Jesse Trentadue Offers Reward In Brothers' Death

By J.M. Berger
INTELWIRE.com

On August 21, 1995, Kenneth Michael Trentadue was found dead in his cell, at a federal prison in Oklahoma City.

After 13 years of battling the government in search of answers, Trentadue's brother is offering a $250,000 reward for the truth.

Salt Lake City attorney Jesse Trentadue is offering the reward for "new evidence resulting in final felony murder convictions" of those responsible for his brother's death.

Details on the reward can be found at kmtreward.com. The reward was also published in newspapers today and will be advertised in a corrections industry magazine.

Kenneth Trentadue's death was ruled a suicide by hanging by the Bureau of Prisons and the FBI. But Jesse Trentadue believes his brother was murdered because of his resemblance to a bank robbery suspect connected to the Oklahoma City bombing.

That suspect, Richard Lee Guthrie Jr., died in prison less than a year later, also the result of a hanging. Guthrie's death was also ruled a suicide (documents). Jesse Trentadue has sued the government under the Freedom of Information Act seeking more information on the bombing conspiracy (documents).

Kenneth Trentadue was in prison awaiting a hearing on an alleged parole violation. Trentadue had been convicted in 1982 of playing a role in a bank robbery and was released on parole in 1987.

Two days after arriving at the Federal Transfer Center in Oklahoma City for processing on August 18, Trentadue asked to be placed in protective custody telling a prison official he had "stepped into some shit" and may have had a problem with "mistaken identity," according to a Justice Department internal investigation into the death.

Trentadue was moved into a special unit for closer supervision later that day. He was found dead in his cell early the following morning.

Prison officials did not attempt to revive him and subsequently misrepresented various aspects of the case to Trentadue's family. In 1999, a Justice Department internal investigation found that the Bureau of Prisons employees "inappropriately delayed entry into (Trentadue's) cell, did not examine him properly, and did not immediately provide medical attention to him."

The investigation also found that the BOP "inadequately processed the cell for evidence and inappropriately rushed to clean the cell."

According to the report of the investigation, the FBI "did not investigate the case adequately, (...) mishandled evidence, failed to document the case adequately, and made various mistakes in its investigation."

The investigation also found that at least three BOP employees and one FBI employee had made false statements about the case under oath.

Despite all this, however, the investigation concluded Trentadue's death had been a suicide, explaining the trauma to the body as the result of a sequence of events in which Trentadue "attempted to hang himself, fell from the sink during this attempt, attempted to cut his throat with a toothpaste tube, then successfully hanged himself with a bed sheet he put around his neck and attached to the vent grate above the sink."

Jesse Trentadue sued the government for wrongful death and won. The family was awarded about $1 million. The court ruled that the death was a suicide, but said the government mishandled the case so severely that it merited an award for intentionally inflicting emotional distress.

Labels: American-Terrorists, INTELWIRE-Exclusive, OKBOMB, Richard-Lee-Guthrie

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Siddiqui Found Unfit

Al Qaeda suspect Aafia Siddiqui has been declared unfit to stand trial due to mental impairment. See this story from ABC News. Siddiqui's diagnosis was first reported on INTELWIRE in September -- at which time this outcome was also predicted.

Labels: Weblog

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Trentadue Sues CIA, FBI on OKBOMB

Salt Lake City Attorney Jesse Trentadue today sued the CIA for records relating to the Oklahoma City bombing, including any documents related to Andreas Strassmeier, a German national believed by many to have played a role in the terrorist attack. In the same court action, Trentadue also sued the FBI for copies of all surveillance videotapes related to the bombing, including several videos known to exist which have never been released.

Read the full story

Labels: Weblog

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Trentadue OKC Lawsuits Expand To CIA, Add Demand For Videos

By J.M. Berger
INTELWIRE.com

Salt Lake City Attorney Jesse Trentadue today sued the CIA for records relating to the Oklahoma City bombing, including any documents related to Andreas Strassmeier, a German national believed by many to have played a role in the terrorist attack.

In the same court action, Trentadue also sued the FBI for copies of all surveillance videotapes related to the bombing, including several videos known to exist which have never been released.

Both actions demand the release of the cited documents under the Freedom of Information Act.

In addition to the new lawsuit, Trentadue has an ongoing case against the FBI. Last week, the FBI filed an appeal attempting to overturn a court order allowing Trentadue to take a videotaped deposition from convicted OKC conspirator Terry Nichols in order to help resolve outstanding questions about the bombing and the existence of conspirators in the plot who have not been charged.

Trentadue, a Salt Lake City attorney, became involved in researching the Oklahoma City bombing after the death of his brother, Kenneth Trentadue, in federal custody on Aug. 21, 1995. Kenneth Trentadue's death was initially declared a suicide by prison officials, but the family discovered signs of numerous injuries when preparing him for burial. The family was awarded more than $1 million after winning a wrongful death suit against the government.

Jesse Trentadue's lawsuit over the FBI's disclosure stems from a belief that his brother was killed because of his resemblance to Richard Lee Guthrie, a white supremacist and bank robber who has been credibly linked to the Oklahoma City bombing by numerous reports, including those from the Associated Press, J.D. Cash of the McCurtain Gazette and In Bad Company, a 2001 book by criminology professor Mark S. Hamm.

Read the new lawsuit

Read documents previously obtained in Trentadue's lawsuits

Terry Nichols Affidavit Claiming Additional Conspirators

Documents Tighten Net Around Additional OKBOMB Conspirators

INTELWIRE Documents on OKC and Strassmeier, Gammat Islamiyah

Labels: American-Terrorists, INTELWIRE-Exclusive, OKBOMB, Richard-Lee-Guthrie

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Early Warnings on 9/11 -- June 2001

New 9/11 documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act reveal: Less than three months before September 11, Secretary of State Colin Powell warned the Taliban that American intelligence had "high confidence" that "Afghan-based and other operatives are now planning on carrying out attacks against Americans." Powell's warning was conveyed to the Taliban by U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan William B. Milam, who specifically discussed Osama bin Laden with the Taliban's representative Abdul Salam Zaeef.

