Waco Update: 8-18-98

Hi, Libertarians! From time to time I send you my latest Waco update. If you want me to put you on my list of 1 or 2 Waco updates a month (if that, now a days) feel free to email me. Also, some other interesting developments will be coming up in next couple months and will e-mail you at that time about another lists you may find of interest. Carol in D.C. ----------------------------------------------------- WACO UPDATE--August 18, 1998 By Carol Moore, author, The Davidian Massacre Member, Committee for Waco Justice Because of weeks of computer problems–finally solved!--this update is a month overdue. It’s also full of news! DAVIDIANS CONFRONT BATF AGENT AT SEMINAR On June 26, 1998 several Davidian survivors participated in a Waco-related seminar in Austin, Texas sponsored by Texas Best Seminars. They included Clive Doyle, Sheila Martin, and Catherine Matteson. Appearing with them was BATF Agent Dale Littleton. Littleton allegedly is the agent who knocked over a Waco television cameraman taking video after the failed February 28, 1993 raid. Also, Karen Kilpatrick, who with her partner Henry McMahon sold guns to Koresh, alleges it was Littleton who physically assaulted her when BATF had them under detention during the 1993 siege. (She and McMahon considered a law suit but did not meet the two year deadline.) According to a Davidian who participated in the event, Littleton faced a very angry crowd but skillfully avoided providing any real information in his answers to questions. For more information, go to http://downsize.ml.org and listen to "realplayer" audio of the proceedings. BATF AGENT WINS CONSPIRACY SUIT According to the Waco Tribune-Herald (from which I’ve freely quoted here) BATF agent Robert Rodriguez won a $1.3 million verdict in his civil suit case against psychologist Roger M. Solomon in a federal trial in late July in Waco. (Judge Walter J. Smith, who sentenced 9 Davidians to 243 years presided.) Rodriguez, 47, a 15 year BATF veteran, was the undercover agent who infiltrated the Branch Davidian church and alerted BATF supervisors that the Davidians had learned BATF agents were about to raid them on February 28, 1993. Despite this warning, supervisors went ahead with the raid–later claiming it was Rodriguez’ fault the Davidians “ambushed” them. (Of course, there is ample evidence nervous and aggressive agents shot first.) Rodriguez originally sued Solomon, nine BATF officials, the BATF and the U.S. government. However, a federal appeals court dismissed all but three BATF officials and Solomon from the suit. The three officials, Phillip Chojnacki, James Cavanaugh and the former BATF director Stephen E. Higgins settled with Rodriguez for undisclosed amounts. The jury ruled Solomon was responsible for 25% of the $1.3 million. At trial, Rodriguez stated that the conspiracy by BATF commanders ruined his reputation, left him depressed and suicidal and caused even his own children to question his actions. He alleges in his lawsuit that psychologist Solomon violated his oath of doctor- patient confidentiality and told one of Rodriguez' superiors that Rodriguez had changed his version of what happened. Solomon denied he had breached confidentiality or that he was part of the conspiracy with BATF officials to indirectly blame Rodriguez for the deaths of four agents. However, Rodriguez testified that he was told by former BATF assistant director Ron Noble that Solomon had violated his confidentiality. "My problems came from the cover-up, because that took away all my pride," Rodriguez told the jury. His new psychologist told the jury that Rodriguez suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, major depression, mood swings, what he termed "survivor guilt," insomnia, nightmares , suicidal tendencies and flashbacks about the February 28, 1993 raid and April 19, 1993 fire. After the verdict Rodriguez said: "For me, personally, yes, this trial was important for me to feel vindicated. I needed this public forum." Unfortunately, the Davidian victims have not yet received the same fair forum to air their complaints about the BATF/FBI conspiracy that led to the deaths of 82 men, women and children. DAVIDIAN MEMORIAL AND MUSEUM AT MOUNT CARMEL July and August’s weeks of higher than average temperatures have taken their toll on the 82 cypress myrtle trees planted at Mount Carmel for the 82 victims. Davidian survivors report it takes about a half an hour a week to water and tend to each tree. The few survivors, with help from some friends, are keeping on