Justices grill man who wants Foster photos (

CNN ^

[RedBloodedAmerican]

Teresa Earnhardt has been fighting attempts by some media organizations to allow public release of autopsy photos taken after the racer's horrific death at the Daytona 500 in February 2001.

More than just that; a Gainesville student paper wanted the pics to sell. But the other day they were ruled against.

[Happy2BMe]

If you know anything about the case, ALL THE EVIDENCE points to a murder and not a suicide.

Care to guess how many close associates of the Clintons either died of mysterious circumstances or were found murdered during the eight years of their administration?

[John Beresford Tipton]

No matter which branch of the government someone is in they want respect, for us to all bow down before their august personages, and certainly not to question them or their motives. Therefore, here where there is a possibility that a government scandal might erupt, their first thoughts are how does this affect them.

They then conclude that this would diminish the public's confidence in the Government [shorthand for them] and they don't want that to happen.

That is why the AG, and the justices are not keen to have any scandal come out. They'll phrase it in terms of the poor suffering widow, but that is just window dressing.

[RedBloodedAmerican]

If you know anything about the case, ALL THE EVIDENCE points to a murder and not a suicide.

See? I always did think Sterling Marlin did it, too.

[Cicero]

The day after Vince Foster's death, bill clinton gathered his White House staff in the Rose Garden to have a little memorial celebration. Among the things he is reported to have said to them were some very curious words to this effect: "I hope this will teach all of you to keep things within the family."

I quote from memory, but I believe clinton's exact words are given in the well-known document by Hugh Sprunt, "A Citizen's Independent Report on the Death of Vincent Foster." I don't happen to have it handy at the moment.

This matter is getting a lot of publicity. It makes me very nervous to hear comments like those from Stephen Breyer and David Souter. OTOH, they are two of the justices who could be expected to defend clinton to the death. Let's hope that a majority will come down on the right side of this case.

As for Lisa Foster wanting to put an end to this case, she already lied to Starr about the color of her husband's gun. The Foster murder will be put to rest a lot quicker if these pictures are released. Nobody thinks she killed him, as far as I know.

[Happy2BMe]

"Nobody thinks she killed him, as far as I know."

Think about it. What would have been one of the worst politically detrimental (even worse than Monica's blowjobs in the oval office) political hits on Bill Clinton's chances for a second term?

Remember, Foster was found dead only months after Clinton took office - early in his term.

[goodnesswins]

I really want to live long enough to see someone get to the bottom of this....I hope it's not another Kennedy Assasination fiasco.

[ladyinred]

"It's been 10 years. It's time to give this family some peace," he said." Since when did giving someone some peace have anything to do with the law? Another touchy feely bunch of liberal tripe. The FOIA is the law, not people's feelings.

[citizenK]

The difference between Foster and Earnhardt is that the cause of death in the Earnhardt case is a known fact - he died in plain view crashing his car in a race. Foster's body was found in a public park and even though the authorities have deemed his death a suicide, some question remains about the source of the gunshot wounds that killed him. Furthermore, there is some question about whether Foster's death was a crime (isn't suicide a crime?) - whereas Earnhardt's death clearly was not related to any crime.

Where do these justices get off talking about the right to privacy?
Which part of the Constitution protects the Foster family from the release of the photos?

I have to agree - the Foster family does not have any rights regarding the release of the photos -- the death apparently took place in a public venue, the public has a right to know the circumstances that lead to Mr. Foster's demise.

That being said, the photos should not be released for commercial exploitation - but if they are released to the public, we all know that someone would post them here and we would all want to look at them. Chalk it up to morbid curiousity combined with genuine distrust of the government.

[ChefKeith]

Hydrant Mark

[arasina]

If the government's only argument against releasing the photos is that their *publication* would be harmful, then at the very least the photos should be released for investigative and court/legal use, with actual publication of them barred (say, replaced with sketched diagrams made from the photos).

Good point. They're essentially withholding evidence.

[zeugma]

It makes me very nervous to hear comments like those from Stephen Breyer and David Souter.

You can take at least some heart that the questions and their adversarial nature during oral arguments are not necessarily indications of how given (in)justices will rule. Oral arguments are useful in that they bring into focus the issues members of the court deem relavant, but the decisions are made behind closed doors, not in the courtroom.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[JudyB1938]

You've been like a bulldog on this. Thank you.

[Ramtek57]

Vince Foster: What the Media Won’t Tell You
NewsMax Editorial
Thursday, Dec. 4, 2003
Major media outlets reported Wednesday on the Supreme Court hearing of California lawyer Allan Favish's case that government photographs of Vincent Foster’s death scene be released for public viewing.
The media report that no fewer than five investigations have found that Foster committed suicide because he was depressed. But despite 10 years of denial by the major media, the Foster case has not “closed” – as the Supreme Court hearing Wednesday demonstrated.

