing himself.) Derek Lovelock told attorney Jack Zimmermann that he heard helicopters and saw bullets come down through the ceiling of the first floor, one story cafeteria at the back of the building. Catherine Matteson claims that one or more helicopters circled the building, firing at both the front and the back, and that she had to fall to the floor to avoid the bullets coming through the roof. Annetta Richards claims she saw bullets come down from above as the helicopters were flying overhead. Gladys Ottman makes claims similar to those of Matteson and Richards. Davidian Child: Psychologist Bruce D. Perry, who interviewed Davidian children who left Mount Carmel after the raid, described a child drawing a picture of a house beneath a rainbow. The child put bullet holes in the roof of the four story tower. ** Attorneys Saw Evidence of Firing From Helicopters Davidian attorneys Dick DeGuerin and Jack Zimmermann, who visited Mount Carmel during the siege, have testified under oath before Congress, at trial and in affidavits that there were numerous bullet holes that obviously came from the sky in the four story tower and in upper story walls. Zimmerman is a former Army officer. ** Davidians Claim Helicopter Gunfire Killed Four Winston Blake, a black from England, was killed instantly by one bullet in the head as he sat on his bed. Survivors say the bullet entered the room's wall at a downward trajectory and only could have come from a helicopter. The American coroner claimed Blake had been shot at close range; the Manchester, England coroner could find no such evidence. The discrepancy sparked an English police investigation. (The government claimed other Davidians killed Blake.) Jaydean Wendell, an Asian-American, was killed instantly by one shot through the head as she lay in bed. Attorney Jack Zimmermann said he saw bullet holes by the "upper bunk wall" going in the direction of a pool of blood on the bed. (Two Davidian prosecution witnesses testified that Wendell might have been shooting a gun at the time of her death.) Peter Gent, an Australian, was killed instantly by a shot to the heart. Davidians assert he was cleaning the inside of the water tower, heard the commotion, stuck his head out to see what was going on, and was shot by an agent in a helicopter. (A BATF agent on the ground claimed he shot an armed man on the water tower.) Peter Hipsman, an American, probably was shooting from the fourth floor when he was shot in the chest and arm. The medical examiner revealed that the shots traveled from left to right, as if he was shot from the sky. Believing federal agents meant to kill them all, he allowed another Davidian to end his life. Two other Davidians died February 28, 1993. David Koresh's father-in-law Perry Jones was standing behind Koresh when he opened the front door and tried to talk and cooperate with attacking federal agents. Jones was mortally wounded in the stomach as agents opened fire on the two unarmed men and committed suicide. And Michael Schroeder was ambushed and killed by federal agents as he approached Mount Carmel on foot later that day. Four BATF agents shooting at the Davidians were killed by defensive gunfire. There is evidence that at least one agent was wounded by BATF friendly fire. Missing bullets make it difficult to prove if others were injured or even killed by such fire. The Treasury and Justice Departments, Congress and the press have ignored or suppressed this overwhelming evidence of lethal helicopter gunfire. However, jurors in the 1.5 billion dollar Davidian civil suits, which allege such firing, may take it more seriously. Attorneys will produce ample evidence like that above during the civil trial. For more information please contact Carol Moore, member of the Committee for Waco Justice and author of The Davidian Massacre. 202-635-3739. http://www.kreative.net/carolmoore/davidian-massacre.html - - ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 08:23:48 -0600 (CST) From: Subject: RE: 5th Anniversary Brutal BATF Waco Raid (fwd) - ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Sat, 21 Feb 1998 19:59:25 -0500 From: Carol Moore Reply-To: act@efn.org To: Carol Moore Subject: RE: 5th Anniversary Brutal BATF Waco Raid WACO DEMO AT WASHINGTON POST & BATF HEADQUARTERS IN D.C. Members of the Committee for Waco Justice in Washington, D.C. will commemorate the fifth anniversary of the brutal BATF raid on the Branch Davidians on February 28, 1993. Please join us: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27TH 12:00 noon at Washington Post, 15th and L Street, protest and leaflet 12:30 p.m. (approx) walk/cab to BATF headquarters at 650 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., protest and leaflet Below is the letter we wrote to Washington Post editors and writing explaining why we would be protesting there. Feel free to join us. Email CarolMoore@kreative.net or call 202/635-3739 or 202/797-9877. (Note: New Waco photographs, including of past Committee demonstrations, are now available at: http://www.kreative.net/carolmoore/waco-photos.html and