Is Sibel Edmonds credible? [View All]

[Vattel]

I don’t have the time to lay out the entire case for doubting her credibility. But I would like to echo a few of the reasons that some of my fellow DUers have offered in support of their skepticism about her stories. I hope that they bear repaeating.

As part of her deposition, Edmonds said the following:

Edmonds: “So they have sent Turkish female agents, and that Turkish female agents work for Turkish government, and have sexual relationship with this Congresswoman in her townhouse actually in this area, and the entire episodes of their sexual conduct was being filmed because the entire house, this Congressional woman's house was bugged. So they have all that documented to be used for certain things that they wanted to request when I left. So I don't know whether she --- that Congresswoman complied and gave. That's why I couldn't use her name because I don't --- I meant her face because I don’t know if she did anything illegal afterwards.”

Edmonds’ deposition took place in Washington DC. She never mentioned Illinois at all in the story about the Turkish agent and the Congresswoman. Thus, when she said that the Congresswoman’s townhouse was “actually in this area,” she clearly implied that it was in Washington DC. Unfortunately for Edmonds, when she repeated the story to the American Conservative and used Schakowsky’s name, Schakowsky’s office responded by pointing out that she has never owned a townhouse in Washington DC. She and her husband rent a small apartment there, and they own a single-family house in Illinois. Had Edmonds just admitted error or even said that she misspoke, fine. Instead, she does not even admit that she clearly implied that the townhouse was in Washington DC. Instead, she changes her story and says that the townhome in question was in Illinois and that she didn’t know who owned it:

Edmonds: “I am, and have been, reporting intercepted communication of targeted operatives; more or less verbatim. . . .This particular operation(s) was based in IL; not DC. The timeline covered 1996-2002 (January). The targeted townhouse in question was in IL. The operatives discussed their plans to bug the townhouse in detail. Is this a townhouse she owned/owns? I don't know. Did it belong to the female operative? I don't know. Did the set up take place? Yes; confirmed by the FBI surveillance team; Chicago-Field Office.”

She also did not admit any error in the following part of her original story:

Edmonds: “. . . in 2000, another representative was added to the list, Jan Schakowsky, the Democratic congresswoman from Illinois. Turkish agents started gathering information on her, and they found out that she was bisexual. So a Turkish agent struck up a relationship with her. When Jan Schakowsky’s mother died, the Turkish woman went to the funeral, hoping to exploit her vulnerability.”

Unfortunately for Edmonds, Schakowski’s mother died in 1987. Once again she changes her story in her “official response” to Schakowsky’s office:

Edmonds: “The female operative in question was to accompany Mrs. Schakowsky to the funeral for 'the mother' and stay with her afterwards.”

Having had her statements refuted by facts, Edmonds responds to the refutation by writing a letter to Schakowski that begins: “It is an age-old tactic, when one cannot refute statements with facts, to attempt to discredit the witness.” At the very least, Edmonds lacks a sense of irony.