Time: Mon Jun 30 13:17:35 1997 by primenet.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id NAA07364; Mon, 30 Jun 1997 13:15:47 -0700 (MST) by usr06.primenet.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) with SMTP id NAA26345; Mon, 30 Jun 1997 13:15:40 -0700 (MST) Date: Mon, 30 Jun 1997 13:13:58 -0700 To: (Recipient list suppressed) From: Paul Andrew Mitchell [address in tool bar] Subject: SLS: Oklahoma holds grand jury on bombing (fwd) <snip> > > Oklahomans to start forming bomb inquiry panel Monday > > Legislator alleges government covered up the truth > > 06/29/97 > > By Arnold Hamilton / The Dallas Morning News > > OKLAHOMA CITY - What did federal agents know about plans for the > Oklahoma City bombing? And when did they know it? > > A county grand jury to be impaneled Monday is being asked to explore > those questions - and a plethora of others - advanced by government > skeptics since America's worst act of domestic terrorism. > > The investigative panel was ordered after state Rep. Charles Key, > R-Oklahoma City, successfully circulated a petition demanding a probe > of what he contends was a government coverup. > > Mr. Key says the federal government had prior knowledge about the 1995 > attack and failed to prevent it. The government has denied that, and > state officials have tried to block the grand jury, but the state > Supreme Court ruled he had the right to petition. > > More than 13,500 qualified Oklahoma County residents - nearly three > times as many as required to force the grand jury's impaneling - > signed Mr. Key's petition. > > But some federal law officers, prosecutors and state officials have > scorned his effort, calling it wasteful and misleading. The government > has spent an estimated $50 million on the federal investigation and > defense of Timothy McVeigh. Critics of the grand jury effort say it's > unlikely anything was overlooked. > > "I believe a local grand jury investigation . . . is unneeded," said > Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating. "It would be impossible for a local grand > jury to match the most massive criminal investigation in U.S. history. > > "I have complete confidence in the investigation being conducted by > the federal, state and local law enforcement officials into this > horrific crime." > > Mr. Key, who helped produce the video Oklahoma City: What Really > Happened? and occasionally speaks about the alleged government > conspiracy at gun shows and survivalist expos, defends his effort. He > insists the inquiry can "get to a lot more of the truth than we > already know." > > The 15-member grand jury - including three alternates - will be chosen > from a pool of 100 Oklahoma County residents, picked randomly by > computer from state driver's license rolls. > > They convene Monday at the county jail downtown, about eight blocks > south and west from the site of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building > and four weeks to the day after a federal jury in Denver convicted Mr. > McVeigh of conspiracy and murder for blowing up the nine-story office > tower. > > Mr. McVeigh, a decorated Persian Gulf War veteran, was sentenced to > death for the crime, which killed 168 people. Prosecutors depicted it > as his revenge for what he perceived as government wrongdoing at the > Branch Davidian siege near Waco in 1993. > > His former Army buddy, Terry Nichols, will stand trial on similar > charges starting Sept. 29 in Denver. > > Among the areas the grand jury may consider: > > * Was there a John Doe No. 2, or are prosecutors right that a case of > mistaken identity led to an innocent man being sought in the bombing? > If there was a mysterious, olive-skinned, square-jawed accomplice > accompanying Timothy McVeigh, who was he? > > * Did one bomb, packed in a Ryder rental truck, pulverize the Murrah > Federal Building? Or were there other explosives, perhaps some > improperly stored in the office tower by federal law officers? > > * Were federal agents aware of any specific threats against the > building? And if so, did they fail to prevent the attack? > > > > Federal cooperation > > In at least a legal sense, the county grand jury review of alleged > federal corruption is a late-century version of former New Orleans > prosecutor Jim Garrison's bid 30 years ago to investigate the > assassination of President John F. Kennedy. > > Federal officials refused to cooperate with Mr. Garrison then. Some > say they aren't likely to be much more receptive to Oklahoma County's > grand jury. > > Friday, Leesa Brown, a spokeswoman for the federal Oklahoma City > bombing team, said, "We'll monitor the grand jury, and we will respond > appropriately." > > It also isn't known whether Mr. McVeigh's defense team, preparing an > appeal, will cooperate. Lead attorney Stephen Jones repeatedly has > suggested an international conspiracy was behind the bombing, and some > of the elements cited by Mr. Key and his supporters overlap with that > that theory. > > Mr. Jones was in Washington late last week and could not be reached > for comment. > > Mr. Key, a six-term state representative, said he strongly believes > federal authorities had prior warning of the bombing plot. He also > said he has evidence federal officials covered up information that > could point to