http://www.kreative.net/carolmoore/cwj-photos.html ) *** COMMITTEE FOR WACO JUSTICE Date: February 13, 1998 To: Editors and Writers of the Washington Post Re: February 27 "Waco" Demonstration at the Washington Post Saturday, February 28th is the fifth anniversary of the day 76 heavily armed agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms headquarters made a military-style assault on 135 people=96mostly women, children and elderly people=96living at the Branch Davidian church outside Waco, Texas, killing six civilians. On Friday, February 27th, when offices are open, we will hold our fifth protest at BATF headquarters, at noon. We have decided that before that protest we will protest at the Washington Post. It is true that most newspapers have not done enough independent research to properly report on government agents' crimes at Waco. Never the less, we have chosen to protest at the Washington Post because: a) it has refused to cover the ample evidence that BATF agents illegally shooting from helicopters killed four Davidians on February 28, b) of the Post's hypocrisy in acting like it is fairly covering current sexual-related charges against Clinton, when it has ignored ample evidence of his involvement in, and obstruction of justice related to, the mass murder of civilians by federal agents at Waco. (Evidence of both are enclosed.) It is inevitable that President Clinton will be exposed as the criminal sexual predator he is. This is some small form of justice for "Waco" since Clinton justified federal agents' killing 82 Davidian men, women and children because of David Koresh's alleged depredations. However, the larger issue remains: if the press allows federal agents to get away with these murders, it becomes co-conspirator to future mass murders of civilians in the United States. We will be protesting to encourage Washington Post editors and writers to take an honest look at evidence that agents fired from helicopters and of Clinton and his cronies culpability and obstruction of justice in the Waco massacre As you may know, the film "Waco: The Rules of Engagement", which covers these and many other issues, has earned an academy award nomination for best documentary. I would encourage all Post writers to see this film immediately. (See http://www.waco93.com ) Also, we are enclosing a copy of member Carol Moore's book The Davidian Massacre. Please address any questions to her at 202-635-3739. Or visit her web page http://www.kreative.net/carolmoore/davidian-massacre.html **** FACT SHEET: EVIDENCE OF PRESIDENT CLINTON'S OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE IN THE 1993 WACO MASSACRE This sheet outlines just some of the evidence that President Clinton, through his various appointees, intentionally obstructed justice in covering up negligent and intentional homicide by federal agents of 82 Branch Davidians--24 men, 35 women and 23 children. Clinton's brutal comment April 20, 1993 is typical of a co-conspirator, not a President: "I was, frankly, =91surprised,' would be a mild word to say, that anyone would suggest that the Attorney General should resign because some religious fanatics murdered themselves." ** One of the chief planners of the February 28, 1993 BATF raid on the Branch Davidians was Bill Clinton's personal friend William Buford, Special Agent in Charge of Little Rock BATF. According to a March, 1993, Wall Street Journal article, the day after the February 28 raid, then-Deputy Treasury Secretary Roger Altman visited the injured Buford in a Texas hospital and reported back to Clinton. Congress never asked Altman or Buford about what they discussed. Did President Bill Clinton have foreknowledge of, or involvement in, the Waco raid which he has not revealed? ** During the siege against the Davidians news reporters claimed that the White House was "micro-managing" the FBI's actions at Waco. However, during 1995 Congressional hearings former Associate Attorney General Webster Hubbell denied he discussed the subject more than once with President Clinton. Attorney General Janet Reno initially asserted Hubbell had spoken to Clinton on April 19th but withdrew her statement when Clinton and Hubbell denied it. * An FBI report on White House counsel Vince Foster's suicide revealed that his wife, Lisa, told the FBI that Foster felt responsible for the deaths of the Davidians. Lisa Foster must be quizzed about what Vince Foster told her about his and the White House's involvement in the Waco massacre. During the House Waco hearings the White House released Foster's "Waco file" which contained only one memorandum. In August, 1997, journalist Ambrose Evans-Prichard revealed Foster's former executive assistant, Deborah Gorham, told the Senate Banking Committee in June, 1997, that Foster kept a file on the Waco incident locked in an office cabinet. Evidently Congress did not ask her if it contained more than the one memorandum previously released to Congress. Linda Tripp was also a Foster aide. What could she tell us about the White House's involvement in Waco?? * Confidential memoranda and handwritten