Time: Fri Dec 05 02:02:25 1997 To: From: Paul Andrew Mitchell [address in tool bar] Subject: SLS: "D-Notice" under British Official Secrets Act Cc: Bcc: sls, friends References: <snip> > >----------------------------------------------------------------- > >THE FOSTER DEATH: U.S. JOURNALISTS OPERATING UNDER A "D-NOTICE?" >================================================================ > >In *Above Top Secret* (ISBN: 0-688-09202-0), author Timothy Good >describes a British government mechanism known as a "D-Notice": > > A D-Notice is a formal letter of request circulated > confidentially to newspaper editors, warning them that an > item of news, which may be protected under the [British] > Official Secrets Act, is regarded by the defense > authorities as a secret affecting national security. It > has no legal authority and can only be regarded as a letter > of advice or request, but it warns that "whether or not any > legal sanction would attach to the act of publication, > publication is considered to be contrary to the national > interest." > > ...since a D-Notice warns an editor that publication of a > given news item may violate the [Official Secrets] Act, the > effect is similar to censorship. > >Does the United States have some sort of similar mechanism? Has >the U.S. government ever contacted prominent news outlets, >suggesting that pursuit of a particular story could adversely >affect national security? At least one instance comes to mind: >ABC News had reportedly been set to air a story on how the U.S. >government seems to have had prior knowledge that the Murrah >Building in Oklahoma City was about to be bombed. The story was >pulled at the last minute, however, reportedly due to concerns >that its airing might greatly weaken and even topple the U.S. >government. > >In "The Secret Report and the Death Warrant" (CN 9.02), Sherman >H. Skolnick describes how the late Vincent Foster was employed >for years by the National Security Agency (NSA), and may have >been doing some "freelance" work on the side: > > The report goes on to show that since the early 1980s, > Foster held the equivalent rank of Military General with > the super-secret satellite spying and code-cracking > operation of the U.S., the National Security Agency [NSA]. > Foster continued this work for the few months before his > death in the Clinton White House. Travelling for NSA, > hundreds of thousands of miles, Foster was the master-mind > of an NSA Project that tracked wire transfers between banks > worldwide -- trillions of dollars per day, of banks both > friend and foe. Because of being on top of this > enterprise, Foster never believed that project might > someday find his purported foreign secret coded accounts > that could finger him as having violated various American > espionage laws. > >Skolnick's allegations are corroborated in a classic series of >reports by J. Orlin Grabbe, "Allegations Regarding Vince Foster, >the NSA, and Banking Transactions Spying." [1] Further support >for claims that Vince Foster was a high-ranking NSA official >appear in a story in the May 15, 1996 Washington Times newspaper >("Spy Agency Holds Large File On Foster," by Bill Gertz.) >Referring to revelations contained in the April 24, 1996 issue of >Strategic Investment newsletter, the Washington Times article >reports that "secret documents held by the electronic spying >agency [NSA] indicate Mr. Foster's death was a matter of 'highly >sensitive national security.'" > >There's that word: "national security." Was Foster's death a >"national security" matter and, for that reason, were prominent >news outlets in the U.S. given some version of the "D-Notice?" >That would explain why most mainstream journalists here have been >so remarkably blind regarding inconsistencies surrounding >Foster's supposed "suicide." Furthermore, given that Foster was >a high-ranking NSA employee and had apparently violated his trust >by engaging in espionage, it ought to be considered whether >Foster had been secretly sentenced to death by some sort of >secret tribunal. A clue to this possibility is found in Dr. >Stanton Friedman's book, *Top Secret/Majic* (ISBN: >1-56924-741-2). Friedman writes about mere =civilians= and >the possible extreme penalty they can be subject to for >violations of "national security": > > Civilians unfortunate enough to be caught up in the > security web were made to sign silence agreements ending > with the phrase "upon penalty of death" according to a > witness who very quietly spoke to me about it after a > lecture. > >If a civilian can potentially be secretly found "guilty" and >sentenced to death, then the same fate could definitely await >high-ranking NSA officials who violate their trust and engage in >espionage. > >But why, if Foster had been secretly sentenced to death, was the >sentence executed so sloppily? Surely NSA could have done a >neater job of terminating the errant Foster. Widely reported as >a deep-level cohort of Foster was Hillary Rodham Clinton. If Ms. >Clinton had been involved in Foster's alleged espionage, then a >poorly executed termination of Foster might have been designed to >embarrass the First Lady, weaken her influence, and thereby >incidentally punish her as well. > >--------------------------<< Notes >>---------------------------- >[1] Grabbe's reports are archived at >http://www.aci.net/kalliste/ >http://www.shout.net/~bigred/cn.html > > + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + > >For related stories, visit: >http://www.shout.net/~bigred/cn.html > >----------------------------------------------------------------- > Views expressed do not necessarily reflect those > of Conspiracy Nation, nor of its Editor in Chief. >----------------------------------------------------------------- > I encourage distribution of "Conspiracy Nation." >----------------------------------------------------------------- > New mailing list: leave message in the old hollow tree stump. >----------------------------------------------------------------- >Want to know more about Whitewater, Oklahoma City bombing, etc? >(1) telnet prairienet.org (2) logon as "visitor" (3) go citcom >----------------------------------------------------------------- >Aperi os tuum muto, et causis omnium filiorum qui pertranseunt. >Aperi os tuum, decerne quod justum est, et judica inopem et > pauperem. -- Liber Proverbiorum XXXI: 8-9 > > > > > >
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