Sibel Edmonds: Governments lie outrageously behind closed doors

If you have been following my posts these last couple of weeks you will notice some overlap in this youtube video - but today I wanted to focus on the fact that Sibel and her lawyers were literally thrown out of court in the midst of her own court case.

For some background, in the intro/setup, Sibel says:

"I had taken the oath to protect my new country, against all enemies, and this was my chance to serve my country. I assumed the enemy was foreign...

Within a few months, I came across some serious issues. Wrongdoing. Some of those would be considered criminal, within the FBI. Some of those involved security breaches, 911 related cover-ups, and sabotaged intelligence operations. In one case, due to the pressure of the State Dept and Pentagon, the FBI was prevented from criminally investigating certain US officials who were engaged in actions against our national security, having loyalties to other governments."

In this snippet of the video, Sibel also describes how her Date of Birth is classified under States Secrets Privilege, as is her country of birth. The fact that she was fired from the FBI is consider a State Secret. All in the name of protecting us from Teh Terrorists.

In the video, Sibel also describes how her ACLU attorney described in court that Sibel's case has been confirmed by the FBI, and by the Depart of Justice, confirmed by witnesses and documents.

Regarding getting kicked out of court, Sibel says

"We don't know what (the govt) told the judges... As far as we know they could give the most outrageous lies. There was no-one there to challenge them, so they could (lie) and we assume they did!"

Given all that, how much faith do you have in the behind-closed-doors-hearings in the Kontogiannis hearing from yesterday? (For those of you who aren't familiar with the case, see emptywheel, Laura Rozen, Mark Levey, Josh Marshall.)

For some perspective, the SDUT reported:
"It's almost Orwellian double-speak,” said Gregg Leslie, the legal defense director for The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. “They say, 'We need secrecy, but the reason we need secrecy is also secret, so we can't tell you.' "

Yeah, it's almost Orwellian double-speak.

The fact that they kicked everyone out of the court isn't the only similarity with Sibel's case - as emptywheel noted:

"Now, the problem here, for District Court Larry Burns is that the government didn't say the contents of those hearings were classified until recently. Which is why we're at the Appeals Court in the first place."

As I noted last week:

"In a recent speech, Sibel again emphasized that the reason that she has been gagged is not for reasons of national security, but rather to cover-up criminality, treason, by high level US officials.

As evidence for this claim, Sibel explained that for the three months prior to Ashcroft blanket-gagging her case, the FBI was conducting unclassified briefings for Congress on the case.

In other words, from the beginning, neither Congress, nor the FBI, even considered that this information might be classified, let alone a 'national security' issue."

Kossack jennyjem in a comment to a recent diary of mine summed it up well:

"Let me get this straight

The FBI isn't denying the wrong doing, but they aren't doing anything about it. Congress agrees laws were violated, but they can't talk about it. The courts won't hear the case in the name of 'national security,' although it is evident that the cover-up has nothing to do with national security and everything to do with covering-up criminal activity. Am I really understanding this?

Where is justice? Where are the checks and balances for this outlaw administration? Who upholds the law in America? I would laugh if I didn't feel like vomiting.

You can bet your boots Henry's getting a call from me. This is a national disgrace."

That's about right. If you agree, Let Sibel Edmonds Speak
Call Embarrass Waxman. Demand public open hearings:
DC phone: (202) 225-3976
LA phone: 323 651-1040
Capitol switchboard phone: 800-828-0498

(let me know if you want to be added to my email list for new Sibel-related post. Subject: 'Sibel email list.' (If you think you should already be on the list but haven't heard from me, please try again. googlemail ate some of my homework))

i dont think I've ever felt more disgusted.

I'm trying my best not to do any non-sibel related blogging, but the new FISA bill? I can't resist.

I dont think I've ever felt more disgusted (and I've had a lot of disgust in my time)

How many others?

Here is the video of Sibel saying that her case was considered unclassified by congress & FBI until Ashcroft slapped the gag order on everything to do with her case. The video also includes Sibel saying that there are four congresspeople that are being bribed by the Turkish interests, and her Special Agent pointing out that if Sibel knows of four, just from the Turkish desk, how many others must there be?

Some people weren't fond of the 'Enjoy the Silence' soundtrack to the "Sibel Edmonds: I assumed the enemy was foreign" youtube I posted.

Here is the same video without the annoying music.

Sibel Edmonds: I assumed the enemy was foreign

I've put together a quick 5 minute highlight reel of a recent speech by former FBI translator Sibel Edmonds from the American Library Association conference

The intro is:

"I had taken the oath to protect my new country, against all enemies, and this was my chance to serve my country. I assumed the enemy was foreign...

