Did Chalabi’s Visit Compromise the FBI Investigation?
Did Chalabi’s Visit Compromise the FBI Investigation?
Senators Patrick Leahy, Ted Kennedy and Dick Durbin just sent a letter to Attorney General Gonzales with some important questions about Ahmed Chalabi’s visit to Washington D.C. The Senators appear concerned that Chalabi’s visit could compromise the FBI investigation into allegations that Chalabi passed classified information to Iran:
1. In light of the ongoing FBI investigation, were you notified by the White House of Mr. Chalabi’s visit? Before his schedule was finalized, did you have an opportunity to advise the White House about whether it was appropriate for Mr. Chalabi to meet with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Treasury Secretary John Snow, and possibly with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley and Vice President Richard Cheney?
2. What steps, if any, have been taken to ensure that Mr. Chalabi’s meetings with senior administration officials do not compromise or prejudice the ongoing FBI investigation into allegations that Mr. Chalabi passed classified national security information to Iran?
3. Will the FBI interview Mr. Chalabi during his visit to the United States? If not, why not?
4. What is the current status of the FBI’s investigation into Mr. Chalabi’s conduct?
You can read the full text of the letter here.
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Excellent. Anybody think they’ll get an answer?
November 9th, 2005 at 5:06 pmThis bears repeating:
There are many people like myself who have gone their whole lives happy with a Republican or a Democrat, able to see the advantages of both. But that is not what is going on here. The GOP have been hijacked. And the middle of the roaders have had enough. If the Neocons keep parading as conservatives they will do permanent damage to the GOP.
November 9th, 2005 at 5:06 pmI imagine it did, and that’s why it happened right now… timing is too coincidental, and the fact they’d even host him now is just plain weird…
November 9th, 2005 at 5:08 pm#2: ATV: There are those of us who would argue that the neocons ARE the GOP now. The GOP you knew no longer exists, just as the Democratic party of the segregated south no longer exists.
November 9th, 2005 at 5:23 pmI hope Gonzales ignores these blowhards. I am from MA and am perptually embarassed by Teddy the fat drunk. His behavior on the judiciary committee has been outrageous.
November 9th, 2005 at 5:24 pmIt’s revealing that the only comment to this letter is an ad hominem attack on Ted Kennedy. Must have hit a nerve.
November 9th, 2005 at 5:26 pmJudd, this is par for the course for the trolls here. They don’t post on topic or even relating a story to the topic.
You should kill posts that are the old ad hominem attack or the old fashion “It was Clinton’s fault.
It’s not censorship if you are trying to keep topics…..on topic.
If you guys do a Story on Steven’s Bridge To Nowhere and somebody posts that Hillary Clinton has smeely breath, delete that sh!t. It has nothing to do with the topic and is a stupid ad hominem attack.
November 9th, 2005 at 5:37 pmNo Judd, it wasn’t this particular item that hit a nerve — it’s an accumulation of Kennedy crap that has pushed me to this point. This is just another example of the attack politics that Kennedy plays constantly –and no one in the media ever calls him on it. I’m just more sick of him than most because I have to live with the fawning Boston media going out of their way to ignore his outrageous behavior — political and otherwise.
November 9th, 2005 at 5:38 pm“#5 I hope Gonzales ignores these blowhards. I am from MA and am perptually embarassed by Teddy the fat drunk. His behavior on the judiciary committee has been outrageous.
Comment by cynicon implant — November 9, 2005 @ 5:24 pm”
Your comment has nothing to do with the content of the letter, have you read it? what stated in this letter embarassed you? what is outragous?
November 9th, 2005 at 5:38 pmWhat good purpose could a visit from Chalabi possibly have?
The man is a convicted felon who passed fraudulent ‘intelligence’ to our nation and is accused by the CIA of being an Iranian spy!
Chalabi should be visiting a small cell in Gitmo right now, not staying in a five star hotel and meeting with Cheney and Rice!
November 9th, 2005 at 5:40 pmIt is about time the Dems stand up and question what the administration is doing…”attack politics”? no questioning the DOJ on an investigation is following up, and holding offices accountable…it isn’t attacking to question authority…just like it is not unpatriotict to question a bs war
November 9th, 2005 at 5:42 pm#4 Alan-The GOP are riding the same 911 hysteria the Dems did, AND making money at the same time. They’ll flounder. I honestly think many people have a healthy denial of the intentions of PNAC, and those associated with it. It can’t last forever. But I’m open to the idea that I’m wrong, for sure.