The case won’t close because of the failure of authorities to make full disclosure – and to conduct a full investigation into the case, including a complete autopsy.

Vince Foster was not only deputy White House counsel but also the personal attorney to Bill and Hillary Clinton.

On the night of Foster’s death, top Clinton aides made a frantic effort to enter and remove documents from his West Wing office. In the days that followed, federal investigators were stymied in their investigation of Foster’s office and strange death.

Since Foster’s July 1993 death, the facts of his death have been obfuscated by friends of Bill and Hillary in the major media, but here’s the undeniable truth:


There weren’t “five” investigations into Foster’s death, as the media report. The Park Police, best known for their meter and horse patrols around Washington, were put in charge of the initial death inquiry of the most important federal official to die suspiciously since President Kennedy. The Park Police, contradicting standard procedure, declared the death a suicide before launching their inquiry.

The FBI never officially investigated the case but simply signed off on the Park Police “probe.” The bureau had little choice. The day before Foster’s death, Bill Clinton hurriedly fired the director of the FBI, William Sessions. Sessions later charged that Clinton had “politicized” the bureau.

Later, Robert Fiske, selected by Clinton’s counsel Bernie Nussbaum and Janet Reno, quickly confirmed the Park Police probe as a suicide.

But when Ken Starr entered the investigation, he reopened the case. His chief prosecutor in the case, Miquel Rodriguez, later quit the Starr investigation, claiming that Starr’s staff was engaging in a cover-up of Foster’s death.

Rodriguez, a Harvard-educated federal prosecutor, argued that one of the Polaroid photos taken of Foster at the crime scene indicated an additional wound on Foster’s neck – never noted on the autopsy report. Favish’s suit before the Supreme Court is seeking to release this photo, among others.

No fewer than three of the paramedics on the scene indicated in reports or testimony that the crime scene was consistent with a murder scene, not a suicide.

A careful FBI microscopic investigation of Foster’s shoes found not a trace of soil or grass stains on them, though he supposedly walked several hundred yards through wooded Fort Marcy Park to where his body was found. [Years later, Starr’s investigation found plenty of soil and grass stains. Rodriguez charged that the shoes were tampered with to produce such “evidence.”]

Foster was found with little blood around his body – and despite claims that he fired the gun into his mouth, practically no blood was found on the front of his shirt.

Foster was found with a 1913 revolver no one in his family could claim, with two serial numbers, made from the parts of three or more guns. None of Foster’s fingerprints were found on the gun.

The bullet that supposedly killed Foster was never found, despite intensive searches.

Despite claims to the contrary, no one who knew Foster, including Hillary, Web Hubbell and his own wife, saw signs of depression.

A so-called suicide note was found in an office briefcase that had been searched and found to be empty after Foster’s death. The note was torn into 27 pieces. Yet an FBI examination found no trace of Foster’s fingerprints on the note and a top Oxford handwriting expert found the note to be an “obvious” forgery.

Despite the enormity of the case, Foster’s autopsy lasted an astounding 45 minutes. The coroner in the case had previously been overruled in other cases he declared “suicides” that were later found to be murders.

All of the X-rays taken during the autopsy are missing.

Complete crime scene photos don’t exist. The Park Police said all the photos were “accidentally” overexposed. A series of close-up Polaroids, which Favish is suing for, remain.
This is just a brief summary of the dozens of inconsistencies in the case. Two New York homicide investigators who looked into the case concluded that Foster’s body had been moved to the crime scene and that murder could not be ruled out.

Despite overwhelming evidence of a cover-up, the media won’t question the official ruling.

Ken Starr, who could find no criminal wrongdoing on the part of the Clintons during his “intensive” probe, confirmed a ruling of suicide. Starr even hired O.J. Simpson’s defense expert to prove his case.

If ever there were a case for public disclosure of government records and photos, it’s the Vince Foster case. The high court should decide in Allan Favish’s favor.

[leadpenny]

Weren't there a number of calls made from DC to F'sOB in Arkansas before the death was made public? As I remember, x42 went on Larry King that evening and then said he was not notified of Foster's demise until after the show. I believe the record shows otherwise. The Clintons will probably be happy with the decision of the Supreme Court.

[Happy2BMe]

"If ever there were a case for public disclosure of government records and photos, it’s the Vince Foster case. The high court should decide in Allan Favish’s favor."

Thanks for that super-info post!

This rotting corpse is still walking (and stinking to high heaven).

"Despite claims to the contrary, no one who knew Foster, including Hillary, Web Hubbell and his own wife, saw signs of depression."

[Happy2BMe]

"The Clintons will probably be happy with the decision of the Supreme Court."

Ever notice the similarities between the regime of Saddam Hussein and Bill Clinton?

Both were masters of media information control and public brainwashing.

[aristeides]

You don't have to go to Iraq for a parallel. Just think of LBJ and the Warren Commission. Or FDR, Pearl Harbor, and the Roberts Commission.