The Dallas Morning News 7/28/99 Lee Hancock "...The head of the Texas Department of Public Safety said Tuesday that evidence held by the Texas Rangers since the 1993 Branch Davidian siege calls into question the federal government's claim that its agents used no incendiary devices on the day that a fire consumed the sect's compound. "There's some evidence that is at least problematic or at least questionable with regard to what happened," said James B. Francis Jr. of Dallas, chairman of the Texas Department of Public Safety. Mr. Francis declined to detail the evidence but said, "With the proper experts analyzing it, it might shed light as to whether an incendiary device was fired into the compound that day." Myron Marlin, a spokesman with the Justice Department in Washington, D.C., dismissed the allegation. "It's more nonsense. We know of no evidence to support an allegation that any incendiary device was fired into the compound on April 19, 1993," Mr. Marlin said....Mr. Francis said Tuesday that some FBI officials made statements to Texas Rangers immediately after the fire "that are contradictory" to the federal government's account of what happened. Mr. Francis told The Dallas Morning News that he only recently became aware of those statements as he began looking into complaints about the lack of public access to evidence in the Davidian investigation. Mr. Francis said he became concerned enough to contact U.S. District Judge Walter Smith of Waco, who has presided over all the cases arising from the deadly standoff. DPS recently filed a motion asking Judge Smith to take control of the evidence in the case. "I took the steps to turn it over to the court so the court could decide what to do," Mr. Francis said. "I think it's very important that whatever the evidence is and whatever it shows, that all of it come out and let the chips fall where they may." .... "I said, 'It is in effect a cover-up. It is not intended to be, but in effect it is," Mr. Francis said. "It is a complete stonewall." Mr. Francis said he doesn't think there was "some grand conspiracy to hide the evidence. I think it evolved into a situation where that was the effect of it." He said the judge asked only "how much space are we going to need," when Mr. Francis proposed turning over the evidence in the case to his federal court in Waco. After the siege, about 40 Texas Rangers were assigned to investigate and gather evidence in the case, and their investigation became the backbone of a 1994 criminal trial in which eight Branch Davidians were convicted of charges ranging from manslaughter to weapons violations..... Evidence used in the federal prosecutions was transferred to DPS headquarters in Austin for safekeeping. Although Texas Rangers had custody of the material, Justice Department officials retained authority over who could see it. They ordered DPS officials to route requests for access to Washington....Mr. Francis and others in the agency said DPS officials became increasingly frustrated as they learned that Justice Department officials routinely sent those requests back to Austin with the explanation that the evidence was in the custody of Texas officials. "It was a perfect Catch-22 to block everybody from seeing the evidence," Mr. Francis said. "There is some evidence there that the world needs to see, in my opinion. The government does not want this evidence out, and yet, that's not right." .... "

AP via Fox News Wire 7/28/99 "...Evidence stored by the Texas Rangers may contradict the U.S. government's claim that no pyrotechnic devices were fired into the Branch Davidian compound the day it burned, The Dallas Morning News reported today. Branch Davidian leader David Koresh and about 80 followers died in the 1993 inferno at the compound 10 miles east of Waco, Texas. Authorities have denied using any incendiary devices during the assault that ended when the compound was consumed by fire. Investigators concluded that sect members set the fire..."

Reuters 7/28/99 Marcus Kabel "...Dallas businessman James Francis Jr, chairman of the three-member Public Safety Commission that oversees the state police, said he wanted wider public access to the evidence collected by Texas Rangers investigating the cause of the blaze. ``Some of the evidence appears to be problematic and at least raise legitimate questions'' about how the fire started, Francis told Reuters in an telephone interview, commenting on reports in Wednesday's Dallas Morning News....."

THE WASHINGTON TIMES 7/29/99 Jerry Seper "...The civilian head of the Texas Rangers yesterday called into question FBI claims that its agents didn't ignite the windswept fire that killed 86 members of the Branch Davidian sect, including 24 children, in 1993. James B. Francis Jr., chairman of the three-member Public Safety Commission that oversees the Texas Rangers, said items found at the site were "problematic or at least questionable" in corroborating FBI claims that its agents did not fire a single shot or use any incendiary devices during the 51-day siege. "With the proper experts analyzing it, it might shed some light as to whether an incendiary device was fired into that compound that day," Mr. Francis said, adding that the evidence included shells, shell casings and other "physical things." He declined to elaborate. Seventeen of the children who perished in the fire were younger than 10 years old....The existence of the evidence was first reported by the Dallas Morning News, which said a researcher for a 1997 film documentary critical of the siege was allowed access to it last spring in preparing for a new documentary on the standoff. The researcher, Michael McNulty, told The Washington Times he found a number of questionable items in the material, including "flash-bang" devices commonly used by law enforcement to stun suspects. He said the devices -- ignited by a small pyrotechnic charge -- can start fires in enclosed spaces and were found in areas of the compound in which the fires ignited...."It's our belief that these pieces of ordnance could and probably did have an impact on the fire on April 19," he said. Justice Department spokesman Myron Marlin called the conclusion "nonsense." He said the department had no evidence "that any incendiary device was fired into the compound on April 19, 1993." ...."