top of the job, as well as keeping their small museum open for the dozens of visitors who still stop by every week. So if you are in the area, feel free to drop by. Because it is staffed by volunteers, the museum itself may not be open. To check on its hours a day or two in advance call the museum office at 254-863-5985. Warning: Long-time squatter Amo Roden, sometimes with an ally, will try to hit you up for an entry fee at the front gate. Try to ignore them. There is no fee for visiting Mount Carmel or the museum. Hopefully, the local judge will finally give Mount Carmel survivors clear title to the property during the long-delayed September, 1998 trial. Directions to Mount Carmel: 1785 Double EE Ranch Road east if Waco. Take I-35 into Waco, Texas. Get Off at North Loop 340 (also known as: Lake Shore Dr.) Head East until you get to Farm Rd 2491. Turn Left onto Farm Road 2491. Go 8 to 9 miles until you get to the "Y" in the road. Veer Left at the "Y" and continue about œ mile to two blue water tanks. Turn Left onto EE Ranch Road. If you can’t make it, check out the survivors’ catalog at: http://www.kreative.net/carolmoore/waco-catalog.html To contribute, send checks to: Mount Carmel Survivors Memorial Fund, Inc., Box 120, Axtel, TX 76624. JUDGE DEMANDS BATF ACCOUNT FOR WACO VIDEO TAPES On May 29, 1998 attorney David Hardy, who is helping with Freedom of Information Act suits for Branch Davidian civil suits against federal agents and officials, sent out the following news: “ATF had contended that it'd searched all likely repositories of Waco info, and could find no still photos and but one video. It'd conceded that there were 4-5 government videocams aimed at front door, but contended none of their output could be found by reasonable search, of the likely repositories (chiefly the evidence locker of the Waco satellite office). District court found that was sufficient under FOIA and dismissed the claim against ATF (claim against FBI is still outstanding). “I filed a motion to reconsider (VERY rarely granted) accompanied by an affidavit from David Hall, which Mike McNulty got for me. Affidavit said an ATF agent had told him there *were* still photos, had shown him some, and that it was common knowledge that the main repository for Waco evidence was not the Waco office but the Murrah building in Oklahoma City; after the bombing the files were recovered and moved. Government responded that they'd done an adequate search and the affidavit showed nothing new--it merely said it was "common knowledge," etc. “Court ruled May 26 (got copy today) granting the motion to reconsider, and ordering gov't to provide within 30 days affidavits from the agent as to the photos, whether they were stored at the Murrah building, their relocation and any current known whereabouts, plus affidavits to show either that they were not stored there or have been located and searched.” Keep fighting for that information, David! CAUSE FOUNDATION AND CONFEDERATE FLAG Cause Foundation, which offered its services to Davidians during the siege and originated the first Davidian survivor and family civil suits against the government, has suspended fundraising and its newsletter. However, attorney Kirk Lyons is still working on the case. In a last letter to supporters, Lyons blamed the moves on decreased support for the Waco case, as well as "demonization" of Cause efforts by Oklahoma conspiracy theorists and others who have questioned Lyons' friendship with Andrew Strassmeier, who some charge was involved with the bombing. However, funds to support the Waco case, including to help preserve vital evidence, still can be sent to: Cause Foundation, 1112 œ Montreat Road, Suite 1, P.O. Box 1235, Black Mountain, NC 28711. Enclosed with that mailing was a flyer about the organization Kirk Lyons now works for, the Southern Legal Resource Center, which bills itself as the "ACLU for the Confederate flag." I received the letter just a few days before running into an African-American libertarian wearing a shirt from the "NuSouth" company. The shirt sported a small Confederate flag logo in "African" colors of red, black and green. In an article on its web page, NuSouth's young black owners state: "The logo, once you get it, is a simple message of hard work, self-improvement and independence, a complete rejection of the lingering rhetoric of victimization." See http://www2.nusouth.com/nusouth/gq.html I e-mailed Lyons, asking how he felt about this permutation of the confederate flag and the implicit "we'll support your secession