November 9th, 2005 at 5:48 pmMaybe Chalabi is here for a shoe-shopping spree with Condi.
November 9th, 2005 at 5:49 pmYou should kill posts that are the old ad hominem attack
But, if ad homien attacks are banned, what will the trolls have to talk about? How can anyone expect the trolls to argue the facts and issues if they can’t blame a Clinton?
November 9th, 2005 at 5:50 pmIs the Justice Department going to investigate the “coincidence” that Vice President’s good buddy Chalabi (I spelled it right this time) may have passed classified information to the Iranians, that the Vice President’s Chief of Staff might have passed classified information to a pseudo-journalist (Novak), and that the Vice President had a meeting with a bunch of GOP senators and then classified information leaked out of that meeting?
I don’t know about any of you, but it sure looks like the Vice President is involved with a lot of classified information leaks. Can we let a jury decide his guilt?
Could the Vice President be the leaker that the President has been searching for? (And Mr. President, he’s not under the desk.)
November 9th, 2005 at 5:55 pmI am sure they and their letter will be snubbed, ignored and dismissed, but they were right to send it; their questions are valid and deserve answers. We just know that this White House doesn’t answer legitimate questions from Democrats.
November 9th, 2005 at 6:00 pmAnd What’s up with the FBI — why aren’t they investigting this more vigorously? Pressure from the White House? Cheney been there lately?
Again, this is purely about TRANSPARENCY in our Govt. Cheney’s administration
November 9th, 2005 at 6:11 pmhas decided that it is best that people not necessarily need to know what his plans
are, for the terrorists would take the advantage, and some how, he can’t tell you now, and just trust him, he will save THE EMPIRE,from a catastrophe. We as a collective whole are not of any particular brilliance or certainly not perceptive to the level of danger we are in to warrant an open forum style debate on the future of how are resources are to be squandered. Yes it’s true, a dozen some odd men and one woman know so much better than any collection of ELECTED representatives how are future is to be determined. I think he has seen the movie the Patriot way too many times.We are way too ignorant to handle the truth. It is a sad day when we are more worried about the danger our own government can inflict on us than that of our enemies. Let the conservatives run their gig and when enough citizens wake up and say what the hell did I vote for
they will at least have an idea of what they don’t want from THEIR governtment.
BREAKING: Chalabi says Bring it On!
AP http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5404172,00.html
So when does the grilling start? GOP should be glad to set the record straight.
November 9th, 2005 at 6:14 pmTraitors (and enemies) of a feather flock together.
November 9th, 2005 at 6:22 pmFor background on White House and Republican stonewalling on the uses – and misuses – of pre-war Iraq intelligence, see:
- “Roberts’ Iraq Stonewall Crumbles”
- “Fitzgerald and the Truth About Pre-War Iraq Intelligence”
November 9th, 2005 at 6:59 pmMaybe Chalabi is here one ruse and will be arrested and jailed for his crimes? Maybe the US made a deal with Jordan to turn him over for crimes Chalabi committed there?
Oh. Sorry. These are the NeoCon Whack-jobs who are running (or attempting to run) our formerly great country… :-(
November 9th, 2005 at 7:03 pmIt has been confirmed that the US military used WMDs on Iraqis!
http://rawstory.com/news/2005/U.S._Army_publication_confirms_United_States_1109.html
November 9th, 2005 at 7:07 pmSeems the Neocons are foiling all the terrist attacks except for the big ones. Hmmm…Surely SOMEONE SOMEWHERE knows where Zawahiri or Zarkawi is…Ahhh, screw that. Fire up the napalm!
November 9th, 2005 at 7:15 pm“Detonating a White Phosphorous shell in a confined area (like firing into a building) will indeed cause an effect comparable to the use of lung agent poison gases for those inside who do not or can not flee, with the additional consequence of setting the room(s) alight. Death will occur from lung edema, phosphoric acid poisoning or the resulting shock, or burns.”