THE WASHINGTON TIMES 7/29/99 Jerry Seper "...The sect members died when a fire fanned by high winds swept through the compound after the FBI had forced the chemical O-chlorobenzalmalononitrile, known as CS, into the facility. The chemical, a white crystalline powder, poured into the compound for six hours before the building erupted into an inferno and burned in minutes. The White House and the FBI later acknowledged that CS had been banned for military use at the Chemical Weapons Convention in Paris in January 1993, because of its danger, but nevertheless called its deployment "appropriate." The Justice Department report said the fire that ravaged the compound was deliberately set by sect members. The CS was blown into the compound through compressed air canisters to force sect members into a smaller area of the sprawling compound..... Attorney General Janet Reno ordered the April 1993 assault because of what she said were reports that the children were being physically and sexually abused. She later acknowledged that the FBI had no evidence of abuse, telling reporters at the time she had misunderstood what FBI officials had told her two days before the raid. The reports of child abuse were central to Clinton administration justifications for the deadly raid, which was said to have been designed to rescue the children...."

Excite 7/29/99 Reuters – "…Attorney General Janet Reno said Thursday she has found no evidence the FBI caused the 1993 fire at the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas, that killed cult leader David Koresh and about 80 followers. …. Dallas businessman James Francis Jr, the chairman of the three-member Public Safety Commission that oversees the state police, has cited three types of evidence among the materials gathered by the Texas Rangers that have raised questions for him about the origin of the fire. "One is shells, shell casings, physical things. The second type of evidence is video and still photographs. The third type are interviews done there on the spot at the time," Francis has said…."

Dallas Morning News 8/4/99 Lee Hancock "…Justice Department officials filed a motion Wednesday agreeing to a state bid to hand over the evidence in the Branch Davidian case to a federal judge, but they asked the court to turn it over to the U.S. Marshal's Service for safekeeping….. "Turning it over to a U.S. District judge is one way to keep the fox from guarding the hen-house," said F.R. "Buck" Files of Tyler. The evidence has been in custody of the Texas Rangers since a 1994 trial that ended with the manslaughter and weapons convictions of eight Branch Davidians. The Rangers were brought into the case to investigate the 1993 standoff and were deputized by Judge Smith as special U.S. Marshals to participate in the ensuing federal prosecution. But the Rangers have been under Justice Department orders to route all requests for access to the evidence to Washington, where officials have then routinely sent them back to Austin. Mr. Francis said last week that "Catch-22" setup created a "complete stonewall" blocking public access to information in the case. ….. Mr. Francis said his effort to get the federal court to take the evidence was prompted in part by concerns that some of it raised questions about the FBI's account of what happened. Mr. Francis refused to elaborate but acknowledged that he recently told the agency not to allow anyone, including the FBI, access to any of the evidence. Other officials confirmed the Texas Rangers have launched an inquiry to determine what the questioned evidence was and how it was used on April 19. Texas officials have said that DPS learned about the questioned evidence from Michael McNulty, an independent researcher preparing a documentary on the standoff. ……Mr. McNulty said he has shown Congressional officials portions of his new film, including a section in which a defense expert alleged that flashes on an FBI infrared video from April 19 were federal gunfire. He said the segment included infrared video footage with near-identical flashes recorded during a 1993 U.S. Army firefight in Somalia -- flashes that the defense expert characterized as gunfire. Government lawyers have dismissed the defense expert's infrared analysis as "junk science" and FBI officials have said the flashes were caused by reflected sunlight. But in his recent ruling on the wrongful death case, Judge Smith cited the defense expert's analysis and another scientist's study dismissing the FBI's explanation as scientifically impossible. Those studies "present at least some evidence to support their (the Branch Davidians') claim" of FBI gunfire into the compound," the judge wrote…."

Washington Times 8/4/99 Paul Craig Roberts "...In July 27, the chairman of the Texas Department of Public Safety, James B. Francis Jr., told the Dallas Morning News that evidence in possession of the Texas Rangers calls into question the federal government's account of the deadly federal assault and subsequent fire that claimed the lives of scores of men, women and children in the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, in 1993. Mr. Francis wants to turn the evidence over to federal district court Judge Walter Smith. The U.S. Department of Justice is trying to block the Texas Rangers from releasing the evidence. Mr. Francis says that the Rangers have "some evidence that the world needs to see, in my opinion. The government does not want this evidence out, and yet, that's not right." Mr. Francis added: "It is a complete stonewall."...The Texas Rangers should not trust Judge Smith with the evidence. Judge Smith presided over the trial of the Waco survivors. He has been strongly denounced by the jury foreman and jury members for misleading the jury in order to sentence the survivors. The jury foreman has repeatedly criticized Judge Smith for sentencing the survivors for offenses for which the jury did not convict. Judge Smith deceived the jury to oblige the Justice Department. By handing down long sentences that the jury did not intend, Judge Smith prevented the verdict from casting doubt on the government's explanation of what happened at Waco and prevented the survivors from being available to the media to tell their stories.....Lawyers and investigators involved in the wrongful death suits tell me that they have powerful evidence that the federal government is guilty of criminal assault, criminal negligence, and reckless endangerment...."

