Lies, Inc.: Meet the New Magaw...

Mercurial Times ^ | 1/14/02 | Sean Finnegan

[nunya bidness]

While the country was riveted to the Enron mess, few noticed that President Bush in a recess appointment placed John Magaw as his pick for Under Secretary of Transportation Security at the Department of Transportation created in the wake of 9-11. As undersecretary he will set standards for hiring and training airport screeners, supervise employees, and develop plans to deal with threats to transportation. He also is given the power to bypass normal rule-making procedures if he "determines that a regulation or security directive must be issued immediately in order to protect transportation security". In addition the agency, taking shape following the aviation security bill, will oversee airport security screeners and air marshals, as well as security efforts at U.S. rail, bus and seaport operations.

Of course I took a look at the guy and what I found wasn't good. So rather than throw insults and innuendo at the guy I'll just let his record speak on his behalf.

John Magaw started his career as a trooper with the Ohio State Patrol in 1959. He made the jump to the Fed meal ticket in 1967 as a special agent with the U.S. Secret Service. He eventually ended up becoming then- Vice-President Bush's security detail head during the Reagan years. And when Bush Sr. was elected president he was given the nod to head the presidential detail.

Magaw was appointed director of the BATF by Clinton after the Waco massacre in 1993. In a Washington Times article in November of that year he stated that he was determined that other religious "cults" not develop into "armed compounds". He said, "They're out there. They don't yet have the kind of weaponry that we saw in Waco. . .but they will develop if society allows them to." Magaw said BATF is keeping tabs on "cult-like organizations" in "three or four places around the country. . .We're trying to monitor way early in the game."

During the investigation it was discovered that prior to the 51 day siege the BATF had ample time to incarcerate David Koresh, but for reasons unknown chose to confront him at the home in Waco - the result of which were dead agents and a protracted engagement that ended with dead women and children who were roasted to death at the hands of federal agents. Magaw had certainly jumped into the hot seat but he did well in protecting the government party line.

Not that Magaw wasn't used to holding the bag. He was just getting started. During the Ruby Ridge assault and the aftermath, under the lights of Congressional hearings and following statements by BATF agent Herbert Byerly, Magaw, when confronted with allegations that the agency had made mistakes in the murder of Vicky Weaver, defended the false information his agents provided other government officials as attempts "to ensure caution". Magaw was called out on his testimony more than once as "not correct". In 1995 a redneck from Alabama shot video of a traditional gathering known as the "Good Ol' Boys Roundup" which included racist signs and slogans and skits that included simulated sex acts and torture between white and black-faced participants. The problem was the participants were for the most part agents of the BATF, FBI, DEA, Secret Service, U.S. Marshals Service and other federal agencies. The media got a hold of the story and Congress had a hearing and in July of that year Magaw was once again in the hot seat. And eventually the story died.

During his tenure at the BATF John Magaw was in charge of the following activities by his agency:

• The aftermath of Waco and Ruby Ridge.

• The 1994 investigation of David Scott and his neighbors who were grilled about his political views, weapons ownership, habits, etc., all because he had discharged a "spudgun."

• The 1995 crackdown on Colorado FFL dealers and in particular the owner of a small dealership who dealt locally. Apparently the dealership owner had not checked the form when a customer made the mistake of using the current date on the birthdate line. When the BATF questioned him about the mistake they asked him about the error. He offered to have the customer come in to answer but the agents shifted tactics and informed him that he was operating his business in violation of local zoning laws. He was given the choice to give up his license or fight it in court. He gave up his license.

• In 1994 Monique Montgomery was awakened at 4:30 a.m. to the sounds of a no-knock search warrant. She did what anyone else would do and armed herself and for her trouble she was granted four shots. She survived and the facts surrounding the warrant were explained as "drug related".

• In 1993 Janice Hart came home from grocery shopping to find her home being ransacked by Federal agents looking for Janice Harrell. The only problem was they had the wrong house. Ms. Hart was taken to her basement and questioned for hours while her daughter Nina, 12, had her knee injured by an agent who slammed the car door when she tried to get out. Janice eventually proved her innocence but still has nightmares to this day.

• 75 federal agents from the BATF stormed an Atlanta car parts store to recover and investigate some allegedly stolen tires. When questioned about the excessive use of force one of the agents responded, "Better safe than sorry."

