ZGram - 8/14/2002 - "Whistleblower Number Two resurfaces..."

[irimland@zundelsite.org]

ZGram - Where Truth is Destiny

August 14, 2002

Good Morning from the Z=FCndelsite:

Remember that brief story of the "second 9/11 whistleblower", Sibel 
Edmonds, a Jewish woman who was approached by another member of the 
Tribe in an attempt to recruit her for nefarious ends, and who went 
to the FBI, reporting the entire story?

Like so many other initially promising leads, this story sank right 
to the bottom of the memory hole.  I thought that it had disappeared.

Apparently not so.  Below is another installment:

[START'

Senators Criticize FBI, Justice
Whistle-Blower's Allegations Ignored, Lawmakers Say

By James V. Grimaldi
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 14, 2002; Page A09


The Justice Department and the FBI are not aggressively investigating 
allegations of espionage by a former translator in the FBI's 
Washington field office, two top members of the Senate Judiciary 
Committee said yesterday.

The case centers on a whistle-blower's allegations that the former 
=46BI translator might have compromised a counterintelligence 
investigation through her personal ties with the target of the probe.

Whistle-blower Sibel Edmonds alleged that her colleague, identified 
in court records as Can Dickerson, had previously worked for the 
organization that was under surveillance, had unreported contacts 
with a foreign national in the targeted group, and omitted crucial 
information from reports after she translated that foreign national's 
secretly recorded phone calls.

=46BI officials have confirmed key parts of those accusations but said 
a variety of factors, including poor training, may be at fault. Those 
explanations, however, have not satisfied Senate Judiciary Committee 
Chairman Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) and Sen. Charles E. Grassley 
(R-Iowa), who wrote to Attorney General John D. Ashcroft yesterday to 
complain.

"We are troubled that the Department of Justice, including the FBI, 
may not be acting quickly enough to address the issues" raised by 
Edmonds, who reported allegations regarding Dickerson.

A Justice Department spokeswoman said the letter is being reviewed. 
An FBI spokesman referred calls to the Justice Department.

Though the FBI has verified the central part of Edmonds's 
allegations, the senators wrote, "the FBI downplayed the importance 
of this matter and seemed to imply that it had ceased looking into 
the complaints as a security matter until after the Inspector 
General's Office finishes its investigation."

Edmonds sued the Justice Department last month, alleging that she was 
fired for reporting the behavior of her Washington field office 
colleague. Edmonds alleged that Dickerson tried to recruit her to 
join the target group that was under investigation by FBI 
counterintelligence agents. She also alleged that Dickerson 
threatened her life and the lives of her relatives overseas.

Yesterday, attorneys for Edmonds filed a motion in U.S. District 
Court seeking to compel the deposition testimony of Dickerson and her 
husband, U.S. Air Force Maj. Douglas Dickerson. The lawyers said they 
are seeking expedited depositions because the Dickersons are set to 
leave the country on Sept. 6.

Though Dickerson has voluntarily left the FBI, Assistant General 
Counsel Betsy Levensohn said the bureau opposes the deposition 
because the couple are protected by law enforcement, state secret and 
attorney-client privileges.

The senators expressed consternation over how Edmonds's complaints 
were handled.

"Unfortunately, nearly every person at the FBI who was notified of 
the situation reacted by questioning why Ms. Edmonds was 'causing 
trouble,' " Grassley and Leahy wrote. "Indeed, the FBI's first 
internal security action in this case focused on Ms. Edmonds, instead 
of the allegations that she raised in good faith as a whistle-blower 
and which bore on national security and the war against terrorism."

[END]