-Caveat Lector- http://web.star-telegram.com/content/fortworth/2001/05/17/topstor y/fw010102-0517-XA001-mcveigh.htm Fort Worth Star-Telegram 05/17/2001 Dallas FBI files believed to detail 2 arrests A federal official says two people were held a couple of days after the 1995 bombing. By Jack Douglas Jr. Star-Telegram Staff Writer The FBI files whose surprise disclosure sparked a delay of Timothy McVeigh's execution include Dallas FBI documents that are believed to contain details about the arrest of at least two people of Arab descent after the Oklahoma City bombing, a federal official said this week. The fact that FBI agents did not turn those reports over to defense lawyers for McVeigh and Terry Nichols "was probably just a screw- up," said the official, who did not want to be identified. "I can't imagine they did it intentionally." The people, possibly Iranians or Iraqis, were held for "only a couple of days" shortly after the bombing on April 19, 1995, and may have filed a complaint against the FBI after their release, according to the official. One of McVeigh's lawyers, Rob Nigh, said Wednesday that he could not comment on the contents of the FBI reports from Dallas. The federal government's inspector general's office is investigating the FBI's Dallas office, along with other FBI units around the country, to determine why more than 3,100 pages of investigative reports were not turned over until days before McVeigh was scheduled to be executed. One agent, referring to the Dallas office, said, "It is not a fun place to be right now." The revelation of the previously undisclosed files has delayed McVeigh's execution until at least June 11, but Nigh said he plans to file papers with the court before then, possibly leading to a further delay. McVeigh had been scheduled to be executed by lethal injection Wednesday morning in Terre Haute, Ind. McVeigh was convicted of murder, and Nichols was convicted of conspiracy and sentenced to life in prison, for the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City. The blast killed 168 people, including 19 children, making it the worst act of terrorism on American soil. McVeigh had been arrested in a traffic stop just 90 minutes after the bombing, but it was a few days before he was publicly identified as the chief suspect in the bombing. In that interim, there was a flood of media reports about the possibility of involvement of Islamic terrorists in the bombing. Arab-Americans expressed outrage at the outpouring of anti-Islamic sentiment around the nation. After McVeigh's role became more clear, the nation's curiosity seemed to focus on whether he was part of a wider conspiracy against the government. The indictments issued in 1995 against McVeigh, Nichols and a third suspect, Michael Fortier, said it was thought that "others unknown" remained free after participating in the bombing. Suspicions about uncaught accomplices faded, however, after Fortier bargained with prosecutors and received a 23-year prison sentence for conspiracy, and the FBI began to build their larger cases against McVeigh and Nichols. Those questions have resurfaced, possibly stronger than ever, after last week's revelation that FBI agents failed to release thousands of their reports to help lawyers for McVeigh and Nichols build their defenses. Some of the reports, which are now being examined by the convicted bombers' lawyers, refer to a "John Doe II," described initially by the FBI as a companion of McVeigh's when he rented a Ryder truck used in the bombing. Government officials say the description was a case of mistaken identity, and that there is no John Doe II. Others, including some victims of the blast, disagree. Asked about a possible wider conspiracy, Joe Heaton, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Oklahoma City, said Wednesday, "I don't know that we have any position on that." In a letter sent to the Houston Chronicle this week, McVeigh said there is no John Doe II. Jon Hersley, who was the lead FBI agent in the bombing investigation, agrees, saying that the person in question is Todd Bunting, an Army private who went to the Ryder rental shop a day after McVeigh. Hersley said the owner of the shop, Eldon Elliott, confused the two dates and the people who were there on those days when he was questioned later by the FBI. The FBI did not question Elliott's memory when he testified as a key witness in McVeigh's trial in summer 1997, saying confidently that McVeigh rented the truck used in the bombing. Elliott also maintained that there was no confusion about a second man being at his shop when McVeigh was there. He testified that the other man was there and was wearing "a kind of unusual-looking hat." Elliott now lives in Arizona where, according to a recording, his phone has been temporarily disconnected "at the customer's request." Now a private investigator in Oklahoma City, Hersley said he does not believe that anything in the newly disclosed documents will weaken the government's evidence against McVeigh, who recently confessed to the crime in news interviews. "Obviously, I'm disappointed with what's been found now," he said, but "this has not shaken my confidence in our investigation." Hersley declined to return follow-up phone calls concerning questions about whether he believes that all parties involved in the bombing have been charged. Royia Grizzell, who was critically injured and disfigured in the blast, said she is certain that others participated in the mass murder. "There are more people involved than we know, or probably will ever know," said Grizzell, who has since moved away from Oklahoma. Jack Douglas Jr., (817) 390-7700 [EMAIL PROTECTED] © 2001 Star-Telegram, Fort Worth, Texas ================================================================= Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, YHVH, TZEVAOT FROM THE DESK OF: *Michael Spitzer* <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> The Best Way To Destroy Enemies Is To Change Them To Friends ================================================================= <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
