Pentagon Pushed Able Danger Hearing Behind Closed Doors

[leveymg]

WASHINGTON - Oct. 5. Under Pentagon pressure, the Senate has moved the delayed Able Danger hearings from the Judiciary to the Intelligence Committee, where testimony will be closed to the public. A committee staffer confirmed that the Intelligence Committee will meet this afternoon "to receive a closed briefing regarding certain intelligence matters" at 2:30pm, in Senate room SH-219. http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/committees/one_item_and_teasers/committee_hearings.htm

Col. Anthony Shaffer, a former staff analyst on the Able Danger project, had been ordered not to publicly testify before the Judiciary Committee. According to his attorney, Mark Zaid, Shaffer is not scheduled to appear at the classified closed briefing this afternoon.

Shaffer has been a primary source of public attention to the Pentagon's Able Danger intelligence collection program. He was recently stripped of his security clearance after confirming that the Pentagon unit had identified Mohamed Atta and three other principal al-Qaeda hijackers in early 2000.

The Senate Intelligence Committee would not reveal who the Senators will hear from this afternoon in closed session.

Copyright 2005, Mark G. Levey

[seemslikeadream]

1. Well now what's the chance of ever hearing

Col. Shaffer's testimony

:argh:

[leveymg]

3. What I think is really interesting is that they didn't even tell

Mark Zaid that the hearing was indeed on for this afternoon. News accounts had said that the event was cancelled for Rosh Hashana.

[seemslikeadream]

4. That's what I had read, the meeting cancelled

I wonder if Curt Weldon will be there, maybe I'll call his office

[seemslikeadream]

5. I called Weldon's office

sounds like the person that answered did not know about the meeting. I just said I was calling to let him KNOW and it would be nice if he could attend and let us know what happened!

[The Backlash Cometh]

2. Tell me it isn't so. The results of this investigation will be as dubious

as the last one.

[Mandate My Ass]

6. I trust they'll get to the bottom of this and let the American people

know everything that they uncover. :eyes:

[texpatriot2004]

7. So the hearing is off limits to the public and they will secretly

get to the bottom of this and then let us know?