Use of white phosphorus is not banned by name in any international treaty. However, the 1980 Convention on Conventional Weapons (Protocol III) prohibits the use of incendiary weapons against civilian populations or in areas that have high civilian populations. The United States is among several nations that are not signatories to the convention.
PDF of the military story is here.
November 9th, 2005 at 7:19 pmOf course this will result in little more than the press coverage, but God bless them anyway for their ever-growing gonads.
New on EWM: “Rove out, Rover in.â€
November 9th, 2005 at 7:22 pmScaled down agenda includes a “war on gingivitis†and plans to occupy Aruba.
I can’t bring myself to watch the video, Ryan.
November 9th, 2005 at 7:30 pmWhy is this man in our country? He needs to be arrested.
November 9th, 2005 at 7:41 pmThe Dems are pressing on in order to bring light to the criminal Chalabi. Most American’s never heard of him and his crimes.
This is another story of how the Bushie administration supports criminals.
The more people who know of Chalabi, the harder the Bushie Administration falls.
We proved it at the polls yesterday.
November 9th, 2005 at 8:08 pmIt saddens me to think how many Americans will hear this and not think about how the Republicans constantly try and say the Democrats want to give aid to the terrorists and support the terrorists by implementing our ideas, yet at the same time we have Bush holding hands with the Saudi leader, Rumsfeld shaking hands with Saddam, and now having Chalabi over for a visit.
Can’t anyone see how all the people that Bush is inviting over are terrorists in their own right?
November 9th, 2005 at 8:25 pmMagnumDB,
Lets not forget that Republicans sold the WMDs to Iraq. Republicans sold the plutonium reactors to Iran. Republicans helped train, recruit, fund AlQueda to fight the russians!
Republicans are the friends of (and in fact themselves) terrorists!
November 9th, 2005 at 8:38 pmRight on #27, once again Cheney is above the law and thumbs his nose at us all. He brings in an enemy of the state and parades him around like the prodical son. Chalabi should have been arrested and held for questioning by the FBI. This administration is nothing but corruption, cronysm, and criminals. After yesterday’s victorys at the pols for Dems, watch the distance between Bush and congressional Republican’s grow even wider.
November 9th, 2005 at 8:39 pmDavidB,
In a way I hope your wrong. I think bush should stick as close to the congressional candidates as he can – I can’t imagine a better campaign aid for democrats :)
November 9th, 2005 at 8:45 pmThanks for the extra examples, Ryan! I didn’t even think about those. And if I didn’t think about them, I don’t assume regular non-obsessed-with-politics Americans would think about them either.
November 9th, 2005 at 8:45 pmFrom the Guardian article, I find this most destressing:
“The Iraqi army, Chalabi said, had no more potent weapons than submachine guns while the country is surrounded by neighbors with large weapons arsenals.”
So I’m thinking he’s thinking, that he’s in line for some weaponary!
November 9th, 2005 at 8:52 pmDavidB,
Unfortunately those examples are the tip of the iceberg for republican failures. Republicans were behind the overthrow of a democracy in Iran, to institute the Shah to have ‘better control’ under Eisenhower. Republicans were behind Coup D’etats in Argentina and Chile. Then we have the Hostage for Oil, and Iran/Contra fiasco where republican backed CIA operations were selling drugs on american soil to fund illegal central american wars.
The list of disreputable and irresponsible acts from republicans are as long as one can see. While I’ll grant that republicans are not the only ones who made foreign policy mistakes – the REALLY BIG MISTAKES are almost universally republican!
November 9th, 2005 at 9:01 pmThere has to be some secret motivation for him to come here right now. Perhaps it is to screw up the investigation. The dirty trickier of this administration leaves nothing to shame.
Jamie
November 9th, 2005 at 9:31 pmhttp://intoxination.blogspot.com
My bad, it did hit a nerve.
I am ashamed to be a fan of these war criminals!
Send the WH administration to one of their seceret concentration camps and lets torture the truth out of them.
November 9th, 2005 at 9:33 pmSpeaking of Chalabi, I posted on my blog this evening about indications of renewed collusion between him and Iran against other Shi’ite politicians and Ayatollah Sistani.
November 9th, 2005 at 9:56 pmI hope ThinkProgress will continue to post articles about Chalabi. Cheney and Condi’s love for him proves they are traitors.
