HSD official obtained Ph.D. from diploma mill

Washington Technology ^ | 05/30/03 | By Patience Wait and Wilson P. Dizard III

[decimon]

Decimon ran away No I didn't Bravely ran away I never When logic reared its ugly head he bravely turned his tail and fled.

Were you drunk when you wrote that? Did you follow the thread?

I was asked what I was "suggesting." Not a very honest or meaningful question but I did reply with two suggestions that should have sufficed.

Are you sure you followed the thread and understood what was written? The context was within what the Bush administration would do about the matter. The thing has nothing to do with me.

Perhaps what you desire is some endless, acrimonious thread on whether all malfeasant Clintonites, Reaganites etc. should be prosecuted. Or all malfeasant government employees. Or all 100 million malfeasant Americans. What exactly do you want, Braveheart?

[decimon]

What do you think the reaction would be if the general public were to demand a thorough check on any degrees or acceditations claimed by each and every Member of Congress in both the House of Representitives as well as the Senate ? :)

That may come. From the few things I've read on the matter, not many public or private institutions have been checking credentials but are beginning to. I guess it's come to light that too many phonies of all stripes are getting over.

Say, did I mention my Medal of Honor from my time with Special Forces? :-)

[AppyPappy]

Perhaps what you desire is some endless, acrimonious thread on whether all malfeasant Clintonites, Reaganites etc. should be prosecuted. Or all malfeasant government employees. Or all 100 million malfeasant Americans. What exactly do you want, Braveheart?

I think all corrupt politicians should be prosecuted.

[Eroteme]

LOL. Yes, indeed.

Yes, Rep. Maloney, let's do investigate how this happened. Let's start with how Ms. Callahan made it into a top IT slot at the clinton WH in Sept. of 1996 with a sudden transfer from the Pittsburgh office of the Bureau of Land Mines.

At the time of the House hearings, it was clear to me that this obscure techie must have had some singularly qualifying, but unenumerated, credentials to draw WH attention at that time. All hell was breaking loose then--not the least of which was chinagate.

You'll recall that Callahan (nee Crabtree) was brought to the WH to replace whistleblower Sheryl Hall--at the precise time the new mail server was being installed. (Hall was removed when she raised questions about the improper use of the White House Data Base for political purposes). Laura Callahan was instantly put in charge of the new mail server project just as the WH suddenly sends away the guy who was actually in charge while mumbling something about "stress leave."

It was the programming of that new mail server, we later learned, that caused that most extraordinary and fortuitous string of "glitches" that lost all those subpoenaed e-mails.

This all strikes me very much like the frenzied push to "get those people out and our people in" the WH Travel Office.

Anyone installed in such a sensitive position would have been vetted to hell and back. So it's inconceivable the WH missed catching Callahan's falsified degrees. It's much more likely that her capacity for deception is precisely what made her so attractive for the position. Callahan's little secret would make her amenable to whatever was asked of her. (They probably would have preferred an idealogue, an ends-justifies-the-means type, but it was crunch time, so controllable would have to do.)

As an aside, I remember during the 2000 House Reform committee hearings Callahan repeatedly corrected anyone who used her maiden name Crabtree, insisting upon Callahan. At the time it seemed a quirky obsession, but it makes perfect sense now. Her 1993 and 1995 diploma-mill degrees would be in the name of Crabtree. (I also recall that some freepers attended the hearings--Angelwood, Kristinn?--Can anyone verify my vague recollection of Crabtree's husband being a secret service agent?)

That the Hamilton "degrees" were not included on Callahan's CV submitted to the committee further confirms to me that the WH counsel's office was fully aware of the sham. Knowing that her CV would be considered part of the sworn testimony, they would have scrutinized every word. My guess is that Lindsey for sure, and probably Ruff and Mills, knew all along.

I'd be very interested to learn how the WH came to know about Callahan in the first place.

[longshadow]

Let's start with how Ms. Callahan made it into a top IT slot at the clinton WH in Sept. of 1996 with a sudden transfer from the Pittsburgh office of the Bureau of Land Mines.

I assume you mean the "Bureau of Mines" or "Bureau of Land & Mines", presumeably the one on (or formerly on) Forbes Ave in Oalkland, just East of Panther Hollow, and immediately west of the campus of Carnegie-Mellon University (the latter having already absorbed the Naval Reserve Center and the Coal Research Institute, which lay between the campus and the BoM building on Forbes.

Anyone installed in such a sensitive position would have been vetted to hell and back. So it's inconceivable the WH missed catching Callahan's falsified degrees. It's much more likely that her capacity for deception is precisely what made her so attractive for the position. Callahan's little secret would make her amenable to whatever was asked of her. (They probably would have preferred an idealogue, an ends-justifies-the-means type, but it was crunch time, so controllable would have to do.)