In a Congressional inquiry John Magaw claimed, "In the past decade, ATF agents have served over 10,000 search warrants. Not one of them has led to any finding of Constitutional violations by an employee acting outside the scope or his or her authority."

During the aftermath of the April 19, 1995 bombing of the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City, Edye Smith remembers the day like few will. She had dropped her two children off at the daycare on the second floor. And at 9:02 a.m. she was blowing out the candles on her birthday cake at work a few blocks away when the building exploded. She ran to the destruction but as she came close to the building she knew "our babies were gone".

She began to notice that no ATF agents were named on the casualty list from the bombing. And she looked in to it. She asked U.S Attorney Pat Ryan about where the ATF agents were on the 19th. He brushed her off by saying they were playing golf in a tournament in Shawnee. On May 23rd, the same day the building was demolished, she was on CNN and asked, "Where the hell was the ATF, I want to know? All fifteen or seventeen of their employees survived, and they were on the ninth floor. They were the target of the explosion, and where were they? Did they have a warning sign? Did they think it might be a bad day to go in to the office?"

No ATF agents were harmed in the bombing - just two clerical staff.

Lester Martz of the ATF Dallas office said in a press interview, "We were there and we were heroes." He went on to describe how Alex McCauley was trapped in an elevator at the time of the bombing. The problem? Edye checked up and found that Midwestern Elevator was involved in the search effort and they said that when they searched, the elevators were all empty.

Edye was left wondering why the ATF was not harmed in the bombing and why they would lie about heroics that didn't exist, but she wasn't prepared for John Magaw during a live television interview saying, "I was very concerned about that day (April 19) and issued memos to all our field offices. They were put on alert."

Another aftermath of the OKC bombing was the passage of Clinton's Anti-Terrorism bill in April of 1996.

The "Gun Free Zones Act" of 1996 was passed and the ATF was given the authority to enforce it. The act didn't stop the Columbine massacre in April 1999, but the bill did prevent home schooling parents from owning firearms as the home was now a school.

Magaw moved up from ATF to FEMA in 1999. He was appointed as the Senior Advisor to the Director of Terrorism Preparedness. In that role, he planned and coordinated FEMA's domestic terrorism preparedness efforts. He was scrutinized by many as the person to deal with possible unpleasantness in the 2000 rollover. He's also the one who was in charge of domestic terrorism when we were attacked on 9-11. So what does he get for his hard work? A promotion.

He was appointed by President Bush to the newly-created position of Under Secretary of Transportation Security at the Department of Transportation. The appointment lasts longer than the term of the president, and not only will he have daily access to the top U.S. intelligence, he will also be empowered to issue emergency government regulations at will. His responsibilities will include the nation's skies, airports, highways, trains, buses, ports and waterways.

"I cannot think of anybody other than the president of the United States who has this much executive or rule-making ability on their own," said Representative John Mica, a Florida Republican who helped draft the "Aviation and Transportation Security Act" (PL 107-71). The law sets deadlines for improving aviation security: Jan. 18, 2002 for inspecting all checked baggage for explosives, and Feb. 17, 2002 for shifting responsibility for airport security checkpoints from the airlines to the Federal government. The new office has until Nov. 19, 2002, to deploy 28,000 checkpoint screeners it has trained.

Among Magaw's responsibilities are appointing officers who can carry guns, seeking and carrying out arrest and seizure warrants, appointing security managers at each US airport, deploying security officers at airports, setting standards for cockpit security, and assigning armed air marshals to flights.

The law goes on to say, "If the undersecretary determines that a regulation or security directive must be issued immediately in order to protect transportation security, the undersecretary shall issue the regulation or security directive without providing notice or an opportunity for comment and without prior approval of the secretary."

Not bad for a guy who has been left holding the bag most of his career. President Bush, who it's rumored likes to give his gang nicknames, might want to call Magaw "Rainbow." He only shows up after the storm. But in this case I think he might be ahead of the storm. Pay attention.

In his new capacity Magaw will have dominion over all manner of transportation, but specifically the manner in which identification is accepted. Specifically, Congress has delegated Transportation to develop a set of standards of its own. And since the National I.D. didn't go well they came up with driver's license standards for the states. More specifically, the department was told by Congress to develop "model guidelines for encoded data on driver's licenses."

