1995 Gorelick memo
From Conservapedia
The Gorelick memo of 1995 erected a "wall" between counter-intelligence and law enforcement, which impeded investigation of al Qaeda in the run-up to the 9/11 attacks. Jamie Gorelick, then working as Deputy Attorney General under Janet Reno was author of the memo.
The wall was nominally created in response to the "legitimate fear that agents denied criminal warrants would gain information through the backdoor from their buddies working under FISA." [1]
Scott Wheeler wrote:
- Because the memo created a barrier for U.S. intelligence agencies to share information with the FBI, one of its unintended consequences might have been to prevent the FBI from receiving the necessary intelligence to stop the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the worst in American history. [2]
Attorney General John Ashcroft told the 9/11 commission:
- "The simple fact of September 11th is this ... We did not know an attack was coming because for nearly a decade our government had blinded itself to its enemies. Our agents were isolated by government-imposed walls." [3]
At issue in the hearings was whether Clinton, Reno and Gorelick or Bush and Ashcroft were more responsible for the effect the "wall" had. The Democrats acknowledged building the wall but blamed the Republicans for leaving it in place. The Republicans blamed the Democrats for building it in the first place.
- "The Clinton administration neutered the American intelligence agencies that could have stopped the September 11 plot." [4]