others involved in the attack. > > Federal officials dismiss both accusations as unfounded. > > Mr. Key said he will ask to speak directly to the grand jury, but it's > not a certainty the panel will hear from him. Unlike Texas, where > grand juries meet routinely to consider indictments in criminal > matters, Oklahoma grand juries typically are convened only when > citizens, through petition drives, demand them. Most cases involve > allegations of public corruption that residents believe were not > investigated thoroughly by elected officials. > > > > No guarantees > > According to experts, Oklahoma law gives grand juries extraordinary > latitude to investigate whomever and whatever they want. Although the > county's prosecuting attorney serves in an advisory capacity and the > presiding judge selects the foreman, grand juries ultimately decide > their own direction. > > While it's unlikely grand jurors would refuse to hear from the > petition's organizer, there are no guarantees they will decide he has > sufficiently provocative information to warrant an extensive review. > > "I know a lot of people are very opposed to it," said Oklahoma County > District Attorney Bob Macy. "But the people do have the right in the > state of Oklahoma to call a grand jury if the court finds the subject > to be a legitimate area of investigation." > > Still, state officials said there are risks that such inquiries could > interfere with the federal prosecution of Mr. Nichols or future state > prosecution of Mr. McVeigh and Mr. Nichols. And the state officials > said there always is the possibility that just one or two grand jurors > with a political agenda could drag out the process. > > "We call these people in off the street," Mr. Macy said. "They're just > ordinary citizens. You know very little about them when they're > impaneled as a grand jury. There's always a possibility somebody could > do something like Hoppy Heidelberg." > > Mr. Heidelberg is the Blanchard, Okla., rancher who was booted from > the federal grand jury that indicted Mr. McVeigh and Mr. Nichols in > the Oklahoma City bombing. He was dismissed for violating his oath of > secrecy, going public with his concerns, he said, because he believed > federal prosecutors were thwarting the grand jury from inquiring into > the possible involvement of others in the attack. > > In the months since, Mr. Heidelberg has repeated his claims of > government misconduct. He also predicted Mr. McVeigh would be > acquitted, contending federal prosecutors purposely threw the case to > serve their political agendas. And he also announced he will run for > governor next year. > > "We've been fortunate," Mr. Macy said. "Most of our grand juries have > been very responsible in that they have come in and put in full days > and met nearly every day and were able to handle a lot of different > matters in a very short time." > > > > Fairness is a concern > > No one knows for sure how long the grand jury will meet; by law it > could remain impaneled until year's end. Mr. Macy declined to > speculate on the time or cost, but Mr. Key predicted the panel's > inquiry could last as long as four months. They begin their work > Monday, as do all Oklahoma grand juries, by inspecting the county > jail. > > While Mr. Key and his supporters are pleased the county grand jury > finally will be seated, they are not necessarily confident their > concerns will be given a fair and impartial hearing. Mr. Macy, whose > office will advise the grand jury, fought against its creation, all > the way to the state Supreme Court. So did the Oklahoma attorney > general, Drew Edmondson. And the state district judge presiding over > the grand jury, William Burkett, is a former federal prosecutor. > > Mr. Key announced Friday that he formally asked the state Supreme > Court to order Mr. Macy and Mr. Edmondson to "fully and openly > investigate this crime." > > He said he and his supporters filed the request because there is no > mechanism in the state's grand jury laws to remove a prosecutor or > seek appointment of a special prosecutor not tied to the attorney > general's office. > > While successful in forcing the grand jury, Mr. Key has been ridiculed > publicly by some of the state's leading elected officials. And the > state's two largest newspapers also railed against him. > > "The last thing Oklahoma needs is a state grand jury to redo the > federal investigation," the Tulsa World said in an editorial. > > The Daily Oklahoman, a frequent critic of the federal government, > urged Mr. Key to drop his grand jury efforts, saying his "meddling > borders on pandering." The paper also said Mr. Key "seems determined > to help conspiracy theorists from across the political spectrum create > the equivalent of the grassy knoll in Dallas." > > > > Staff writer Lee Hancock in Tyler contributed to this report. > >=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= >Unsub info - send e-mail to majordomo@majordomo.pobox.com, with >"unsubscribe liberty-and-justice" in the body (not the subject) >Liberty-and-Justice list-owner is Mike Goldman <whig@pobox.com> > > ======================================================================== 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.]
Return to Table of Contents for
Supreme Law School: E-mail