Full Story

6/27/2001: State Dept. cable, threats to U.S. by Bin Laden

6/29/2001: State Dept. cable, threats to U.S. by Bin Laden

7/5/2001: State Dept. cable, meeting with Saudi Prince Abdullah

Labels: Weblog

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June 2001: U.S. Warned Of Impending Terrorist Attack Coming From Afghanistan

New 9/11 documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act reveal: Less than three months before September 11, Secretary of State Colin Powell warned the Taliban that American intelligence had "high confidence" that "Afghan-based and other operatives are now planning on carrying out attacks against Americans." Powell's warning was conveyed to the Taliban by U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan William B. Milam, who specifically discussed Osama bin Laden with the Taliban's representative Abdul Salam Zaeef.

Full Story

6/27/2001: State Dept. cable, threats to U.S. by Bin Laden

6/29/2001: State Dept. cable, threats to U.S. by Bin Laden

7/5/2001: State Dept. cable, meeting with Saudi Prince Abdullah

Labels: 9-11, Afghanistan, INTELFILES, Osama-Bin-Laden, Taliban

Posted by J.M. Berger | Permalink

 

U.S. Had 'High Confidence' Of UBL Attack In June 2001

Taliban Warned By Powell That Afghanistan Would Be Held Responsible For Harboring Terrorists Who Killed Americans

By J.M. Berger
INTELWIRE.com

Less than three months before September 11, Secretary of State Colin Powell warned the Taliban that American intelligence had "high confidence" that "Afghan-based and other operatives are now planning on carrying out attacks against Americans."

Powell's warning was conveyed to the Taliban by U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan William B. Milam, who specifically discussed Osama bin Laden with the Taliban's representative Abdul Salam Zaeef.

After the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, Zaeef was arrested as an "unlawful combatant" and detained at Guantanamo Bay for three years before being released into house arrest in Afghanistan.

Two cables obtained by INTELWIRE under the Freedom of Information Act detail the warnings, as well as the specific concern about an impending attack against the United States.

A June 27, 2001, demarche from Powell outlined several specific warnings of consequences for the Taliban, which the U.S. would later fulfill. The language of the communication strongly foreshadows the "Bush doctrine" which would emerge after 9/11.

According to the communication, the Taliban were told:

"We believe that Afghan-based and other operatives are now planning on carrying out attacks against Americans. We have a high degree of confidence in the seriousness of this threat.

"You should immediately put an end to these activities."

"We will hold you directly responsible for any actions against American citizens taken by the terrorists you harbor."

"You will also be held responsible by the international community for having harbored these terrorists."

"The U. S. reserves the right to defend itself."

"[The Taliban] will be held directly responsible for any loss of life that occurs from terrorist actions related to terrorists who have trained in Afghanistan or use Afghanistan as a base of planning or operations."

Elsewhere in the communication, the threat is specified to pertain to "Americans abroad," but this does not appear to be specified in the segment communicated to Zaeef.

During the actual meeting, Milam walked through each point slowly, "pausing after each one to ensure that the Taliban notetaker understood," according to a June 29, 2001 cable.

Zaeef denied that the Taliban presented any threat to the U.S.

Although the June 27 demarche did not mention bin Laden by name, it was clear to Zaeef that the message pertained to Al Qaeda. Zaeef told Milam that the Taliban hosted Osama bin Laden for "cultural" reasons and not because they shared his emnity toward the U.S.

Zaeef lobbied for direct U.S. involvement in providing aid to Afghanistan, but Milam told him that was impossible "as long as Afghanistan continues to be a safehaven for terrorists."

"There is no danger to a single American in Afghanistan," Zaeef told Milam.

"We shall hold you to your word," Milam responded, concluding the meeting.

The substance of the communication was also transmitted to the governments of Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates, who were each asked to repeat and emphasize the message to the Taliban.

Interestingly, the Saudi government was not asked to transmit the same message despite a face-to-face meeting between Powell and then-Prince Abdullah just days later.

That meeting focused mainly on Iraq and the Palestinian territories, according to a cable obtained by INTELWIRE, although the document was substantially redacted, leaving open the possibility bin Laden or the Taliban were discussed.

6/27/2001: State Dept. cable, threats to U.S. by Bin Laden

6/29/2001: State Dept. cable, threats to U.S. by Bin Laden

7/5/2001: State Dept. cable, meeting with Saudi Prince Abdullah

Labels: 9-11, INTELWIRE-Exclusive

Posted by J.M. Berger | Permalink

 

An Unfunded Service

The New York Times and ProPublica want a $1 million Knight News Challenge grant to create an online repository for documents related to news stories.

I couldn't restrain myself from pointing out that this site performs a rather similar function without external financing. I go out and get documents myself about 90 percent of the time, funding costs out of my own pocket at about the same percentage. The remaining 10 percent are either donated by sources or funded by freelance employers.

I can't imagine why someone would need $1 million to simply publish source documents, especially since both the NYT and ProPublica already operate their own Web sites, which are eminently suited to the task.

While it's great to see the mainstream media finally coming around to the idea of providing primary source material to readers, I am not the only one out here who has been doing it for free, for years.

A seven-figure grant would, in my opinion, be much better spent providing litigation support to independent journalists working through the Freedom of Information Act than giving free money to for-profit media companies in order to subsidize something they're already able to do.

Labels: Weblog

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