FBI Director Outraged By Lockerbie Bomber Release

WASHINGTON — FBI Director Robert Mueller sharply criticized Scotland's justice minister for releasing the Lockerbie bomber, an act that "gives comfort to terrorists" all over the world.

Mueller sent a letter to Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill, who cited compassionate grounds in his decision to let Abdel Baset al-Megrahi return to Libya because he has prostate cancer and was given only months to live by British doctors.

The angry tone of the letter is out of character with the normally reserved Mueller, indicating his outrage is personal as well as professional. He also sent copies to the families of the Lockerbie victims.

"I have made it a practice not to comment on the actions of other prosecutors," Mueller wrote. "Your decision to release Megrahi causes me to abandon that practice in this case. I do so because I am familiar with the facts, and the law. ... And I do so because I am outraged at your decision, blithely defended on the grounds of 'compassion.'"

Before he became FBI director, Mueller spent years as a Justice Department lawyer leading the investigation into the 1988 airplane bombing that killed 270 people, most of them Americans.

Mueller said Thursday's release was "as inexplicable as it is detrimental to the cause of justice. Indeed your action makes a mockery of the rule of law."

His letter was dated Friday, and was made public Saturday.

Releasing the convicted bomber "gives comfort to terrorists around the world who now believe that regardless of the quality of the investigation ... the terrorist will be freed by one man's exercise of 'compassion.'"

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A statement from Scotland's government on Saturday noted Mueller has "strong views" because of his involvement in the case. "But he should also be aware that while many families have opposed Mr. MacAskill's decision, many others have supported it," the statement said.

Bert Ammerman of River Vale, N.J., who lost his brother Tom Ammerman in the bombing, praised Mueller for the "frankness and honesty" in his condemnation of the release.

Mueller recounted his own emotional experiences leading the investigation – seeing a teenage victim's single sneaker, a Syracuse University sweatshirt, toys in the suitcase of a businessman heading home to see his wife and children for Christmas.

"Your action," he wrote MacAskill, "makes a mockery of the grief of the families who lost their own on December 21, 1988. You could not have spent much time with the families, certainly not as much time as others involved in the investigation and prosecution."

He ended the Lockerbie letter with a frustrated question: "Where, I ask, is the justice?"

President Barack Obama on Friday called the elaborate homecoming in Libya for the freed bomber "highly objectionable."

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On the Net:

Mueller's letter: http://tinyurl.com/mhxj7z

Comments

[hbhawaii]

Guess the reaction in the U.S. doesn't augur well for John Walker Lindh's chances of getting out of jail early on compassionate grounds, or any other grounds for that matter.

Remember him? He's the "American Taliban" -- the guy who got railroaded into jail on very flimsy evidence at the start of the Afghan War. We were all mad as hell and looking for someone to blame.

In the future, we'll look back on those months after 9-11 with a fair amount of shame, and some of it will be about the injustice done to John Walker Lindh.

There was a time, not so long ago, that I actually thought our smart new President might have the guts to order another look at Lindh's case (as well as those of the low level grunts who were scapegoated for Abu Ghraib). I was naive.

[northstar11]

lindh is the ""trophy catch """of the afghan war --the human symbol of utter incompetence of rumsfeld and ashcroft.

he should be released immediately.

[ChangeurMind]

padilla also. this guys was probably just going to the 7-11.

[GunneraGirl]

the lindh case is an utter travesty; it breaks my heart.

the poor kid never went to war against the u.s. and he was, what. 19 at the time?
in the heightened hysteria after 9/11 his lawyer cut a deal thinking lindh might do much worse in trial. there's also evidence his statement was coerced by extraordinary means. this is how we treat a mixed up kid. heartbreaking.

[hbhawaii]

Heartbreaking indeed. Anyone out there know what we can do about it? Maybe a coordinated letter writing campaign to Holder and Obama?

But you know, what's truly heartbreaking is that I had myself convinced that the "change" Mr. Obama talked about encompassed even this most difficult area -- undoing some of our more revanchist and irrational reactions to 9-11.

[duxguts]

A question for FBI Director Robert Mueller. Were you outraged when one of our naval vessels shot down an Iranian airliner on a scheduled flight on a recognized flight path? Oh and by the way, there were 66 children on that flight.

[vascopyjama]

Your answer would probably be that there were no US citizens on that plane.

[jrjones529]

no duxguts, he probably wasn't. we value human life based on voter eligibility or net worth.