That's what I was thinking..... the Clinton WH had a modus operandi of picking "flawed" apparachiks, precisely for this reason: they dared not speak out, for fear of their dark secrets being revealed.

I'd be very interested to learn how the WH came to know about Callahan in the first place.

Here's a very long shot: who else in the Clinton WH came from the 'burgh? Hmmmmmmm? Does Craig Livingstone ring a bell? He was a bouncer for a bar that was, what a coincidence, IN OAKLAND, IIRC, a short walk from the BoM building up the street.

Another long-shot: the guy who became the temporary directory of the Patent Office was from the Pittsburgh area, and got his law degree at Pitt, (I think) which is, surprise, in the OAKLAND section of Pittsburgh.

Thanks for lending your recollections and insights into this; it reminds me of the good old days on FR, when folks here still remembered the the reason this website was created was to root-out, identifiy, and expose government corruption.

I'd be very interested to see what happens if Callahan can be charged with fraud for her bogus degrees (any salary increases derived therefrom were arguably fraudulently obtained, and likely run into thoushads of $, thus a felony.) Perhaps she'd like to "sing" about her former associates in the Clinton WH e-mail scandal, in return for a plea bargain.....

[aristeides]

It would also have been during the Clinton administration that Steven Hatfill's flawed credentials apparently failed to attract notice.

[aristeides]

Can I be the Baron of Ashby de la Zouche?

I think you can be if you get the Baron of Ashby de la Zouche to adopt you, and then he dies. I have no idea how much is the going rate for that kind of adoption.

[Cacique]

Crap, to think I wasted all those years in graduate school when I could have just mailed away for one.

[Eroteme]

Here's a very long shot: who else in the Clinton WH came from the 'burgh? Hmmmmmmm? Does Craig Livingstone ring a bell? He was a bouncer for a bar that was, what a coincidence, IN OAKLAND, IIRC, a short walk from the BoM building up the street.

Oh, I wouldn't say that's such a long shot. Not a bad connect. On the other hand, we don't know how long she was in Pitts. She may have been transferred there after CL's stint. Thomas Edison State College in NJ is no help in ascertaining where she's from either, as the school offers total distance learning degrees.

And LOL, yes, I did mean Bureau of Mines, not Land Mines. Although this well could turn out to be one for Crabtree-Callahan.
Sounds like you're very familiar with the area.

[Eroteme]

It would also have been during the Clinton administration that Steven Hatfill's flawed credentials apparently failed to attract notice.

The operative word, of course, being "apparently." ;-)

[decimon]

I think all corrupt politicians should be prosecuted.

Then you are way ahead of some other transparently obsessed others who have missed that she began her civil service career in 1984 and was appointed to HSD in 2003.

[decimon]

Crap, to think I wasted all those years in graduate school when I could have just mailed away for one.

And if you had just mailed away for one you could today be the head of some agency that monitors tuna fishing in the Potomac or something.

[takenoprisoner]

Homeland security is a hoax just like Callahans' degree.

[BlueNgold]

So? This is relevant how? Does she know her job? Does she do her job well? WTF - this is a complete hit piece.

[decimon]

So? This is relevant how? Does she know her job? Does she do her job well? WTF - this is a complete hit piece.

I don't think it's a hit piece in that she falsified her qualifications for the job. That is apparently "resume fraud."

Whether the qualifications should be performance based or credential based is a good question. But I could not know what has been her actual performance.

In nearly all States you must attend an ABA approved school to represent yourself as a lawyer. And to represent a client in court you must as well have passed an approved Bar Exam. Whether those credentials should be required is also debatable.

[Fred Mertz]

I'd be very interested to learn how the WH came to know about Callahan in the first place.

I would too. Thanks for your insights.

[BlueNgold]

No where do I see an allegation that she falsified her credentials. Whether you approve of or accept the source of her degrees the fact remains that she has them legally. No one would doubt the credentials of Bill Gates to hold a CIO job, yet there are NO earned degrees on his wall. I am NOT trying to equate her knowledge or ability with Mr. Gates, I simply use that example by way of reference. Hers are not 'for display purposes only' degrees .. they may be weak in substance, but they are apparently real all the same. She appears in all other regards well qualified, well published, and well connected. Once again ... can she do the job? Does she do it well?
Do I like the situation? No.
Is it fraud? I see no evidence of fraud.

[longshadow]

Blast from the past, with more details of Laura (Crabtree) Callahan's dirty hands in the Clinton WH e-mail scandal:

Declaration of Sheryl Hall

[Robert A Cook PE]

Subtle!

Good tie-in to the email issue....

Which has NEVER been resolved by ANYBODY.

(Of course, we "must" investigate Bush's claims for WMD immediately, even while the enemy is throwing hand grenades at our trucks and troops.)