Gold9472
09-27-2005, 04:17 PM
Senate Panel Postpones 9/11 Hearing
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5306021,00.html
By KIMBERLY HEFLING
Tuesday September 27, 2005 6:31 PM
WASHINGTON (AP) - Citing next week's Rosh Hashanah observances, the Senate Judiciary Committee has postponed its scheduled hearing on what a highly classified military intelligence unit code-named ``Able Danger'' knew about the 9/11 hijackers.
But an attorney for a military intelligence officer who was expected to appear said the Defense Department's refusal to allow such testimony - not the Jewish holiday - was the real reason for the delay.
``It sounds better than the truth, which is that DOD is not cooperative,'' said Mark Zaid, attorney for Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer, who has said the unit used data mining to link ringleader Mohamed Atta and three other hijackers to al-Qaida more than a year before the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Zaid said he was informed on Monday that Shaffer would not be allowed to testify at the hearing scheduled for Oct. 5. Observance of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, begins Monday, Oct. 3.
Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., who is Jewish, released a statement Friday saying the Pentagon was allowing five key witnesses to testify. The statement came two days after Specter, during a hearing, accused military officials of obstructing his committee by not allowing them to testify.
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman reiterated Tuesday that Defense officials had not agreed to such a hearing, but were discussing the matter with the committee.
``They have an ongoing interest in this Able Danger project and we're working with them to provide them with the kinds of information they seek to have on this,'' Whitman said.
The Pentagon has acknowledged that employees recall seeing an intelligence chart identifying Atta as a terrorist before the attacks. But they said none have been able to find a copy of it.
Rep. Curt Weldon, R-Pa., was the first to come forward to discuss Able Danger's purported intelligence findings. If correct, the intelligence would change the timeline on when government officials first became aware of Atta's links to al-Qaida.
Shaffer was prepared to testify last week that he tried on three different occasions to meet with the FBI to discuss Able Danger's findings. He was barred from doing so by military attorneys who were worried about legal concerns.
Specter said one reason he convened the hearing was to determine whether the federal Posse Comitatus law needs to be amended. The law, passed in 1878, restricts the military's law enforcement role in the United States.
William Reynolds, Specter's spokesman, said the senator would be observing Rosh Hashanah in Philadelphia.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5306021,00.html
By KIMBERLY HEFLING
Tuesday September 27, 2005 6:31 PM
WASHINGTON (AP) - Citing next week's Rosh Hashanah observances, the Senate Judiciary Committee has postponed its scheduled hearing on what a highly classified military intelligence unit code-named ``Able Danger'' knew about the 9/11 hijackers.
But an attorney for a military intelligence officer who was expected to appear said the Defense Department's refusal to allow such testimony - not the Jewish holiday - was the real reason for the delay.
``It sounds better than the truth, which is that DOD is not cooperative,'' said Mark Zaid, attorney for Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer, who has said the unit used data mining to link ringleader Mohamed Atta and three other hijackers to al-Qaida more than a year before the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Zaid said he was informed on Monday that Shaffer would not be allowed to testify at the hearing scheduled for Oct. 5. Observance of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, begins Monday, Oct. 3.
Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., who is Jewish, released a statement Friday saying the Pentagon was allowing five key witnesses to testify. The statement came two days after Specter, during a hearing, accused military officials of obstructing his committee by not allowing them to testify.
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman reiterated Tuesday that Defense officials had not agreed to such a hearing, but were discussing the matter with the committee.
``They have an ongoing interest in this Able Danger project and we're working with them to provide them with the kinds of information they seek to have on this,'' Whitman said.
The Pentagon has acknowledged that employees recall seeing an intelligence chart identifying Atta as a terrorist before the attacks. But they said none have been able to find a copy of it.
Rep. Curt Weldon, R-Pa., was the first to come forward to discuss Able Danger's purported intelligence findings. If correct, the intelligence would change the timeline on when government officials first became aware of Atta's links to al-Qaida.
Shaffer was prepared to testify last week that he tried on three different occasions to meet with the FBI to discuss Able Danger's findings. He was barred from doing so by military attorneys who were worried about legal concerns.
Specter said one reason he convened the hearing was to determine whether the federal Posse Comitatus law needs to be amended. The law, passed in 1878, restricts the military's law enforcement role in the United States.
William Reynolds, Specter's spokesman, said the senator would be observing Rosh Hashanah in Philadelphia.