Post as much as you can Judd, most Americans do not know of this conspiracy between the White House and Chalabi to destroy America.
November 9th, 2005 at 10:38 pmGood ole Dick Durbin. He just doesn’t give a damn what anyone thinks apparently. I love having him and Obama representing my state.
November 9th, 2005 at 10:39 pmI agree Lavender. Durbin and Obama are the best of the bunch. I write to them all the time and tell them to begin impeachment hearings. They are both open to it but haven’t said so publically. They are waiting for their constituents to demand in large numbers. If you haven’t demanded impeachment you should. They’re listening.
November 9th, 2005 at 10:52 pmThe lowdown on Chalabi:
http://counterpunch.org/chalabi05202004.html
November 9th, 2005 at 11:25 pmChialabi, Iran, Condi, Dumbya….
Can you say against American Interests?
Can you say Arms/Oil/Terror States?
November 10th, 2005 at 3:48 amit also compromised Bush’s credibility even further…
November 10th, 2005 at 8:34 amWhy is this guy meeting with John Snow the Treasury Secretary?
November 10th, 2005 at 8:56 amThe Bush administration and the RNC gave Chalabi millions of dollars for his lies about the capabilities of Hussein.
He probably came over to see Snow and get his next payment.
This war has cost the puke treasure chest billions of dollars and me thinks they are just about ready to pull the plug on any more financing.
November 10th, 2005 at 10:15 amChialabi is the next Saddam. W’s exit plan is to install him, announce the war in Iraq as a triumph and then pull the troops home. This trip is for planning strategy up to and after the “election”. Expect immense fraud on December 15th (perhaps Diebold will get a no-bid contract to supply the machines). In about three years Chialabi will be forced by Islamic fundamentalists to take the same career move as did the Shah of Iran in 1979.
November 10th, 2005 at 10:34 amI am most sure you are 100% correct, Walt. This administration couldn’t reign in Saddam any longer. It is merely time for the next installation. We are at war now because Saddam got uppity and actually believed he ruled Iraq. But, hey, over 2000 dead Americans and countless innocent civilians in Iraq and VOILA, we showed him. Problem is, Chalabi is even worse, but as long as he does as he is told by this administration, then he can be Prime Minister.
QUID PRO QUO – Welcome to Bushland.
How can anyone think this is okay? Chalabi has the goods on Bushco and vice versa. This is exactly the way the Mafia works, well, except the Mafia has some odd version of honor and these guys don’t.
Chalabi=Saddam – the only difference is their outfit.
November 10th, 2005 at 11:06 amThis is a potentially great blog because it has news items like this important letter from the Judiciary Dems about Chalabi. The problem is that the commentary digressed into schoolyard bickering. If asking your government questions is “attack politics,” you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.
How much longer are the American people going to let their country and their children’s future be despoiled by these ‘cons?
November 10th, 2005 at 12:02 pmSounds logical to me WtM #48. We’ve been down that path before — we know the way now.
November 10th, 2005 at 2:03 pmStrange Days at the American Enterprise Institute
Judging from various first person accounts of Ahmed Chalabi’s speech at the AEI, the event was palpably weird…
November 10th, 2005 at 4:58 pmFurther proof that the Chimpy regime is criminal.
The intelligent Republicans are dumping these crooks.
That leaves only the crooks and brain dead dumbasses like cynicon implant.
November 10th, 2005 at 6:57 pmDoesn’t the United States have an extradition agreement with Jordan? Chalabi has been tried and found guilty of massive bank fraud in that country and sentenced to twenty-two years in prison. He may be a “deputy prime minister” but he’s also a fugitive who would be arrested imnmediately if he went and visited his neighbors next door.
November 14th, 2005 at 8:58 amdrugs…
evaluative lighting calfskin airlines repenting impassive,Draconian abolishes firmed birth control pills http://birth-control-pills.metasart.com/ …
January 9th, 2006 at 12:58 am[...] Chalabi was under investigation for passing information to the Iranians, but I guess the right-wing blogs and the MSM is too busy with important matters like a certain Democratic congressman's traffic accident to be concerned about that. Quite a coincidence that the investigation of Chalabi cooled once far right stalwart John Negroponte became Director of National Intelligence. [...]
May 17th, 2006 at 3:20 am