Within a few months, i came across some serious issues. Wrongdoing. Some of those would be considered criminal, within the FBI. Some of those involved security breaches, 911 related cover-ups, and sabotaged intelligence operations. In one case, due to the pressure of the State Dept and Pentagon, the FBI was prevented from criminally investigating certain US officials who were engaged in actions against our national security, having loyalties to other governments."

The video isn't supposed to be representative of Sibel's entire speech (which you can see here) but rather I've just captured a few snippets about the efforts that Sibel has gone to in the past 6 years to get some accountability.

The FBI repeatedly investigated Sibel's claims (Office of Inspector General (OIG), Office of Special Counsel (OSC), Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR)) and found them to be valid ("Confirmed all, denied none") therefore the Executive Branch simply gagged her.

Sibel then went to Congress which also investigated her case. They found all her claims to be valid, supported by FBI agents and documents, therefore the Executive Branch gagged Congress.

The senators who had investigated, and confirmed, Sibel's case were outraged, and then complied with the gag order.

Sibel then went to the courts. Sibel and her attorneys were kicked out of court so the government could argue it's case in secrecy - where they were free to tell the most outrageous of lies if they so chose. Sibel and her legal team presume that is exactly what happened. The judge said:

"I know this is draconian, but who am I to argue with the government on matters related to national security?"

But as I wrote last week:

"In a recent speech, Sibel again emphasized that the reason that she has been gagged is not for reasons of national security, but rather to cover-up criminality, treason, by high level US officials.

As evidence for this claim, Sibel explained that for the three months prior to Ashcroft blanket-gagging her case, the FBI was conducting unclassified briefings for Congress on the case.

In other words, from the beginning, neither Congress, nor the FBI, even considered that this information might be classified, let alone a 'national security' issue."

It's now August, 2007, folks. Sibel was the canary in the coalmine. 70% of the population now, finally, understand that the Justice Department is corrupt from top to bottom, thanks to Alberto Gonzales' latest shenanigans. 70% now understand that 'national security' is a fraud. 70% now realize, thanks to Pat Tillman and other cases, that 'Executive Privilege' means 'This stuff is too embarrassing.' 70% will soon realize that there is little difference between 'Executive Privilege' and 'State Secrets Privilege.' Sibel has been saying for years that her case has been gagged to cover up criminal wrong-doing and that it has nothing to do with national security. In fact, in an alternate universe, if her story was to break for the first time today, it'd probably be front-page news all across the country, for weeks. For years, there have been many reasons to think that Sibel is crazy - but now only the 28%ers think that those reasons are legitimate.

Watch the video - and tell me which elements don't comport with everything that we now know to be true.



(Here is the same video, without the annoying music.)

Let Sibel Edmonds Speak
Call Embarrass Waxman. Demand public open hearings:
DC phone: (202) 225-3976
LA phone: 323 651-1040
Capitol switchboard phone: 800-828-0498
(let me know if you want to be added to my email list which announces whenever I have a new Sibel-related post. Subject: 'Sibel email list')

Eric Edelman: key conspirator in Sibel Edmonds case

Until recently, Eric Edelman, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, was the most powerful neocon in the country that hardly anybody had ever heard of, despite his role in outing Valerie Plame.

For one reason or other, Edelman has been making a splash lately. He recently sent Hillary a letter telling her to stop giving aid & comfort to enemies, and earlier this week Bob Novak wrote that Edelman was briefing Congress on plans to secretly assassinate Kurdish fighters in Iraq.

Given Edelman's low public profile to date, there might be some things that you don't know about him. For example, did you know that Edelman replaced Doug Feith via a recess appointment? Do you know that he lied and told congress that he wasn't involved in the Plame investigation? Did you know that he was hated when he was the Ambassador to Turkey?

Oh. And did you know that he is neck-deep in the case of former FBI translator Sibel Edmonds?

**

I became aware of Edelman's involvement in the criminal activity involved in Sibel Edmonds' case a couple of years ago (see sibel edmonds, brewster jennings, edelman and grossman and eric edelman bio. part one.)

In March of this year, Sibel and I were jointly being interviewed on a radio show when she said:

"I would like to actually go back and talk about the individuals that Luke Ryland named - for example, Richard Perle, Douglas Feith, Marc Grossman - another individual is Eric Edelman, because most people here already know, and they associate these guys with the neocons and also Israel, but there is another element there that ties all four individuals here.

If you look at, for example, Richard Perle, & Douglas Feith, these two individuals between 1988/89 to about 1995/96, they set up a lobbying firm called International Advisors Inc, and they registered as foreign agents, representing the government of Turkey, this is Richard Perle, & Douglas Feith, and of course we know that they became top guys within the Pentagon after the Bush administration came into power.