And what did the states have to say about this? The American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators only asked for $70 million in funding to build the system. Jason King, a spokesman for the group, said, "There's no need to create a second national ID card. You already have one. We're just talking about making it better and more secure." Among the improvements are fingerprints and facial photo scans to get a license to drive.

King went on to say that state identification cards ought to come with biometric barcodes that contain various data and should be able to be linked to Federal agencies such as the FBI, IRS, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and others. National ID cards "are of little use unless they're connected with a centralized database," said Bob Levy, senior fellow in constitutional studies at the Washington D.C.-based Cato Institute.

So there you have it. President Bush has put a guy who has dodged more bullets than Reagan and came out smelling like a rose - all the while protecting the reputations of four presidents, and now he's in charge of one of the most mysterious agencies ever created with more power than can be imagined. Who would have thought that when Dubya was elected that he would appoint a Clinton bag man with blood on his hands to a position that will outlast his current term with a pay scale higher than a cabinet position and a 30% bonus if he does a "good job"?

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around
Pick up my guitar and play Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We won't get fooled again

No, no

The Who, "Won't Get Fooled Again"

January 14, 2002

 

A technician for the movie industry, Sean Finnegan is a contributor to Sierra Times and harbors malcontent intentions to spread whatever contains the truth. He currently resides in a row home in the city that breeds otherwise known as Baltimore which is in a state that is always forgotten.

 

Mercurial Times exclusive commentary. Reprints must credit the author and Mercurial Times.

Copyright 2001 - Mercurial Press

[Rowdee]

..."His reward? A promotion."...

Hon....that is the fedgov's modus operandi.....that's how they get these scumbags to 'take care of business'...they know they're never gonna have to pay the price!

[Rowdee]

...Just taking care o business.....fedgov style.

[nunya bidness]

He was in charge of the ATF during the "roundup" and the attendant publicity so I have to assume he knew about it.

The Documentary Lady was all over it when it happened.

I don't know about his GS number but I have to assume if he was director he had to know what F-Troop was doing especially when they messed up.

[nunya bidness]

What makes it disappointing is that Bush didn't have to give him a promotion given his history but he did.

It makes me wonder what happened in the White House all those years.

[redrock]

"In a Congressional inquiry John Magaw claimed, "In the past decade, ATF agents have served over 10,000 search warrants. Not one of them has led to any finding of Constitutional violations by an employee acting outside the scope or his or her authority."
During the aftermath of the April 19, 1995

"The Constitution poses no threat to our form of government..."

Joseph Sobran.

redrock--Constitutional Terrorist

[Askel5]

Excellent.

[nunya bidness]

.

[Uncle Bill]

"I guess he doesn't know this guy's background."

He very much knows his background. I think our question should be: "Why did he appoint him."

Director Magaw Ends Tenure at ATF

FBI Intimidating Witnesses
""The McCauley elevator story was repeated again the following day on CNN by ATF director John Magaw. But the story was refuted by those who were on the scene and were in a position to know the facts. The free-falling elevator yarn was first subjected to media scrutiny by J.D. Cash. Cash interviewed members of the elevator inspection and repair crew who were at the site minutes after the explosion."

Bush Installs Magaw as Head of New Transportation Security Agency

FEMA's John Magaw Nominated as Under Secretary of Transportation Security

Transit security pick is named
"As ATF director, Mr. Magaw had a major role in the investigations into the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, the crash of TWA Flight 800 in 1996, and the bombing at the Summer Olympics in Atlanta the same year."

So, he had a major role in every type of corruption known to man. A "major role." I can see why he qualifies then. Excellent.

Is Janet Reno being considered for the Airport Legal Enforcement Department? Is Fahmy Malak in charge of the Airport Forces Institute of Pathology? Is Lon Horiuchi in charge of head counts or child custody? Perhaps Jerry Parks could have helped out with security, but he's dead. The next thing you know somebody will tell you that the mob controls our airports. It's all so depressing.

"Things have not changed. They are still tromping in a repressive manner... They will do anything to build a case no matter what laws they violate."
Robert Brown - Board Member of the National Rifle Association, editor and publisher of Soldier of Fortune Magazine - April 17, 1998 - Concerning the BATF. source.