notes presented during the 1995 House Waco hearings revealed that the Treasury Department, under pressure from the Justice Department and Webster Hubbell, halted its post-February 28 shooting review investigation because agents' stories "did not add up." The Justice Department protested that the interviews were generating "exculpatory" material that could help the Davidian defendants at trial. Webster Hubbell even threatened to go to Bill Clinton if the Treasury Department did not cooperate in the suppression of such exculpatory evidence. During the hearing, representatives quizzed defense attorneys on this suppression of evidence. However, Congress never asked Webster Hubbell about his role in squelching these interviews. And even though Hubbell promised to produce his personal "Waco files" to Congress, he did not do so. * On April 19, 1993, Reno and Hubbell sat in the FBI Operations Center in Washington, D.C. for four hours watching the tank attack on Mount Carmel. Reno mentioned during the 1993 house hearings that she talked to Clinton at 11:00 a.m. on April 19th, just before she left the Operations Center. Incredibly, Congress never asked her then, or during 1995 hearings, about the content of this conversation! Did Clinton tell her to press on with the attack? Did he tell her to leave Webster Hubbell in charge? What instructions did he give her?? There is ample similar evidence of cover-up by the Clinton White House and executive branch in both the 1993 and 1995 Congressional "Waco" hearings, in the conduct of the Treasury and Justice Department investigations into the massacre, and in the prosecution of Davidian defendants. Clinton's deliberate suppression of evidence and obstruction of justice in the massacre of 82 civilians at Waco is a far more heinous crime than that of asking an intern to lie under oath about their sexual affair. A separate independent counsel must be appointed to find evidence of negligent and intentional homicide of the Davidians and of systematic cover-up of those crimes that goes all the way up to President Clinton. Fact Sheet assembled by Carol Moore, author, The Davidian Massacre. *** WACO: FEBRUARY 28, 1993 EVIDENCE OF DEADLY GUNFIRE FROM BATF HELICOPTERS Probably the most blatant cover-up regarding the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms' (BATF) February 28, 1993 raid on the Branch Davidian religious group near Waco, Texas is the cover-up of the fact that agents shot from helicopters, killing as many as four Davidians. This act is unprecedented in American law enforcement. Had it not been so successfully covered up by federal agencies, Congress and the press, there would have been a public outcry leading to prosecution and imprisonment of BATF Agents. During a May, 1995 televised debate, Carol Moore, author of the book The Davidian Massacre, asked former BATF Director Stephen E. Higgins, who approved the raid, if BATF agents should be charged with murder should evidence of lethal firing be indicated. He replied, "Absolutely. If they fire at someone who was not firing at them or pointing a weapon at them it would absolutely be murder." Mr. Higgins, like the rest of the federal establishment, refuses to admit these murders were in fact committed. Many believe federal agents subsequently sabotaged negotiations and conducted a vicious April 19, 1993 assault which burned Mount Carmel to the ground in order to destroy bullet hole evidence of helicopter gunfire, as well as evidence of indiscriminate gunfire from the ground. (Davidian survivor David Thibodeau claims firing from helicopters left 100 bullet holes in the walls and roofs. And it is well known that one of the double front doors, the one containing evidence BATF shot first and furiously, was never found after the fire.) Below is substantial evidence, presented in rough chronological order, that BATF agents shot from at least one of the three helicopters which approached Mount Carmel at the beginning of the BATF raid. (Two helicopters were small observation craft containing National Guard pilots and one BATF agent; the third was a large Blackhawk containing two National Guard pilots and approximately eight BATF agents.) ** Discussions of Using Helicopter Gunfire as a Diversion One document indicating agents considered using such gunfire was found among thousands turned over to Congress. A handwritten note by some unknown Treasury Department review official who had interviewed BATF agents read: "HCs [helicopters] as a diversion. Simultaneous gunfire. Worked in Seattle. Three to four hundred meters from boundary. Hover. Practiced at Hood." (Assumedly BATF agents practiced this maneuver at Fort Hood, where they trained for the raid.) ** Questionable Helicopter Pilot Testimony At trial three National Guard helicopter pilots denied the helicopters had circled Mount Carmel before the beginning of the raid, as if scoping it out for targets. However, KWTX-TV cameraman Dan Mulloney and reporter John McLemore testified they saw the helicopters do just that. This cast doubt on the guardsmens' testimony that there had been no