And then you look at Marc Grossman - Marc Grossman was the US ambassador to Turkey, from 1993 to 1997, and Marc Grossman became the number 3 guy in the State Department in this administration, and he resigned in 2005 and currently he is hired by one very large Turkish company that is also a front for a lot of illicit activities.

Then you can look at Eric Edelman who, 2 or 3 years ago, took Douglas Feith's old position at the Pentagon, and Eric Edelman was another ambassador to Turkey until he took this position at the Pentagon, so not only do these guys have Israel in common, they have Turkey in common - and people really should be paying attention to this, and looking into it, and this is why Luke Ryland has been doing this incredible job in terms of piecing these elements together, and packaging it, because this information is public! It doesn’t matter if I’m gagged on some issues, there's so much out there and so much that can easily be pieced together that our mainstream media has failed us"

If I'm not mistaken, this was the first time that Sibel mentioned Edelman by name, although he had previously made an appearance in Phil Giraldi's superb article on Sibel's case.

One of the big mysteries about Edelman was why he was moved from the heart of the OVP as Cheney's principal deputy national security adviser to become the Turkish Ambassador in 2003, immediately after the Iraq invasion when tensions with Turkey were at their peak. It's an odd career move. Jim Lobe sheds some light on this in a blog post on Tuesday:

"Cheney obviously thought highly enough of (Edelman's) work (and ideological tendencies) to name Edelman as his principal deputy national security adviser under Scooter Libby in 2001 and worked with Libby in the run-up to the Iraq invasion after which he was named ambassador to Turkey (on the strong recommendation, according to one knowledgeable source, of Richard Perle, who has long-standing interests in Turkey)."

Fancy that.

Edelman failed as an Ambassador in Turkey, at least by any of the usual metrics. A typical observation in the Turkish press was:

"Edelman is probably the least-liked and trusted American ambassador in Turkish history, and his reputation is not likely to recuperate. Edelman’s actions have exceeded his diplomatic mission. His ‘interest’ in nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), the Turkish media and ethnic minorities make him go beyond his role as an ambassador. His presence here has never contributed to Turkish-American relations, and it never will. If we want to address the reasons for anti-Americanism, Edelman must be issue one. As long as Edelman stays in Turkey, the chill wind disturbing bilateral relations will last."

'Despite' Edelman's 'failures' in Turkey, Lobe reports:

My understanding is that both Cheney and Perle played a role in persuading Rumsfeld to take on Edelman at the Pentagon after Feith announced his departure.

Again, fancy that.

Now, why are Perle, Feith, Grossman and Edelman desperate to hold key positions in embassies and the Pentagon? Here's Giraldi:

"Sibel Edmonds, the Turkish FBI translator turned whistleblower who has been subjected to a gag order could provide a major insight into how neoconservatives distort US foreign policy and enrich themselves at the same time. On one level, her story appears straightforward: several Turkish lobbying groups allegedly bribed congressmen to support policies favourable to Ankara. But beyond that, the Edmonds revelations become more serpentine and appear to involve AIPAC, Israel and a number of leading neoconservatives who have profited from the Turkish connection.
[snip]
Some of (the bribes) may come from criminal activity, possibly drug trafficking, but much more might come from arms dealing. Contracts in the hundreds of millions, or even billions of dollars provide considerable fat for those well placed to benefit."

Indeed. Keep that in mind while you try to process the recent announcement that the Bush Egadministration has just announced $30bn in new weapons sales to Israel, and $20bn in sales to Saudi Arabia. And don't forget the recent $15bn in fighter-jet sales to Turkey.

Oh - and when Eric Edelman's name pops up in the media again, remember, he's not just a guy who wrote Hillary a nasty letter. Eric Edelman is a key conspirator in the Sibel Edmonds case.



Let Sibel Edmonds Speak
Call Waxman. Demand public open hearings:
DC phone: (202) 225-3976
LA phone: 323 651-1040
Capitol switchboard phone: 800-828-0498

Sibel Edmonds, Russ Tice, and the illegal spying that congress has NO idea about

Something is being lost amidst all the parsing of Attorney General Fredo Gonzales' various lies about the NSA's spying programs, and the attempts to correlate AGAG's statements with the statements of Rockefeller, Harman and the rest of the Gang of Eight.

The thing is, Russ Tice tried to tell Congress about some of the NSA's illegal and unconstitutional spying programs and not a single person in congress had sufficiently high clearance to hear what Tice had to say - not even the Chairs of the Senate or House Intelligence Committees.

In fact, it's not apparent that the Attorney General is even clued into the program. And Tice even has doubts as to whether your Ostensible President has any idea what was going on. It's no wonder that they all find themselves tripping the linguistic fantastic.

