Time: Fri Jun 13 19:13:26 1997 by primenet.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) with SMTP id TAA15698; Fri, 13 Jun 1997 19:13:05 -0700 (MST) Date: Fri, 13 Jun 1997 19:11:57 -0700 To: (Recipient list suppressed) From: Paul Andrew Mitchell [address in tool bar] Subject: SLS: Oklahoma special state grand jury (fwd) [14] *****Oklahoma Grand Jury To Hear Coverup Charge *****State Lawmaker Sees Bombing Conspiracy *****By Bill McAllister *****Washington Post Staff Writer *****Friday, June 13, 1997; Page A14 *****The Washington Post OKLAHOMA CITY, June 12 -- For most of his 11 years in the Oklahoma State House of Representatives, Charles D. Key has a been a low-profile, but mainstream member of the Republican minority. Then, the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was blown up on April 19, 1995, killing 168 people, some of them Key's friends and neighbors in his working-class district around the Will Rogers World Airport. Soon afterward, friends say Key became a changed man, convinced that the federal government was not telling all it knew about the explosion. This week, as a jury was deciding whether to sentence Timothy J. McVeigh to death for the bombing, an Oklahoma judge agreed to convene a grand jury here June 30 to consider Key's claim of a massive coverup, an investigation demanded in petitions signed by more than 13,000 area residents. In an interview in the State Capitol Office today, Key said he is sure a grand jury will confirm his allegations that McVeigh did not act alone and he insisted that he has facts, "cold hard facts," to back up the claim. However, Key will not disclose them. Virtually all local law enforcement officials, including Gov. Frank A. Keating (R), a former FBI agent, have scoffed at Key's charges, saying they are unsupported and irrational. The Daily Oklahoman, the city's newspaper, has condemned the requested investigation as "a wasteful sideshow, disliked by most victims and survivors of those killed." But Key remains unmoved and has given up his insurance agency to pursue the charges. He has a powerful ally in Oklahoma law, which gives residents the right to petition for a grand jury investigation. Only New Mexico residents have a similar right, Key's lawyer said. A grand jury investigation seems certain to keep alive conspiracy theories among right-wing militia groups and others about the Oklahoma bombing, regardless of the outcome of the McVeigh case. If the local prosecutors, who have fought Key's request, attempt to lead the grand jury's deliberations, Key said today he will petition the courts for a special prosecutor. Key insisted today that the state inquiry will be simple, direct and cheap. All it has to do is call the 20 people he maintains saw McVeigh in Oklahoma City the morning of the bombing, witnesses Key charges that federal prosecutors failed to bring before the grand jury that indicted McVeigh and Terry L. Nichols for the murders of eight federal law enforcement officers. Along with others who believe the two men could not have plotted such a massive explosion on their own, Key argues that federal law enforcement officers were around the Murrah building early on the morning of the explosion waiting to trap someone in a sting operation that went awry. He charges that federal prosecutors cut their grand jury case short to cover up the government's failure to warn federal workers of a likely explosion. Federal authorities have denied that any such sting was underway or that they had any advance knowledge of the bombing. Keating believes Key's charge is absurd, said John Cox, the governor's deputy press secretary. "The governor has complete confidence in the federal government's handling of the case," said Cox, adding that Keating believes "no federal law officer would allow a fellow federal agent to be murdered." As for charges that his crusade is political and he has allied himself with conspiracy buffs, Key replied such charges "come with the territory." ======================================================================== Paul Andrew Mitchell : Counselor at Law, federal witness B.A., Political Science, UCLA; M.S., Public Administration, U.C. Irvine tel: (520) 320-1514: machine; fax: (520) 320-1256: 24-hour/day-night email: [address in tool bar] : using Eudora Pro 3.0.2 on 586 CPU website: http://www.supremelaw.com : visit the Supreme Law Library now ship to: c/o 2509 N. Campbell, #1776 : this is free speech, at its best Tucson, Arizona state : state zone, not the federal zone Postal Zone 85719/tdc : USPS delays first class w/o this As agents of the Most High, we came here to establish justice. We shall not leave, until our mission is accomplished and justice reigns eternal. ======================================================================== [This text formatted on-screen in Courier 11, non-proportional spacing.]
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