www.globalresearch.ca Centre for Research on Globalisation Centre de recherche sur la mondialisation
Barely seven weeks prior to 9/11, Attorney General John Ashcroft decided not to travel on commercial airlines, due to "a threat assessment by the FBI"
The URL of this article is: http://globalresearch.ca/articles/ASH402A.html
Barely six weeks prior to 9/11, Attorney General John Ashcroft decided not to travel on commercial airlines, due to "a threat assessment by the FBI". This Threat assessment was apparently communicated to members of the US Congress and the Senate.
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton confirmed in an interview with Snoeshoe Films that Ashcroft had advised members of Congress and the Senate as early as August 2001 not to travel on commercial airlines.
The more fundamental question is why, if there was a threat, did Ashcroft not warn the American public. Note his reply: he did not bother to inquire on the nature of the threat, stating that the information concerning the threat emanated from the FBI.
We reproduce below the transcript of the CBS News program.
See also the transcript of the exclusive interview of Hillary Rodham Clinton with Snowshoe Films at http://globalresearch.ca/articles/SNO402A.html
Global Research Editor, 18 February 2003
Ashcroft Flying High
Washington , July 26, 2001
CBS News Correspondent Jim Stewart reports on Aschcroft's travel arrangements.
"There was a threat assessment and there are guidelines. He is acting under the guidelines." FBI spokesman
(CBS) Fishing rod in hand, Attorney General John Ashcroft left on a weekend trip to Missouri Thursday afternoon aboard a chartered government jet, reports CBS News Correspondent Jim Stewart.
In response to inquiries from CBS News over why Ashcroft was traveling exclusively by leased jet aircraft instead of commercial airlines, the Justice Department cited what it called a "threat assessment" by the FBI, and said Ashcroft has been advised to travel only by private jet for the remainder of his term.
"There was a threat assessment and there are guidelines. He is acting under the guidelines," an FBI spokesman said. Neither the FBI nor the Justice Department, however, would identify what the threat was, when it was detected or who made it.
A senior official at the CIA said he was unaware of specific threats against any Cabinet member, and Ashcroft himself, in a speech in California, seemed unsure of the nature of the threat.
"I don't do threat assessments myself and I rely on those whose responsibility it is in the law enforcement community, particularly the FBI. And I try to stay within the guidelines that they've suggested I should stay within for those purposes," Ashcroft said.
Asked if he knew anything about the threat or who might have made it, the attorney general replied, "Frankly, I don't. That's the answer."
Earlier this week, the Justice Department leased a NASA-owned G-3 Gulfstream for a 6-day trip to Western states. Such aircraft cost the government more than $1,600 an hour to fly. When asked whether Ashcroft was paying for any portion of the trips devoted to personal business, a Justice Department spokeswoman declined to respond.
All other Bush Cabinet appointees, with the exception of Interior and Energy with remote sites to oversee, fly commercial airliners. Janet Reno, Ashcroft's predecessor as attorney general, also routinely flew commercial. The secretaries of State and Defense traditionally travel with extra security on military planes.
The Justice Department insists that it wasn't Ashcroft who wanted to fly leased aircraft. That idea, they said, came strictly from Ashcroft's FBI security detail. The FBI had no further comment.
�MMI, CBS Worldwide Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Email this article to a friend
To express your opinion on this article, join the discussion at Global Research's News and Discussion Forum , at http://globalresearch.ca.myforums.net/index.php
The Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG) at www.globalresearch.ca grants permission to cross-post original CRG articles in their entirety, or any portions thereof, on community internet sites, as long as the text and title of the article are not modified. The source must be acknowledged as follows: Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG) at www.globalresearch.ca . The active URL hyperlink address of the original CRG article and the author's copyright note must be clearly displayed. (For articles from other news sources, check with the original copyright holder, where applicable.) For publication of CRG articles in print or other forms including commercial internet sites, contact: [email protected] .
� Copyright 2004. For fair use only/ pour usage �quitable seulement.