Washington Times 8/4/99 Paul Craig Roberts "...But some important evidence appears to have leaked from government officials sickened by the federal massacre and cover-up. There is a belief within the government itself that if the federal government gets away with its Waco cover-up, the casualty will be the rule of law. Former Attorney General Ramsey Clark is a lawyer for many of the wrongful death suits. He described to me some of the key evidence: the FLIR tape (Forward Looking Infra Red), which shows federal automatic fire into the compound on the day of the fire. Mr. Clark also has Dr. Edward F. Allard's "Thermal Imaging Report" and the "Sun Reflection Geometry Report" prepared by Maurice Cox of the National Reconnaissance Office. These reports make clear that the images on the FLIR tape are images of federal gunfire. Mr. Hardy says he has an FBI report that acknowledges federal gunshots during the fire originating from an FBI position designated as Sierra One. Mr. Hardy also has an Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms memo reporting that three ATF agents went on a friendly shooting excursion with David Koresh nine days before the initial ATF assault on the compound. ...Former Attorney General Ramsey Clark says the evidence of wrongful death is overwhelming --even without the powerful evidence in his possession. "The first civil right," Mr. Clark says, "is to be free from unlawful and excessive force by your own police. That is the difference between a free society and a police state." "At Waco a police force exceeding 700 men with armored vehicles began a systematic aggressive attack in a situation rife with flammable materials and high winds. It is indisputable that this is reckless endangerment." "How could it happen that a flimsy building full of men, women and children could be assaulted by the U.S. government in that way?"This question demands an answer..."

WorldNet Daily 8/5/99 Jon Dougherty "...The mainstream press groupies are ignoring startling new evidence about the federal government's assault on the Branch Davidian community in Waco, Texas, in 1993. In case you haven't heard, the evidence I'm talking about was first chronicled in the Dallas Morning News over a week ago. It seems as though the chairman of the Texas Department of Public Safety -- the Texas Rangers -- has evidence that solidly refutes the federal government's version of events that took place against members of the Branch Davidian religious group. The evidence includes key interdepartmental federal law enforcement memos, thermal imaging reports, and an examination of video evidence by an analyst from the National Reconnaissance Office.... Specifically, the evidence: Establishes a belief among many within the government that if the Feds get away with what they did at Waco, the rule of law will suffer the most. Supports earlier claims made by independent reporters that FLIR (Forward Looking Infrared) imagery examined by noted expert Dr. Edward F. Allard indeed shows federal agents firing automatic weapons at fleeing Davidians. Shows the FBI admitting in a report that federal automatic weapons fire during the final assault on the Davidian community originated from a position designated as "Sierra One." Shows the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms admitting in a memo that three ATF agents went on a friendly shooting trip with Davidian leader David Koresh just nine days before the initial ATF assault. Establishes that explosive canisters of a flammable nature were used repeatedly during the initial phases of the assault. There is also evidence that the initial federal judge in the case, district court Judge Walter Smith, has done everything in his power to accommodate the government's cover-up..... While all of this is going on -- the makings of a gargantuan scandal -- I have to ask where are the mainstream media crews? Where are the CNN cameras documenting every second of this ballooning scandal -- in the same manner they documented every second of the Waco showdown over six years ago? Why aren't Dan Rather and Tom Brokaw parked outside Judge Smith's courtroom, giving viewers a minute-by-minute live analysis of this enormous breaking story? Where's the "60 Minutes" crew or the "Nightline" documentary? Why are the major news web sites more interested in polling Americans about gun control and how they feel about the passing of JFK Jr. than reporting the obvious discrepancies in the federal government's version of events at Waco? It makes me sick to hear these people call themselves reporters. The major media players have been handed this story on a silver platter, but still they ignore it. Back when independent filmmakers and producers dug up all the evidence the Texas Rangers now claim to have, they were discounted as "kooks," "weirdos," "right-wing conspirators," and losers with an ax to grind against Clinton and Reno. That assessment was, of course, erroneous, but now it's beside the point. This time the vaunted Texas Rangers are making the same claims. How much more reputable can you get? ..."

The Dallas Morning News 8/10/99 Lee Hancock "...A federal judge in Waco told the federal government Monday to hand over every piece of evidence relating to the 1993 Branch Davidian standoff. In a sweeping order, U.S. District Judge Walter Smith told federal authorities to surrender to the federal clerk in Waco everything "in any way relevant to the events occurring at Mount Carmel," the Davidian compound besieged by federal authorities from Feb. 28 to April l9, 1993. "It is important for two reasons that the materials be maintained and safeguarded. First and foremost, the parties to civil litigation pending in this court have a right to seek access," Judge Smith wrote. "Second, the events that took place between Feb. 28 and April 19, 1993, and thereafter, have resulted in sometimes intense interest from the national media and members of the public." ..... The officials have said repeatedly in sworn testimony that FBI agents did not fire a single shot during the entire 51-day siege and used nothing capable of starting a fire. Government officials have noted that arson investigators ruled that the fire was set by sect members, and federal actions were exhaustively examined in weeks of congressional hearings, an independent U.S. Treasury Department review and an internal evaluation by the U.S. Justice Department and the FBI. Michael Caddell of Houston, one of the lead lawyers representing the Branch Davidians, praised the judge's order as a first step toward full disclosure of the government's actions. "I do think that for the American people to feel that justice has been done in this case, it's important that they feel there has been complete disclosure," he said. "That has not happened. There's been a complete stonewall by the government. "I don't think that people realize this lawsuit was filed five years ago and the government hasn't filed an answer yet. They have tied this up with procedural gimmickry. ... When you play games and obfuscate, people think you must have something to hide." ...."The Justice Department's going to have a fit," the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said. "This is an unfathomable amount of material." The FBI alone will have to turn over tens of thousands of documents. An agency official recently reported that more than 17,000 pages of documents had been compiled by the FBI's San Antonio office alone, where the chief agent supervised the standoff. A major portion of the evidence will come from the Texas Department of Public Safety. The state agency's lawyers precipitated the judge's action by filing a motion several weeks ago asking him to take control of the evidence it has stored since the Texas Rangers were asked to investigate the standoff. The Texas Rangers were named special deputy U.S. marshals and brought in to investigate within days after the shootout that started the standoff. Four agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms died on Feb. 28 when a gunfight erupted as they tried to serve search and arrest warrants on the Branch Davidian compound....Mr. McNulty researched and helped produce a 1997 film harshly critical of government actions in Waco, and he has worked as a private investigator for the Branch Davidians' lawyers. He is completing a second film on the incident due for September release that will include footage he obtained during his visits to DPS evidence lockers. Among the evidence that Mr. McNulty has spotlighted are two 40 mm projectiles and a 40 mm shell casing found in the compound wreckage. He said explosives experts retained by his film's producer to test chemical residues from the devices recently reported preliminary findings that they were pyrotechnic. The Rangers recently opened an inquiry to determine the nature of the 40 mm munitions and other items that Mr. McNulty found mislabeled in their evidence locker...."