[Tomlastliberalleft]

The release of al-Megrahi may indeed have something to do with his cancer, but, it may have more to do with MI-6 obtaining the release of their people from Libya involved in an assassination plot aimed at Gaddafi many years ago. These same people might be of great assistance in MI-6’s defense of itself in a legal hassle associated with David Shyler who accussed MI-6 in that plot. There may have been members of the IFG (Islamic Fighting Group) who could,if produced, exculpiate MI-6 to such a degree that Shayler could be denied sensitive MI-6 documents he is currently seeking. Shayler’s trial is suppose to happen in October. I know this is all pure speculation on my part, but the timing of these things often has more to do with organizations defending themselves while at the same time masking those effort with the cloak of “humanitarian reasons.”

[GunneraGirl]

interesting.

[greatscot]

Thank You! knew nothing about this, and will research it. Isn't the internet wonderful?

[Shirley Fisk]

8/22/09
10:21pm
Sunny Isles Beach, FL

I know nothing about the case of the released prisoner in Libya so I won't comment on that.

But what about the release of "Squeaky" Fromme here in the USA? This woman attempted to assassinate President Ford in 1975 but is walking around free. Why? She was sentenced to life in prison.

[instagladiator]

Compassion?

[Shirley Fisk]

8/23/09
2:39am
Sunny Isles Beach, FL

She certainly had none for any of the many the Manson family victims.

[neilr]

The USA lost its moral authority when it opened Guantanamo Bay.

The surviving convicted prisoner of the bombing had lodged an appeal based on new evidence. With an anticipated 3 months of life left to him, the prisoner was given the choice of withdrawing the appeal and spending his limited lifetime with his family, or dying in jail with his appeal unresolved.

The Scottish government decided to let him die surrounded by his family. However this ensures that he officially dies as one of the bombers. There is no offical appeal and any other theories are just that - theories.

Mr Mueller may have a personal stake in this, as an investigator, but his letter is inappropriate from an official organ of the USA government - Guantanamo is still open.

[DofG]

Hipocrisy, and amnesia is the glue holds together our illusions.

[G100]

It is noteworthy that now – more than six years after Dr. Koechler’s first report – more and more details emerge that confirm the UN observer’s original doubts about the Lockerbie trial

One of the “secret” grounds of referral of the convicted Libyan national’s case back to the appeal court has been revealed to be the fact that crucial information in the possession of the CIA that is related to the timer issue was withheld from the Defense;

Another of the “secret” grounds of appeal has now been revealed to be the offer of a huge payment by the CIA to the Maltese shopkeeper Tony Gauci, a key witness of the prosecution, for identifying the Libyan Al-Megrahi as the one who bought clothes in his shop in Malta;

The Libyan-US double agent Abdul Majid Giaka had similarly been offered a huge amount for his testimony as a prosecution witness;

At least two forensic “experts” who were invited as witnesses by the Prosecution had links to intelligence agencies and were proven to be totally unreliable;

One of the directors of the “Lockerbie Trial Briefing Unit” at the University of Glasgow which was set up at the beginning of the trial with the purpose of providing expert legal information to the interested public, was exposed by the British media as a member of British intelligence and had to step down.

Where is the justice indeed Director Mueller ?

[G100]

Here's another fine example of "justice" for Director Mueller to ponder since he was in charge of the investigation.

Furthermore, Mr. Edwin Bollier, head of the Zurich-based company MEBO, confirmed vis-à-vis Dr. Koechler that during a visit to the headquarters of the American FBI in Washington DC at the beginning of 1991 he was offered an amount of up to USD 4 million plus a new identity (name) in the United States if he would testify in court that the timer fragment that was allegedly found on the crash site around Lockerbie stemmed from a MST-13 timer that his company had delivered to Libya. Mr. Bollier told Dr. Koechler that he did not make use of the offer and did not make the requested statement, and that he reported this incident after his return from the US to the Swiss Federal Police. The name of the FBI officer and another US official present at the meeting in Washington DC were given to Dr. Koechler who is also in the possession of a brief memo written by Mr. Bollier about this affair.

[pterack5]

we should all be outraged. . .Mr Mueller should be long gone. . .

[JiminNC]

That is all in the script

[DrBillo1]

the FBI chief should be changed--he is an inside detractor of the President---

[Georgiemuppet]

I love being Scottish, and for being represented by a government that acts in a humane, compassionate way on the world stage - something that is desperately lacking in international relations today. Did anyone see the article in the Jerusalem Post that stated that it would be "simply inconceivable" that Megrahi would have been released if he was actually guilty of the crime he was incarcerated for? That hit the nail on the head. The guy is actually NOT GUIlty, and this fact will come out in years to come. It really is sad that the attitude of so many people is that he should have been kept in jail regardless of this fact. Don't you get it? They let him go home to his family to die because of this fact. But I suppose if you don't get it, you just don't get. By the way, I really appreciated the Shakespeare a few pages back - there is a lot of wisdom there. And as for the past, of course Britain has skeletons to be ashamed about - but it's only the present and the future we can affect.