if you support ours” feel. Lyons replied: "Making many little countries out of big countries - I can't be against it. Liberty is always lost within Empires, and tends to flourish in smaller states." It would be nice to see a "win-win" solution on that one issue, anyway! SECRET SERVICE WACO COVER-UP ARTIST EXPOSED On June 6, 1998, Joseph Farah, editor of the Internet newspaper WorldNetDaily.com published an article entitled: “Don’t Trust Secret Service Director” Below are some quotes evidencing that at least some of the press is aware of the all-pervasiveness of the Waco massacre cover-up: Secret Service Director Lewis Merletti is letting it be known that he will "fight to the death" to prevent Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr from pursuing testimony about Oval Office secrets by his agents. Merletti claims that forcing Secret Service agents to testify whether they saw President Clinton in compromising positions with women would be tantamount to "handcuffing" his ability to keep the president safe. He goes so far as to suggest that if he cooperates with Starr, "the inevitable result will be the death of another president." At first blush, you might chalk up such rhetoric to an administrator standing up for his employees. But there's much more at work here. You see, Secret Service Director Lewis Merletti is one of this administration's many professional cover-up artists. Why do I say that? Well, because he's a veteran of one of the first major cover-ups of the Clinton administration. He was promoted to director of the Secret Service after serving as assistant project director of the Waco Administrative Review Team created by Clinton's Department of the Treasury.... That's where Merletti comes in. Then a Secret Service agent, he was assigned a key role in the first investigation of Waco. He claimed in congressional testimony that every single BATF agent he interviewed understood that the raid would be aborted if met with resistance. He was contradicted not just by officials on the scene but by his superior in the investigation as well... Merletti owes his career to Bill Clinton. He got his job by carrying water for the administration in its first major scandal. Is it any wonder he's taking a stonewall-the-investigation position now? (End quotes) RENO OPPOSES CITIZENS PROTECTION ACT OF 1998 In June U.S. Reps. Joseph McDade, R-Pa., and John Murtha, D-Pa., introduced a bill, the Citizens Protection Act of 1998 (H.R. 3396), to protect U.S. citizens from frame-ups by the U.S. Department of Justice. (Both men are survivors of attempted Justice Department frame-ups.) The bill had 169 sponsors as of mid-July. Rep. McDade notes that "there are Justice Department employees who engage in questionable conduct without penalty and without oversight, using the full weight and power of the U.S. government.” As we all know, the Justice Department did just that to the Davidian prisoners, seven of whom are now serving a total of 235 years. Memos disclosed during the House Waco hearings showed they squashed Treasury Department interviews with BATF agents who attacked Mt. Carmel February 28, 1993. Officials–including the Associate Attorney General Webster Hubbell–knew such interviews might provide “exculpatory material” that could prove the Davidians were innocent, i.e., prove they were victims of such a vicious attack that self-defense was legally warranted. The bill would require U.S. attorneys to comply with state laws and create a misconduct review board with the power to obtain and make public information concerning investigations, classified material and other confidential information. At her weekly press briefing in late June Attorney General Janet Reno told the press: “I think the sponsors of this ill are trying to solve a problem that really doesn’t exist.” For the text of the bill and information about its status and sponsors, search the Thomas locator at: http://thomas.loc.gov/ And feel free to write your congresscritter and tell him/her to support H.R. 3396. PROSECUTOR TO APPEAL RUBY RIDGE DISMISSAL In late May, 1998 Boundary County, Idaho, prosecutor Denise Woodbury announced she was appealing the dismissal of an involuntary manslaughter charge against FBI sharpshooter Lon Horiuchi who killed Vicki Weaver during the 1992 Ruby Ridge siege. U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge dismissed Utah state charges against Horiuchi on May 14. Lodge accepted the Justice Department argument that Horiuchi was acting in the line of duty when he fired and was