AP 8/10/99 "....More than 12 tons of charred evidence from the ruined Branch Davidian compound must be turned over to the federal court clerk here to allow better access to the material, a judge has ordered. U.S. District Judge Walter S. Smith Jr. said Monday the U.S. Marshals Service would store the evidence gathered by the Texas Rangers. The court clerk would become its official custodian. The Texas Department of Public Safety, of which the Rangers are a unit, had previously asked to be relieved of responsibility for the evidence..... "First and foremost, the parties to civil litigation pending in this court have a right to seek access,'' Smith said. "Second, the events that took place between Feb. 28 and April 19, 1993, and thereafter, have resulted in sometimes intense interest from the national media and members of the public.'' Last month, Smith refused to dismiss a wrongful death lawsuit filed against the government by surviving Branch Davidians and relatives of those who died at the compound. One researcher says the evidence may call into question the U.S. government's claim that it did not use incendiary devices when it moved into the compound....."

AP 8/10/99 C Bryson Hull "…A federal judge has ordered all evidence from the deadly 1993 Branch Davidian standoff turned over to his court, which will allow lawyers for the Davidians who are suing the government to review it. U.S. District Judge Walter Smith's order, released Monday, breaks a stalemate between the U.S. Justice Department and Texas Department of Public Safety. Public Safety officials had sought the ruling. They have maintained some 24,000 pounds of evidence that actually was under the control of the Justice Department, making public access difficult…..DPS Commissioner James B. Francis Jr. said the transfer of the evidence to the district clerk should occur within a few weeks…."

Chuck Harder – Interview 8/16/99 "…Following is a transcript of the 2nd hour of Chuck Harder’s For the People radio program of Monday, 8/16/99……Chuck: Hi everybody, Chuck Harder. As you may be aware, we had an investigator at Waco., and we felt that the government acted irresponsibly. We had never seen tanks, troops, and helicopters used against American Citizens before like that. A helicopter gunship, tanks, ...unbelievable! Janet Reno said she was doing it to protect the children, but the children all died, burnt to death. Now the surviving Branch Davidians are filing lawsuits. We’re going to talk with Joe Phillips who is with the law firm of Attorney Michael Cadell (?) who accuses the government of playing , certainly not fairly. What’s your side of the story, Joe? Welcome……JP: ….And , unfortunately, the only Federal Judge in Waco, Texas is Walter Smith, who presided over the criminal trial of some of the Branch Davidians. He issued rulings essentially concluding on his own that the Branch Davidians started the April 19 fire and shot first at the ATF – key issues in our civil case. We then went thru more than a year trying to get Judge Smith recused. We went thru the 5th Circuit, and we took it to the Supreme Court. WE did not get relief on that. And then, Judge Smith took a little more than a year to finally decide the defendant’s motions to dismiss our case, and he just now decided those. And he left in the case the key issues which are: Did the ATF fire first? And without acquiring proper targets, that is, indiscriminantly? Did the US start the fire on April 19th and trap the Davidians with gunfire? Did it block exits? Did it prevent fire-fighting personnel from reaching the Davidians?. …. Of course our position is, that the ATF, particularly did not acquire proper targets, that they fired from helicopters, that they fired indiscriminantly from the ground, without knowing who or what they were firing at, that at least two of the people they killed were unarmed. One was sitting eating breakfast and died with food in his mouth. On April 19th, that they started the fire using pyrotechnic munitions which they have not admitted to using, but which there is evidence that they used, in the material recovered from Mt. Carmel. That they of course blocked the Davidians in thru the obstruction of stairwells and exits. That’s been argued before. Some recent information thru an analysis of the thermal video which was taken that day, infrared video which was taken that day, is that they were directing gunfire at the Davidians in the rear of Mt. Carmel, and that therefore they were essentially fighting the Davidians if not trapping them with lethal force, so that they could not escape. And those are among the primary issues we’ll be litigating….."

