Whistle-blower alleges govt. threats in bombing case
WASHINGTON - A suspended FBI agent had been threatened with disciplinary
action for giving the Oklahoma City bombing defense evidence that the
bureau's lab mishandled evidence, his lawyer says in a complaint to the
Justice Department. The two government lawyers named in the complaining
letter denied in interviews Thursday that they were trying to intimidate the
lab whistle-blower, scientist-agent Frederic Whitehurst.
Whitehurst was suspended with pay last Friday, an interim step pending an
investigation that could lead to additional disciplinary measures. The
allegations by Whitehurst, once the FBI's top explosives residue expert, that
the lab mishandled evidence touched off an internal investigation of the
world-renowned facility that could affect a dozen or more criminal cases.
For example, faded black jeans worn by Timothy McVeigh, a defendant in the
Oklahoma City bombing, were shipped by lab examiners in a brown paper sack
instead of a sealed plastic bag, The New York Times reported Friday. The
newspaper said the Justice Department investigation of the lab has uncovered
numerous complaints by lab workers of sloppiness.
Cocaine traces supposedly from McVeigh's car actually may have resulted from
using improperly cleaned testing equipment, the newspaper reported.
Whitehurst may be called as a witness by defense attorney Stephen Jones to
challenge government evidence against McVeigh in the April 1995 bombing that
killed 168 people.
The complaint by Whitehurst's attorney, Stephen Kohn, is being reviewed in
Deputy Attorney General Jamie Gorelick's office, Justice officials said
Thursday, requesting anonymity. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the
document, which was delivered to Attorney General Janet Reno on Monday.
Earlier Thursday, Gorelick told a news conference the Justice Department
inspector general who investigated Whitehurst's complaints found "a serious
set of problems" in "a limited number of units within the lab and a limited
number of ... cases." For more than a year during the investigation, the
government has redone flawed evidence tests, alerted defense attorneys to
past errors and taken other steps to insure fair trials, but Gorelick said it
was too soon to tell if the problems will harm any prosecutions.
The FBI had asserted the problems will not compromise "any past, present or
future prosecutions." But, Gorelick said, "Until the courts have a chance to
examine each and every allegation as it applies to each and every case, we
won't be able to make blanket statements."
Besides the Oklahoma City bombing trials, a dozen or so cases that might be
affected include a bank robbery trial under way in Ohio and the first
convictions for the World Trade Center bombing in New York, government
officials and sources have said. One FBI lab supervisory agent, Dave
Williams, who oversaw collection of explosives evidence at Oklahoma City, has
been withdrawn as an expert witness in McVeigh's trial, officials and sources
have said.
Other evidence had to be reworked for the Ohio trial, they have said. Kohn
alleged that Joseph Hartzler, chief prosecutor in the Oklahoma City case, and
James Maddock, deputy FBI general counsel, threatened Whitehurst during a
three-day deposition by defense attorneys in December.
Kohn wrote that Hartzler pulled Kohn aside to say he "should be concerned
about potential administrative action that could be taken against FW
(Whitehurst) due to some of his testimony which was exaggerated or wrong."
Whitehurst has said the lab was contaminated for years, biased in favor of
prosecutors and had supervisory agents without scientific training.
Sources outside the government have said other lab workers told the inspector
general about improper or sloppy procedures and fudged conclusions. Kohn
wrote that Hartzler said he was referring to a statement by Whitehurst that
defense attorney Mike Tigar could be proved guilty by residue on his hand.
Kohn could not be reached to amplify, but Whitehurst apparently was saying
residue tests were so susceptible to misinterpretation that innocent people
could get convicted.
Hartzler said Thursday, "Prosecutors routinely advise witnesses to tell only
the truth. Other than this occasion, I have never had to go the extra step of
warning an FBI agent of the consequences of exaggerating under oath." Kohn
also complained that he received a similar warning later from Maddock.
Kohn wrote that during a meeting between Whitehurst, Kohn and prosecutors,
"Maddock expressed disgust with the IG ... (and) stated he was one of the
officials ... who would determine Dr. Whitehurst's further employment status
with the FBI."
Maddock added that he would take into consideration Whitehurst's "willingness
to ... work with the prosecution in the Oklahoma City bombing case when he
and the FBI decided what personnel action would be taken with respect to Dr.
Whitehurst," Kohn wrote.
In an interview, Maddock replied, "I never made a statement of disgust with
the inspector general; we've cooperated fully with him. It's clearly wrong to
say that I was implying a threat. I have counseled Whitehurst numerous times,
with Kohn present, that his manner could create a hostile environment and
make him hard to work with. I've suggested he should consider a more
cooperative spirit."
Maddock noted that some of Kohn's contemporaneous handwritten notes refer to
"Joe M." "He may have confused Joe Hartzler and Jim Maddock, but I have never
heard Joe make those kinds of statements," Maddock said. Williams and two
other lab supervisors criticized in the report were transferred out of the
lab. By The Associated Press
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