protected by the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution. However, if states cannot prosecute federal agents who kill–and there currently is no federal law allowing prosecution of murderous agents–it is evident we are living in a defacto police state. (There are laws against federal agents depriving a person of civil rights under specific circumstances but they are regarded as relatively minor offenses.) Some have suggested that the charges should have been brought against the persons who issued the "shoot on sight" order (Hostage Rescue Team Commander Richard Rogers under advisement from former FBI Deputy Director Larry Potts.) The reasoning is that while the sniper can claim that he followed the orders--legal or not--the person issuing the order has no such defense. And, under the law of most states, any person who aids, advises or counsels commission of a crime--let alone orders it--is guilty of the crime as if he'd committed it himself. In fact, they might even be prosecuted for murder. However, it is unlikely that the Utah prosecutor will take this approach. LIBERTARIAN PARTY CALLS FOR IMPEACHMENT OF CLINTON As a member of the Libertarian Party, I attended its national convention in early July. A number of libertarians already were in agreement that the party should call for impeachment of President Bill Clinton. On Sunday, July 5th, I got a chance to address the convention as a protest candidate for party office. (I lost on the second ballot but made my point against a candidate who favors watering down the Libertarian Party platform.) In my speech I urged delegates to vote for Clinton's impeachment because of his obstruction of justice in the investigation of the BATF and FBI's crimes against the Branch Davidians. A short time later the Minnesota delegation made the following proposal from the floor, which was adopted by the convention as a whole: “Resolution of the 1998 LP National Convention “Be it resolved: The Libertarian Party urges the U.S. House of Representatives to begin Articles of Impeachment against President Clinton and Vice President Gore for violation of their oath of office, specifically their failure to uphold and defend the United States Constitution.” The party later sent out a press release announcing the party’s new position on the Impeachment of President Clinton, garnering a great deal of press interest. Time will tell if the fawning press and nation fall for Clinton’s phony August 17th apology. A number of women have provided credible evidence that Clinton is a sexual predator. It would be fitting if that is what brings him down, considering that he used allegations that David Koresh had committed sexual crimes to excuse the BATF/FBI murders of 82 men, women and children. (Check my web page around August 25st for photos from the convention.) UPDATES TO THE DAVIDIAN MASSACRE HOME PAGE The page includes the full text of Carol Moore’s book, extensive updates, articles and documents, and dozens of photographs that demonstrate the government’s crimes and citizens’ protests. http://www.kreative.net/carolmoore/davidian-massacre.html Check out my *new* photographs and photograph pages, including: Index of Waco photo pages of BATF/FBI crimes and citizen protests: http://www.kreative.net/carolmoore/waco-photos.html Photos of fifth memorial for Davidian victims at Mount Carmel, outside Waco: http://www.kreative.net/carolmoore/4-19-98.html New photos of Committee for Waco Justice protests have been added to this page: http://www.kreative.net/carolmoore/cwj-photos.html Photographs of the leading BATF and FBI agents and officials responsible for the murder of the Branch Davidians: http://www.kreative.net/carolmoore/waco-perps.html Photographs of Washington D.C. demonstrations for Impeachment of Clinton: http://www.kreative.net/carolmoore/impeach-demo-photos.html March 27, 1998 Jericho ‘98 Protest Photos–a rally for political prisoners: http://www.kreative.net/carolmoore/3-27-98-protest.html The Davidian prisoners' page includes their addresses, in case you would like to write and offer them encouragement: http://www.kreative.net/carolmoore/waco-prisoners.html Finally, my main “Consciousness and Community” web page finally has been completed and all links now lead you to topics of relevance to “students of consciousness” and to those interested in liberty, community, decentralization, secession, constitutional alternatives, non-violent action theory and practice, Year 2000 organizing, etc. http://www.kreative.net/carolmoore CarolMoore@kreative.net