Chuck Harder – Interview 8/16/99 "…Chuck: I think it’s fascinating that there’s a name that comes up in the Waco matter that was in the Ruby Ridge matter, and it’s Lon Horiuchi. Who is this guy? JP: Yes. Lon Horiuchi is the one individual defendant that Judge Smith left in the case. We’d sued several individual defendants including Janet Reno, and Richard Rogers, the head of the HRT, the so-called Hostage Rescue Team of the FBI. And Judge Smith dismissed all those individual defendants, and he left in the United States Government as a defendant, and Lon Horiuchi. Lon Horiuchi is a member of the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team. He’s a sniper. He killed Vicky Weaver, an unarmed woman who was holding her child at the time at the Ruby Ridge standoff involving Randy Weaver and the FBI. The US settled a civil suit brought by Randy Weaver over that incident. The local district attorney of Idaho tried to bring a criminal charge against Horiuchi for homocide, but a federal judge determined he was immune from prosecution.

Dallas Morning News 8/24/99 Lee Hancock "…A former senior FBI official has said that the agency fired two pyrotechnic tear gas grenades on the last day of the 1993 Branch Davidian siege, a day on which federal authorities have long insisted they used nothing capable of starting a fire. The former official, Danny O. Coulson, said in an interview that two devices known as M651 CS tear gas grenades were fired from FBI grenade launchers hours before the compound erupted in flames April 19, 1993. He said that they were used with permission from FBI supervisors but that they played no role in starting the fire…. The statement by Mr. Coulson, founding commander of the FBI's hostage rescue team and a deputy assistant FBI director at the time of the incident near Waco, marks the first time that any government official has publicly contradicted those assertions. On Monday, a spokesman with the U.S. Justice Department again denied that any pyrotechnic devices were used. "We are aware of no evidence to support the notion that any pyrotechnic devices were used by the federal government on April 19," Justice Department spokesman Myron Marlin said. "We've said that all along."…"

Associated Press 8/24/99 Alica Ann Love "…Retreating from its past denials, the FBI is acknowledging that federal agents fired one or more incendiary tear gas canisters during the standoff with Branch Davidians led by David Koresh, a federal law enforcement official said Tuesday. The agency, however, is maintaining its stance that it did not start the fire that consumed the Branch Davidian compound with Koresh and more than 80 followers inside near Waco, Texas, on April 19, 1993. "The bottom line here continues to be that the Davidians set that fire and that law enforcement did not set that fire,'' said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Incendiary devices — believed to be two military tear gas canisters — were fired not at buildings in the Branch Davidian compound, but at a bunker nearby. They bounced off the bunker's concrete roof but did not enter any structures, the official said. The flammable canisters were fired early in the morning, around 6 a.m., the official added. The fire that destroyed the compound started around noon….Justice Department officials, including Attorney General Janet Reno, in the past have forcefully denied allegations that flammable devices were used by the FBI during the final standoff at Waco…. FBI bugs recorded Davidians discussing spreading fuel and planning a fire hours before the compound burned. Arson investigators also found evidence that gasoline, charcoal lighter fluid and camp stove fuel had been poured inside the compound…."

UPI 8/25/99 "…Reports that the FBI fired pyrotechnic tear gas canisters during the operation that ended the 1995 Branch Davidian compound siege in Waco prompted a Congressman to call (Wednesday) for new hearings into the controversial operation. Rep. Bob Barr, R-Ga., sent a letter to the chairman of the House Government Reform Committee and to Attorney General Janet Reno saying the reports raise questions as to whether government officials lied to Congress about what exactly happened at Waco…"

The Crier Report 8/25/99 Michael McNulty Freeper rowdee reports "…Film producer Michael McNulty, who has been the driving force behind the new revelations regarding Waco and the CS gas, was on the Crier Report with Susan Estrich. AS be.Mr. McNulty (not his exact words but awfully close): DELTA FORCE AT REAR OF DAVIDIAN COMPOUND IN FIRE FIGHT WHICH PRECIPITATED THE FIRE.

UPI 8/25/99 "…Reports that the FBI fired pyrotechnic tear gas canisters during the operation that ended the 1995 Branch Davidian compound siege in Waco prompted a Congressman to call (Wednesday) for new hearings into the controversial operation. …"

The Cincinnati Post 8/26/99 Editorial "… But why is it that the FBI is getting around to admitting the truth only this week, six years after the initial raid, 51-day siege and final calamitous attack? Truth, it seems, has never been a priority of those responsible for the government's actions. One investigation ordered by President Clinton concluded that there had been ''deliberately misleading post-raid statements'' about the initial raid in which four federal agents were shot to death. The fact is, there was precious little cause for the federal government to intervene in the first place and surely no cause to bring in tanks for a second assault. Not only does one mistake seem to have been piled on top of another, but the responsible agencies have had a very difficult time being honest about it. While that's not an excuse for the paranoia of some fringe groups, it is a cause for grave concern among ordinary citizens. …"

The Mount Carmel Survivors' Web 8/26/99 Carol Moore "…AUGUST 26, 1999 "WACO" IS TOP STORY ON NBC AND ABC NIGHTLY NEWS!! FBI ADMITS PYROTECHNIC DEVICES USED ON APRIL 19, 1993 JANET RENO PROMISES NEW INVESTIGATION TEXAS RANGER QUESTIONS WHY SPECIAL FORCES AT SITE REPRESENTATIVE BURTON CALLS FOR NEW HEARINGS MIKE MCNULTY COMMENTS ON EVIDENCE….