---

"MaGaw is the one who as head of the BATF admitted that the BATF was on alert in OKC on April 19, 1995 for a possible bombing but did not warn anyone in the Murrah Building (including in the day care center) except the BATF agents who were told not to come to work on their pagers.

The late Glenn Wilburn was justifiably incensed about McGaw especially since Glenn lost both of his grandchildren in the Murrah Day Care center.

I promised Glenn I would never forget to remind people about McGaw. And I intend to keep my promise to Glenn. Glenn passed away from Pancreatic cancer in early July 1997 after getting a COunty Grand Jury installed to investigate.

Blood is on the hands of McGaw, the ATF, the FBI, the DOJ and certain members of COngress for murder of innocents in the OKC bombing that they should have forewarned and for encouraging McVeigh in a failed sting operation.

IMHO, God has removed the hedge of protection from them and their families. If they do not repent, I believe they can no longer rely on God to protect them from foreign terrorist attacks in the future.
49 posted on 1/7/02 11:39 PM Pacific by OKCSubmariner

---

FAX TO WHITE HOUSE CONTRADICTS HUBBELL'S WACO TESTIMONY; MORE FBI EVIDENCE REVEALED

FBI admits it lied about Waco

U. S. Marshals Have To raid FBI in hunt for Waco clues

Gov. George W. Bush, R-Texas, says it is not his job to get involved in the concerns over Army Night Stalkers using live ammunition in a civilian area of his state

.

"Shooting At Davidians From Helicopters Is Unprecedented in American Law Enforcement"

"I still maintain what I said from the beginning, that the offender there was David Koresh, and I do not think the United States government is responsible for the fact that a bunch of fanatics decided to kill themselves, and I'm sorry that they killed their children,"
Bill Clinton, "Clinton defends Waco strategy," The Washington Times, April 24, 1993, Pg. A5.

Win, win, win

FEMA...The Dark Underbelly - Posted By Jim Robinson

H.R. 4210, A REIGN OF TERROR - Which future will you choose?

[The Bolt]

The only thing that makes any sense with this is somehting along the line of keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

[nunya bidness]

I can finally go to bed. Thanks for showing up Uncle Bill!

[Demidog]

Remember though, Bush can be trusted. So if HE picked this guy in a recess appointment he must be trustworthy. Why, just ask him. I mean there must be a reason he didn't want the Senate to look over his credentials and that's why he appointed him during recess right?

Great work on this piece. "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss..."

[Demidog]

The only thing that makes any sense with this is somehting along the line of keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

He's a friend. Bush likes this guy. Remember that. This is a recess appointment. He put this scumbag in power and bypassed Senate scrutiny. (As if they give a damn anyway).

[Billy_bob_bob]

Good info, well presented. Thanks.

[nunya bidness]

Thanks.

[razorback-bert]

A be back bump.

[horsewhispersc]

BUMP and

BTTT

[nunya bidness]

Thanks.

[sneakypete]

President Bush in a recess appointment placed John Magaw as his pick for Under Secretary of Transportation Security at the Department of Transportation created in the wake of 9-11.

Allright! Even more proof that Bubba Bush is a true conservative that believes in getting gooberment off our backs,and cutting the size of the feral bureaucracy! Hell,he even appointed a true believer in freedom as the boss of this new agency!

P.S. Does anybody know if I'm actually required so say someting like "president Bush is really dreamy!",or is that still a option? I sure wouldn't want anyone to think I wasn't a patriot!

[sneakypete]

I'm shocked that Bush would make this appointment.

WHY???? Uhhh,me too! Shocked,SHOCKED,I TELL YA!

I guess he doesn't know this guy's background. ,/i>

Probably not,but Bubba Bush DID work as a official in Bush-1's campaign,and this guy DID work for Bush-1 at that time. Hey! Wait a minute.......

[Carry_Okie]

Great Job. I got heartburn the moment I heard that Mag-law got nominated to this position and that it was a recess appointment made it worse. Now what?

This is quality work n-b. Thank God somebody posted the curriculum mortis on this creep (not that I feel any better). I hope you got paid for it.