D: THE BUSH ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT
I. COMMENTS ON THE OIG'S ANALYSIS OF PARTICULAR MATTERS
E. Other Matters
8. The Bush Assassination Attempt
As a general matter, the OIG draft report concludes that a missile strike against a Government building in Baghdad was not the result of malfeasance or other inappropriate conduct by Laboratory or other FBI employees. The draft does, however, criticize Whitehurst for failing to document his forensic examinations and finds some fault with other Laboratory employees in minor respects.
Among these, the draft report indicates several times in various contexts that, although Whitehurst told the OIG that he had compared two explosives to detect similarities,1 former explosives examiner Alan R. Jordan failed to include this comparison in his Laboratory reports.2 The OIG recognizes that this comparison was requested by a Laboratory official other than Jordan, and that Jordan informed the OIG that "he was not even aware that Whitehurst had compared the Bush and Southeast Asia devices."3 In addition, the OIG has apparently established that "Whitehurst did not incorporate the results of this comparison in any dictation or written report."4 Under these circumstances, it is inappropriate to repeatedly reference the absence from Jordan's reports of information which Whitehurst orally communicated to parties other than Jordan without clearly indicating that Jordan bears no fault for this omission.
Also, as we indicated in our February 12, 1997, response to the January 21, 1997, draft report, we object to the assertion that Jordan failed to include Auxiliary Examiner dictation verbatim when he prepared his June 18, 1993, comparison report. Jordan has advised us that this document was prepared for use in briefing the White House, and was not intended to convey the detail expected of a "normal" Laboratory report. As we have stated previously, there may be some circumstances requiring that dictation be summarized, and a blanket rule requiring that dictation be included verbatim in any document generated for any purpose whatsoever appears to us to be not only unnecessarily inflexible but inappropriate. It is important to note that Jordan did subsequently prepare a Laboratory report which incorporated the dictation verbatim.
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1 Part Three, Section D at 6.
2 Id. at 8-9.
3 Id. at 8 n.6.
4 Id. at 7.
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In addition, in discussing an interview with Neil Gallagher, the draft report indicates that "Gallagher thinks that he clarified for the Attorney General in the June 2, 1993 meeting that the explosives used in these cases were consistent with some type of PE-4A, but that this identification alone would not be enough to connect the devices."5 Gallagher has indicated to us that he advised the OIG that it is "most likely" that he provided this clarification, and that he has very little doubt that he did so. Under these circumstances, we request that the report indicate that "Gallagher believes" that he provided this clarification, reflecting a relatively higher degree of certainty than is currently indicated. Additionally, we request that Gallagher's position be corrected to indicate that he was chief of the "counterterrorism" section, rather than of the "counterintelligence" section, on pages 2, 9, 10 (two instances), and elsewhere as appropriate.
Finally, Jordan, who is referenced throughout the April 1997 version, has requested that his name be deleted from the OIG's report and redacted from related documents that may be made public (including the FBI's response to the draft report) based upon his concern for his personal safety and that of his family members.6 Also, as you are aware, the FBI received the draft report at approximately 5:00 p.m. on April 3, 1997, and was asked to respond by close of business on April 4, 1997. Jordan has advised us that this has afforded an inadequate opportunity to review the draft effectively in order to ensure accuracy and fairness.
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5 Id. at 11 (emphasis added).
6 We note that the April 3, 1997, OIG draft report concerning the 1993 Bush assassination attempt has omitted the identities of several Department of Justice and Central Intelligence Agency employees which were included in prior drafts.
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