[quintus]

I'm an American, and I definitely get it. I agree 100%.

[GunneraGirl]

i'm wondering, in light of what you say, if the 'hero's welcome in tripoli' that is said to have been given him .... do you think that was a MSM twist? or disinformation? bad choice of words?

it was what bothered me.

[Flying Dutchman]

There were 100 people on the airfield on a population of 6,5 million. If you capture them cheering it looks like a hero's welcome, but in fact it are a 100 people cheering, not 6,5 million. For those who want to be outraged 100 people are enough.

[GunneraGirl]

my point in posting about Britain's significant involvement in torture is not to set up a 'we v. them' thing. quite the opposite. while i know that the limitations of this posting format works against subtle and nuanced thought, i do think it is important to at least try to aim towards some precision. all americans are not compassionless. and not all american values are violent. nor are all american eras. and that is what i was responding to. this is not a significantly more violent society than others and it does no one no bit of good to paint us all with one brush, of one color. simply because 'nations' and 'nationality' are too monolithic and unnuanced as concepts- and do not serve to let us attempt to see more clearly what the real landscape is, what the real problem is, and who is really do what to whom.

i find far too often that americans suffer from some sort of cultural inferiority, when they really do not need to, and are therefore all too willing to indulge in extended self-loathing. i'm not willing to accept those projections of what america and americans are, and to hold them against myself - or anyone else i know. or know of.

except sarah palin. she can go eff herself.

[hbhawaii]

Guess this doesn't augur well for John Walker Lindh's chances of getting out early on compassionate grounds, or any other grounds for that metter.

Remember him? He's the "American Taliban" -- the poor schmuck who got railroaded into jail on very scant evidence at the start of the Afghan War.

In the future, we'll look back on those months after 9-11 with a fair amount of shame, and some of it will be about the injustice done to John Walker Lindh.

There was a time I actually thought our smart new President might have the guts to order another look at Lindh's case (as well as those of the low level grunts who were scapegoated for Abu Ghraib).

[revealator]

Doesn't seem to matter to Mueller or the families of the Lockerbie victims whether Megrahi actually had anything whatsoever to do with the bombing, somebody has to do time for it. Guilty? Innocent? Dying of cancer? Who cares?

[praxitas]

its called american justice

[Flying Dutchman]

i thought it was revenge...

[TomMulroney]

The man was tried and convicted, so unless you have some secret exculpatory evidence or are fortunate enough to possess preternatural powers of jurisprudence, his guilt isn't in question. As to dying of cancer, not only do I not care, I couldn't be happier. I only hope his 3 months is actually 3 days.

[hbhawaii]

actually, his guilt is very much in question

[instagladiator]

It's blood-thirty attitudes like yours that makes this world such a miserable place to inhabit.

[northstar11]

of course no innocent people have ever been convicted of a crime---in your world.

[pottedferne]

wonder what Mueller is so afraid of...a dying old man receiving mercy during a holy time or what he might say....

[MelvinDoofus]

yeah, get all touchy-feely about a mass-murdering terrorista, eh?

[MelvinDoofus]

are u saying he was not guilty and whole prosecution was phoney, eh? crawl back in your hole. Justice and Majority rule here.

[Flying Dutchman]

It is revenge and majority.

[Rosanneofpgh]

IF he is guilty, I hope he dies in extreme agony.

[hbhawaii]

Well that's real Christian of you.

[vascopyjama]

See you in church on Sunday.

[instagladiator]

An attitude, such as you're displaying, is what makes this world a miserable place to inhabit.

[northstar11]

does that make you better than him?? i think not.

[mh11060]

The anger about this release while last week Senators McCain, Leiberman, Collins & Graham met with Gadhafi in Lybia seems to be a little off.

TRIPOLI, Libya — A delegation of U.S. senators led by John McCain met with Libya's leader Friday to discuss the possible delivery of non-lethal defense equipment.

[tailgateshirts]

interestin­g.... if any REAL democrats were in that group, the GOP would be having a hemorrhoid over it

[rpswartz]

Did any of them make a courtesy bow?

[rpswartz]

Or smile?

[betty22]

where was our great leader to help prevent this...cam­paigning

[sagebrush5]

HOW DO YOU KNOW WHAT HE WAS DOING TO PREVENT THIS????
Don't you right-wingers EVER get tired of spreading your brown thinking on Obama???????

[JiminNC]

If he was distracted, it was most likely trying to explain to the victims of the afterbirther loons why they have been lied to.