shooting from the helicopters. ** Agent Admitted Agents Were Armed and Willing to Fire During the House Waco hearings, BATF agent Davy Aguilera, who was in the Blackhawk helicopter, revealed that BATF agents in that aircraft had had their weapons loaded during the raid. He also disclosed agents had been told they would be permitted to fire in self-defense. When asked if any agents had fired, Aguilera answered, "No." Raid co-commander Phillip Chojnacki responded to the same question with, "Not to my knowledge." Representative Melvin Watt then submitted "for the record the statements of a number of individuals who were actually on the helicopters who deny that they fired at any point." However, these were merely statements of National Guard helicopter pilots, not BATF agents. ** Agent Admitted Agents Might Have Fired BATF audio tapes reveal that immediately after the gunfight, BATF agent James Cavanaugh, a temporary negotiator, argued by telephone with David Koresh about whether there was firing from the helicopters. Cavanaugh then admitted, "I'm not debating the fact that there might have been fire from the helicopters but what I'm telling you is there were no mounted guns, no outside mounted guns, on those helicopters." ** Government Claims the Helicopters Took Davidian Gunfire BATF agents and National Guard pilots claim that when the helicopters got within 350 meters of the building, they were fired upon and forced back. Photographs show several holes in the aircraft. If the Davidians did indeed fire at the helicopters--before or after BATF agents fired--Aguilera's testimony makes it clear agents felt they did have a right to fire back. And it is likely they did so. ** BATF Video Shows Helicopter Diving Towards Building A BATF agent took video footage from the Blackhawk helicopter which clearly shows the Blackhawk diving down towards the back of the building--and that it is clearly closer than 350 meters. The video clip ends abruptly at that point. A simple projection of the speed and trajectory of the helicopter's approach suggests it did fly over the swimming pool and building, as Davidians allege below. The National Guard pilot of the Blackhawk did admit at trial that the helicopter flew as low as 50 feet off the ground. Also, during this approach several sounds like gunfire can clearly be heard on the BATF video. A civil suit attorney calculates that these sounds only could have come from the helicopter. (The BATF video reveals that a second video was taken by BATF agent Ted Royster. BATF claims this is Royster's personal video tape and refuses to release it, claiming it contains no incriminating material.) ** KWTX-TV Video Shows Helicopter Shoot Davidian on the Watertower One of two KWTX-TV cameramen shot video from the road southwest of Mount Carmel. As seen in the movie "Waco: The Rules of Engagement," a helicopter southwest of the building and water tower veers back towards them just as movement from what is evidently a person is seen on top of the tower. Seconds later, the individual disappears, very possibly shot by agents in the helicopter. ** KWTX-TV Video Shows Shots Fired From Sky Another KWTX-TV cameraman followed BATF agents onto the grounds of Mount Carmel. His camera also caught footage of the helicopter above veering back. Soon after, he took the often shown video of an agent being shot at through the wall of the second story room. This shot also displays evidence that at least four bullets were fired from above just two to three minutes into the raid. The sounds of aircraft overhead can be heard. Bullet holes can be seen appearing in the roof and eaves of the building and the projected trajectory of the bullets appears much too steep to have come from the four story tower, from which some Davidians were firing. ** Davidians Complained About Firing to 9-1-1 Operators Early in the raid, in a phone call to 9-1-1, now-deceased Davidian Wayne Martin cries out: "Another chopper with more people; more guns going off. They're firing. That's them, not us." Now-deceased Steve Schneider adds, "There's a chopper with more of them. Another chopper with more people and more guns going off. Here they come!" In the next hours Martin warns repeatedly that BATF should keep helicopters at a distance. ** Davidians Complained About Helicopter Gunfire On Negotiation Tapes During the 51 day siege, David Koresh and Steve Schneider insisted to FBI negotiators that BATF agents had shot from the helicopters and killed Davidians. They repeatedly claimed that FBI agents wanted to burn Mount Carmel to destroy the evidence of this and other lethal firing. ** Thirteen Davidian Survivors Claim They Saw Firing or Evidence of Firing Marjorie Thomas testified under oath at trial that she and two other women near their third floor window saw a helicopter approaching the building with a person hanging out. As the helicopter drew nearer, several bullets came through the window, flying over the womens' heads. Kathryn Schroeder testified under oath at trial that she saw bullet holes in the ceiling of the four story tower, holes that could