In addition, the chairman of the Texas Department of Public Safety (Texas Rangers) said that federal authorities also need to investigate and explain why members of the U.S. Army's secret Delta Force anti-terrorist unit were present the day the compound burned. "Everyone involved knows they were there. If there is an issue, it was what was their role at the time," said James B. Francis Jr. of Dallas. "Some of the evidence that I have reviewed and been made aware of is very problematical as to the role of Delta Force at the siege."

In the book I argue it is most likely the fire started accidently when the last tank entrance knocked over a lamp, and that wind quickly spread the fire through the firetrap of a building; there is infrared video evidence that an FBI tank might have shot a flash-bang into the gymnasium after the first fire started. However, this new evidence, and the FBI's new admissions makes me wonder -- and has been a wakeup call to millions of Americans…"

Fox News Online 8/26/99 Renee Schilhab "…Congressional Republicans on Thursday vowed to re-open hearings into the standoff that left cult leader David Koresh and many followers dead…. Rep. Bob Barr, R-Ga., a member of both the House Government Reform and Judiciary committees, said that the new information casts doubt on the statements of administration officials during congressional hearings into the Waco siege and could prompt prosecution of those officials….. GOP presidential candidate and Texas Gov. George W. Bush thanked Texas officials for their handling of the matter. "I want to compliment our Department of Public Safety officials in Texas for helping to lay out the facts," Bush said during a press conference in South Carolina on Thursday. "Our Texas Rangers were charged with investigating the facts. It's important for the facts to be laid bare as they have been in this case. Hopefully the FBI will respond accordingly." James Francis, chairman of Texas' Department of Public Safety, was quoted by The Dallas Morning News saying that federal officials need to explain why members of a secret Army anti-terrorism squad were present at the scene on the day of the fire. Military forces are prohibited from participating in domestic law-enforcement efforts without a presidential waiver. No presidential waiver was obtained in the Waco case….. "

AP Michael Sniffen 8/26/99 "…Attorney General Janet Reno pledged today to ``get to the bottom'' of why it took the FBI six years to admit that its agents may have fired potentially flammable tear gas canisters on the final day of their standoff with the Branch Davidian cult near Waco, Texas….. Meantime, the chairman of the Texas Department of Public Safety told The Dallas Morning News that federal officials need to explain why members of the Army's secret Delta Force anti-terrorism squad were at the scene the day the compound burned. ``Everyone involved knows they were there. If there is an issue, it was what was their role at the time,'' said James B. Francis of Dallas. ``Some of the evidence that I have reviewed and been made aware of is very problematical as to the role of Delta Force at the siege.'' The News cited a Defense Department document obtained under the Freedom of Information Act that confirms that the Special Forces unit was on the scene when the FBI hostage rescue unit used tanks to assault the compound with tear gas on April 19, 1993. The U.S. military is barred from domestic police work…… She said a meeting was to be held later today, at which time officials would discuss whether an outside investigation should be undertaken….."

Committee on Government Reform 8/26/99 "…Chairman Dan Burton today released the following statement regarding the revelation that despite previous denials by the Justice Department, pyrotechnic tear gas was used during the 1993 standoff at the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas: "Government Reform Committee investigators have been briefed by the Texas Rangers about the use of pyrotechnic (incendiary) tear gas rounds during the Waco standoff in 1993. "For six years, the Justice Department has denied the use of such devices. I am deeply concerned by these inconsistencies. "This new information requires a thorough investigation of whether the Justice Department has misled the American people, and the Congress, about what happened at Waco. I intend for the Government Reform Committee to get to the bottom of this matter." …"

CNN 8/26/99 Branch Davidian lawyer Mr. Hardy Freeper scooby321 reports "…He said with Koresh's atty that the goverment in briefing to Judge Smith, that the Goverment Provided False affidavits to the judge for a dismissial of the lawsuit. he said they were going to ask the Judge to impose santions on the Goverment. then they had a expert on flammable tear gas canisters and he said they could have had a delayed timer up to 4 hours and that the bombs would get 2000 degrees and cause huge fires. Koresh atty Dick Deguerin said that the power had been cut off weeks before the fire and there were alot of coleman gas containers were being thrown outside not what the Govt says. He also said the goverment ATF and FBI pushed the Texas rangers back on that day and tried to stop their investagtion of the Fire …"

Capitol Hill Blue 8/26/99 "…Now that the FBI has admitted it lied, the finger pointing will begin. The agency is launching an internal inquiry into why it took six years to admit that agents may have fired potentially flammable tear gas canisters on the final day of the 1993 standoff with the Branch Davidian cult near Waco, Texas….``The FBI may have used a very limited number of military-type CS gas canisters on the morning of April 19 in an attempt to penetrate the roof of an underground bunker 30 to 40 yards away from the main Branch Davidian compound,'' he said. Unlike the civilian tear gas used later, ``the military canisters may have contained a substance that is designed to disperse the gas using a pyrotechnic mixture,'' Collingwood said…… "

Dallas Morning News 8/26/99 Lee Hancock "… A Department of Defense document released under the federal Freedom of Information Act confirmed that members of a classified Army special forces unit were in the area when the FBI's hostage rescue team used tanks to assault the compound with tear gas. The document, written by one of two U.S. Army officers who met with Attorney General Janet Reno to help the FBI convince her to approve their tear gas assault, stated that three Special Forces personnel observed "the assault . . . and were cautioned not to video the operation."….Mr. Francis said Wednesday evening that Ms. Reno and FBI Director Louis Freeh need to expand their new inquiry on the FBI's use of military pyrotechnic tear gas to address "what the Delta Force did on April 19 and whether their role was advisory or operational. "I think the role of military ordnance is a significant issue, and I am very glad that they acknowledged that military ordnance were used," he said. "I hope that they also will ask what the role of Delta Force was, specifically, and with detail and with clarity, and report that to the American people." The Special Forces document, dated May 1993, states that the military personnel sent to the area who were allowed to observe the FBI's actions did not give any technical advice and were fully warned about the legal restrictions prohibiting military personnel from engaging in civilian law….."