Here's a short clip of Sibel Edmonds discussing the situation:


Atrios probably got closest last weekend when he wrote:

"Whoever the Hell They Wanted To Without Warrants

Look, all the parsing of statements is a waste of time. They were eavesdropping on whoever they wanted to without any warrants or oversight. Whether or not "whoever they wanted to" included, say, the John Kerry campaign or Markos Moulitsas is still an open question. They obviously claimed the power to do so, it just isn't clear if they did it."

But even that isn't a sufficient description of what is going on. Yes, we all acknowledge that they have the technical capability to spy on whoever they want, whenever they want - and we all acknowledge that they have no respect for any laws (or, at least, that they can justify anything to themselves so long as we are 'at war.') And yes, we all know about Echelon - but Tice seems to be talking about something that is revolutionary, not incremental.

Read this interview from last year with Tice - it doesn't sound like he's talking about incremental technological or constitutional issues:

"REASON: You're referring to what James Risen calls "The Program," the NSA wiretaps that have been reported on?

Tice: No, I'm referring to what I need to tell Congress that no one knows yet, which is only tertiarily connected to what you know about now."

REASON: What aspect of that, within the parameters of what you're able to talk about, concerned you?

Tice: The lack of oversight, mainly—when a problem arose and I raised concerns, the total lack of concern that anyone could be held accountable for any illegality involved. And then these things are so deep black, the extremely sensitive programs that I was a specialist in, these things are so deep black that only a minute few people are cleared for these things. So even if you have a concern, it's things in many cases your own supervisor isn't cleared for. So you have literally nowhere to go.

REASON: So there's a problem of inadequate channels of communications to raise concerns?

Tice: Yeah, zero channels of communication because you're talking about information so closely held that even within a large organization like the Agency, only a handful of people may know. The director would know, maybe the deputy director, the chief of security, maybe one level-supervisor, maybe my own supervisor—and these are all management people. And then you have one person, me, the worker bee who does the work, writes the reports, goes into the field, does the liaison work, makes the phone calls. I was the nitty-gritty detail guy.

[snip]

REASON: Are you at all sympathetic to claims that the New York Times' reporting on NSA surveillance may have harmed national security?

Tice: In my case, there's no way the programs I want to talk to Congress about should be public ever, unless maybe in 200 years they want to declassify them. You should never learn about it; no one at the Times should ever learn about these things. But that same mechanism that allows you to have a program like this at an extremely high, sensitive classification level could also be used to mask illegality, like spying on Americans. And spying on Americans is illegal unless you go to a FISA court. It's the job of the FBI to conduct operations against Americans with the proper court warrants—not that I have a very high opinion of the FBI.

With [James Risen's] book, someone has come across, and basically reported, a crime. It just so happens that somebody put some super-duper clearances on it to mask the fact that a crime was being committed. Now we're claiming after the fact, to do some damage control, that "oh no, now the terrorists know." Come on, let's be rational about this. Do we think that the terrorists are just plain stupid? Do we think that, especially after 9/11, the terrorists aren't smart enough to think that maybe the United States might be interested in the communications they conduct and how they conduct them? Even if you believe there's some negativity in that information coming out, which I think is a totally disingenuous claim, but even if you think there's some merit to that, when you weight it against the fact that you're breaking the constitutional rights of American citizens, the scale on the right side incredibly outweighs any claim on the other side.

[snip]

Tice: And the president—I'm a Republican, I voted for (Bush). I've always given him the benefit of the doubt. I didn't like the PATRIOT Act; I don't like a lot of what I've seen. But I've always felt that this president, in his heart, felt he was doing his best to protect the American people. I thought PATRIOT, and throwing the key away on Jose Padilla, were unconstitutional, but I've always given him the benefit of the doubt. I'm certainly hoping that he's been misled, and that if a broad-brush approach was used that the president wasn't aware of it or didn't understand the ramifications, that hundreds of thousands if not millions of Americans could have their rights violated. But if that happened and the president knew totally the extent of it, and everything we're hearing now is just damage control from the White House...

Tice is obviously working at the pointy-est end of technology. The NSA has the most extravagant technology in the history of mankind - and Russ is suggesting that, maybe, this information could be declassified in 200 years??? I've followed Tice's story pretty closely - and he generally isn't one for hyperbole, but this particular quote is obviously absurd. But let's say he was out by a factor of ten - and he actually meant 20 years. Nearly everything that we've seen discussed about what might or might not be happening with the latest NSA spying program has been happening, internationally, with Echelon for twenty or thirty years - so it appears that Tice is talking about something that is categorically different to Echelon, and it is also categorically different to any of the incremental discussion this past month about any of the programs that Gonzales and the Gang of Eight might have discussed.

(And, yes, I know that this is only peripherally related to Sibel's case. I'm not trying to branch out beyond my area of expertise, but I got stuck trying to put together a piece on Sibel and needed another outlet. More tomorrow.)