only have been made from shooting from the sky. Kevin Whitecliff stated at allocution before sentencing: "There were three or four helicopters buzzing around shooting at people. I thought I was going to die." Rita Riddle told reporters in March, 1993, "I heard them spraying the building when they went over," and stated in a signed affidavit that she saw a bullet come down through the ceiling from the sky. Clive Doyle has testified before Congress and written in an affidavit that Winston Blake was killed from a bullet that, from the trajectory through the wall, only could have come from a helicopter. (Jaime Castillo in a statement to Texas Rangers and David Thibodeau before Congress and in a signed affidavit make the same claim.) Doyle also states that he himself saw a helicopter directly above the swimming pool. Renos Avraam stated at allocution that BATF came in "with helicopters blazing. Davy Aguilera, he was firing one of them. He ain't going to deny it. Helicopters blazing." (Both Clive Doyle and David Thibodeau have testified that Avraam told them he was in the back of the building and saw the firing himself.) Derek Lovelock told attorney Jack Zimmermann that he heard helicopters and saw bullets come down through the ceiling of the first floor, one story cafeteria at the back of the building. Catherine Matteson claims that one or more helicopters circled the building, firing at both the front and the back, and that she had to fall to the floor to avoid the bullets coming through the roof. Annetta Richards claims she saw bullets come down from above as the helicopters were flying overhead. Gladys Ottman makes claims similar to those of Matteson and Richards. Davidian Child: Psychologist Bruce D. Perry, who interviewed Davidian children who left Mount Carmel after the raid, described a child drawing a picture of a house beneath a rainbow. The child put bullet holes in the roof of the four story tower. ** Attorneys Saw Evidence of Firing From Helicopters Davidian attorneys Dick DeGuerin and Jack Zimmermann, who visited Mount Carmel during the siege, have testified under oath before Congress, at trial and in affidavits that there were numerous bullet holes that obviously came from the sky in the four story tower and in upper story walls. Zimmerman is a former Army officer. ** Davidians Claim Helicopter Gunfire Killed Four Winston Blake, a black from England, was killed instantly by one bullet in the head as he sat on his bed. Survivors say the bullet entered the room's wall at a downward trajectory and only could have come from a helicopter. The American coroner claimed Blake had been shot at close range; the Manchester, England coroner could find no such evidence. The discrepancy sparked an English police investigation. (The government claimed other Davidians killed Blake.) Jaydean Wendell, an Asian-American, was killed instantly by one shot through the head as she lay in bed. Attorney Jack Zimmermann said he saw bullet holes by the "upper bunk wall" going in the direction of a pool of blood on the bed. (Two Davidian prosecution witnesses testified that Wendell might have been shooting a gun at the time of her death.) Peter Gent, an Australian, was killed instantly by a shot to the heart. Davidians assert he was cleaning the inside of the water tower, heard the commotion, stuck his head out to see what was going on, and was shot by an agent in a helicopter. (A BATF agent on the ground claimed he shot an armed man on the water tower.) Peter Hipsman, an American, probably was shooting from the fourth floor when he was shot in the chest and arm. The medical examiner revealed that the shots traveled from left to right, as if he was shot from the sky. Believing federal agents meant to kill them all, he allowed another Davidian to end his life. Two other Davidians died February 28, 1993. David Koresh's father-in-law Perry Jones was standing behind Koresh when he opened the front door and tried to talk and cooperate with attacking federal agents. Jones was mortally wounded in the stomach as agents opened fire on the two unarmed men and committed suicide. And Michael Schroeder was ambushed and killed by federal agents as he approached Mount Carmel on foot later that day. Four BATF agents shooting at the Davidians were killed by defensive gunfire. There is evidence that at least one agent was wounded by BATF friendly fire. Missing bullets make it difficult to prove if others were injured or even killed by such fire. The Treasury and Justice Departments, Congress and the press have ignored or suppressed this overwhelming evidence of lethal helicopter gunfire. However, jurors in the 1.5 billion dollar Davidian civil suits, which allege such firing, may take it more seriously. Attorneys will produce ample evidence like that above during the civil trial. For more information please contact Carol Moore, member of the Committee for Waco Justice and author of The Davidian Massacre. 202-635-3739. http://www.kreative.net/carolmoore/davidian-massacre.html - - ------------------------------ End of roc-digest V2 #78 ************************