Dallas Morning News 8/26/99 Lee Hancock "… [Coulson] He said the deployment of the special operations units in both 1987 prison riots required a formal presidential waiver of the federal posse comitatus act, which prohibits the use of military personnel in domestic incidents. Mr. Coulson, who was deputy assistant FBI director during the siege and helped supervise operations from Washington, was the FBI's tactical commander at the Atlanta prison riot…..Officials said Justice Department lawyers delayed the statement for several days because of concerns about how such an admission might affect a wrongful-death suit filed against the government by surviving Branch Davidians, officials in Washington said. The FBI's statement also came only days after Justice Department officials flatly denied statements made by Mr. Coulson to The News that FBI agents fired two pyrotechnic tear-gas grenades on April 19. 1993, the day that the Branch Davidian compound burned with more than 80 sect members inside…..Committee investigators received a lengthy briefing in Austin on Tuesday from the Texas Rangers, who began an investigation to try to identify the nature of a number of projectiles collected from the compound ruins after the standoff. The Rangers were brought in to investigate when the Branch Davidian incident began in 1993, and they have been custodians of the key physical evidence collected by state and federal investigators after the compound burned. On Wednesday, officials in Texas acknowledged that Mr. Burton's investigators have asked the Rangers to submit a formal report to Congress on their findings….."

Dallas Morning News 8/26/99 Lee Hancock "… Earlier this month, DPS officials became so concerned about what their evidence vaults might hold that they asked federal Judge Walter Smith of Waco to take control of all the evidence in the case to ensure its safekeeping and proper evaluation. Judge Smith then issued an unprecedented order Aug. 8 instructing every agency of the U.S. government to turn over every document, photograph and piece of physical evidence in any way related to the incident. Officials in Texas said the Rangers' investigation then confirmed that a shell casing in DPS custody had come from an M651 CS pyrotechnic grenade and the device had been fired by the FBI on April 19. Officials said the Rangers' inquiry should be completed within the next few weeks…..One Justice Department official acknowledged that the matter had prompted a significant internal dispute. "It's really a big deal. Everybody's worried and upset," the official said on condition of anonymity. "There is a lot of concern about how this might affect the civil lawsuit."…."When Mr. Freeh heard about this, he ordered a top-to-bottom review," a bureau official said in an interview. "We already have three dozen inspectors engaged in this thing. He intends to make a full reporting to congress and to the American public."…"

Judicial Watch 8/26/99 Joe Giganti "…Responding today to the Reno Justice Department's belated admission that it used pyrotechnic devices at Waco, Judicial Watch called today on Texas Governor George W. Bush to institute a state criminal investigation against Janet Reno and others for the wrongful deaths of those who died in the Waco inferno in 1993. In addition, Judicial Watch is filing a FOIA lawsuit today against Reno's Justice Department over its continued refusal to respond to a request for documents concerning Waco. Judicial Watch also demanded today a federal criminal investigation by a special counsel into the evidence that Janet Reno and others lied to Congress about the use of the pyrotechnic devices and other matters related to Waco, such as any role the U.S. Army's Delta Force played in the holocaust. "For years, Jane Reno has escaped serious scrutiny for her decisions that lead to the deaths of over 80 civilians, many of whom were women and children. Now it looks as if she and others in the Clinton Administration lied about material facts about Waco to Congress," stated Judicial Watch Chairman Larry Klayman. "Justice demands that state and federal criminal investigations be commenced immediately." …"

Ft.Worth Star-Telegram* HEADLINES IN TEXAS* 8/26/99 Gabrielle Crist "…Robert Charles, who as chief counsel for a House Government Reform and Oversight subcommittee wrote the final report on the 1995 Davidian hearings, said the new information would have changed how Congress investigated the incident. "It's just a shock to hear from one of the key players that this fact--which was obviously material to what we were investigating--was not volunteered, or was deliberately withheld," Charles told THE WASHINGTON POST. On Capitol Hill, Republicans promised new congressional inquiries. "If federal officials have been lying about these elements of the siege, their testimony on other matters should also be examined," said Rep BOB BARR, R-Ga., who called for hearings by the House Government Reform Committee…."

FBI Statement "…In response to recent inquiries about events in Waco, Texas, the FBI conducted a further search of our files and has come across information that suggests pyrotechnic devices may have been used in the early morning of April 19, 1993, in an attempt to penetrate the roof of an underground bunker away from the main Branch Davidian compound. Unlike civilian CS gas that was used by the FBI in far greater quantities that day, the military CS gas canisters may have contained a substance that is designed to disperse the gas using a pyrotechnic mixture. We continue to believe that law enforcement did not cause the fire. Nonetheless, Attorney General Reno and FBI Director Louis Freeh have ordered a full review of the facts and circustances surrounding the use of the military CS gas canisters on that day. Although some questions about the use of the military CS gas rounds remain unanswered at this time, all available indications are that those rounds were not directed at the main wooden compound, they did not land near the wooden compound, and they were discharged several hours before the fire started…."

