Just In Time For The Elections

Just In Time For The Elections
by Linda A. Prussen-Razzano

In July of 1999, in my article entitled "Millenium Crunch," I warned people that PDD 62, "Process for Coordinating Interagency WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction) Preparedness Efforts," contained several very disturbing changes in the Executive Branch’s ability to respond to domestic terrorist attacks. These changes were incorporated into The Defense Against Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-201), which "authorizes Federal agencies to provide resources, training and technical assistance to state and local emergency management personnel who would respond to a WMD terrorist incident." [1]

"In September 1998, the Attorney General and Deputy Secretary of Defense began discussions on transferring portions of the DPP [Defense Preparedness Program] from DOD [Department of Defense] to DOJ [Department of Justice]. Personnel from DOD are currently meeting with representatives from DOJ to develop a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the transfer. The framework for this MOU is based on the following assumptions:

The President of the United States will designate the Attorney General as the lead official to assume responsibility for the DPP no later than October 1, 2000.

DOD will remain the lead federal agency for the DPP through the end of FY2000." [2]

These same points were shared during my radio interview with Bill Boshears of The Big Show during the Thanksgiving weekend of 1999. In short, his listening audience was not amused.

On April 6, 2000, the President reiterated this change, making the transfer of power to Janet Reno official. "Under the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, including sections 1412(a)(2) and 1415(d)(1) of the Act, I designate the Attorney General to replace the Secretary of Defense as the lead Federal official with responsibility for carrying out these programs. These designations are effective October 1, 2000, and constitute designations pursuant to sections 1412(a)(2) and 1415(d)(1) of the Act." [3]

Now, let’s make sure everyone understands the implications. Here we have a woman who is not only beholden to the President, she has continually stonewalled every investigation that might have implicated the President and top administration officials in any suspected wrongdoing. Her list of "accomplishments" is as follows:

Accepted full responsibility for the events at Waco, in which over 80 people, including innocent children, were incinerated. Her Justice Department denied any use of pyrotechnics, only to discover that incendiary devices were used against the Davidians. When William W. Johnston, Assistant U.S. Attorney Chief, Waco Division, attempted to bring this information to her attention, he received threatening faxes from the Justice Department and eventually resigned.
Found no credible evidence of wrongdoing by top Administration officials in the Campaign Finance Scandal. Several FBI agents have since come forward to advise that they were called back from their investigations once they advised the Justice Department of evidence leading directly to the White House. They also advised Fox News that evidence was being destroyed. By the time they were allowed to continue their investigation, all of the evidence was gone.
Ignored evidence presented by Johnny Chung, a key figure in the Campaign Finance scandal. Although Mr. Chung plead guilty, cooperated fully, and had several attempts made on his life, several days after affording him protection, the Justice Department left him exposed and vulnerable. According to Johnny Chung, "In March of 1999, a third attempt was made, but fortunately an FBI agent was with me at the time. They arrested the suspect, and again the FBI decided to immediately put my family and I under protection. The next day the protection was unexpectedly called off by the Department of Justice. When I called to ask why, I was told, "Mr. Chung, your case is over. If you feel your life is in danger, you should do what any American citizen would do -- call 911." [4]
Only bothered to concern themselves with the evolving e-mail scandal after Judicial Watch scored a victory in the courts. Several sources came forward to expose the missing e-mails and to allege that White House personnel threatened them with jail if they spoke of this issue. Once Judicial Watch landed a body blow to the Administration by making these charges public, the Justice Department suddenly demanded "an investigation," which the court promptly refused to allow.
Continually refused to cooperate with Congress by failing to release the LaBello memorandum and other requested documents. Continually refused to question key witnesses in a variety of investigations. Continually refused to ignore evidence that pointed towards the White House, including Al Gore’s own televised admission that he solicited hard money donations from federal property.

Color me paranoid, if you will, but having this woman in charge of a response to a domestic terrorist attack does not make me warm and comfy. I honestly hope I’m wrong, but I have this nagging feeling that between October 1, 2000 and November 7, 2000, something terrible is going to happen.

If you understood the power that will now be hers to command, you’d have a nagging feeling, too.

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Sources:

House National Security Committee, Combined Statement of Department of Defense Witnesses Charles L. Cragin, Principal Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness; Delores M. Etter, Ph. D, Deputy Undersecretary of Defense (Science and Technology), Deputy Director, Defense Research and Engineering; Major General John Doesburg, Commander, US Army, US Army Soldier and Biological Chemical Command, and Mr. Raymond Dominguez, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Forces and Resources, September 25, 1998.
Ibid.
THE WHITE HOUSE, Office of the Press Secretary, "Designation of the Attorney General as the Lead Official for the Emergency Response Assistance Program Under Sections 1412 and 1415 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1997 (Public Law 104-201) (the "Act")," April 6, 2000.
World Net Daily, "The Real Johnny Chung," by Johnny Chung, April 7, 2000.