NY TIMES 8/26/99 David Stout "…The Federal Bureau of Investigation backed away from six years of unqualified denials to Congress and the public on Wednesday, conceded that it used "pyrotechnic" tear-gas canisters on the final day of the 1993 standoff with the Branch Davidian cult near Waco, Tex., and ordered a full inquiry. The bureau said the devices were "pyrotechnic" only in a limited sense and bounced harmlessly off a concrete structure six hours before the compound's main building, built of wood, erupted in flames. The bodies of 80 people, including 25 children, were found after the fire. The revelation, after repeated staunch denials, that Federal agents used pyrotechnic devices of any sort was deemed so serious that Attorney General Janet Reno and Director Louis J. Freeh of the F.B.I. tonight ordered an exhaustive inquiry into the events of April 19, 1993….. "We continue to believe that law enforcement did not start the fire," Collingwood said. But there were clear signs this evening that the backtracking had raised questions of credibility for the F.B.I. and the Justice Department. "This new information requires a thorough investigation of whether the Justice Department has misled the American people, and the Congress, about what happened at Waco," Representative Dan Burton, an Indiana Republican who heads the Committee on Government Reform, said tonight in a statement. "I intend for the Government Reform Committee to get to the bottom of this matter." …. The Dallas Morning News that pyrotechnic grenades had been used. Texas law enforcement officials backed up Coulson's recollections, saying a continuing investigation by the Texas Rangers had turned up evidence of the use of the M-651's. And a review of internal F.B.I. documents supported the Texas findings, bureau spokesmen said today….The House Government Reform Committee later criticized the Treasury Department and the A.T.F. in particular, concluding that the bureau had shown gross incompetence. It also criticized Ms. Reno and the F.B.I., saying they should have known that a "violent and perhaps suicidal reaction" might be touched off…."

The Dallas Morning News 8/26/99 Lee Hancock "…A congressional committee chairman vowed a "thorough investigation" Wednesday as the FBI began its own inquiry and formally conceded that its agents "may have fired" pyrotechnic devices on the last day of the 1993 Branch Davidian siege. In Texas, the chairman of the Department of Public Safety said that federal authorities also need to investigate and fully explain why members of the U.S. Army's secret Delta Force anti-terrorist unit were present on the day the compound burned…."

Reagan.com 8/26/99 Weldon Clark "… First, there have been lawsuits filed by families of those killed at Waco and by some of the survivors. The suits were transferred to Judge Smith, the same judge who sentenced some of the Davidians to long prison terms, and is generally thought of as a very pro-government, very anti-Davidian judge. The government of course moved to dismiss the cases. To the surprise of many, Judge Smith refused, leaving open such claims as the Davidians' assertion that the government shot at people leaving the burning building. This, Smith stated, had at least some evidence to support it, and if proven would "shock the conscience of the court." Judge Smith must have been startled at the next development. Without warning, the Texas Department of Public Safety appeared in his court. TDPS announced that the Texas Rangers (which are part of TDPS) had two large rooms full of Waco evidence that had never seen the light of day. It explained that members of the public--documentary producer Michael McNulty and attorney David Hardy--had been asking for copies, but that when it offered to make them, federal agencies forbade it. Yet when McNulty and Hardy asked the federal agencies for copies, the same agencies claimed that they couldn't give them because only the Rangers had control over the evidence. TDPS added that it did not want to be responsible for withholding the evidence, hinted that it did not trust the federal agencies to have it, and offered to file the entire mass (estimated at twelve tons of material) in court! Things became more lively when TDPS explained just what was in the evidence. TDPS commissioner Jim Francis said that it contained government fired projectiles, which appeared to be pyrotechnic (that is, fire producing). It appears to this author that may prove that FBI started the fire that killed 74 people, including two dozen children….The evidence was so sensitive, Francis explained, that he had instructed the Rangers to keep FBI out of the evidence locker until it could be secured with the court, and he had ordered the Rangers to commence their own investigation. The revelation of hidden evidence must have shocked Judge Smith, hitherto seen as very pro-government. He issued an order accepting the Ranger's evidence. Then he issued a second order, which is utterly unprecedented. He ordered all federal agencies to turn over to the court all evidence "in any way relevant to the events at Mt. Carmel [the Davidian building]." No one had even thought to ask for such an order; in a civil case, judges just don't order all the evidence turned in, whether it has been subpoenaed or not. An anonymous law enforcement authority was quoted in the Dallas Morning News as predicting that "The Justice Department is going to have a fit!" That's a safe prediction. Attorney Hardy's Freedom of Information Act suit drove ATF to admit that it had three and maybe four video cameras filming what happened at the Davidians' front door, and likely showing exactly what had happened when the first shots were fired--but ATF claimed all copies had vanished. So had an infrared tape of the building, which would conclusively show if and when the Davidians fired. We may now know exactly where those tapes are sitting, and exactly why they've had to be hidden for six years…."

Reagan.com 8/26/99 Weldon Clark "… Now for the things we can't talk about--or, at least, things were we can only reveal part of the story. Michael McNulty, producer of the documentary "Waco: The Rules of Engagement," is producing a second documentary. If the first one was stunning--it won an Academy Award nomination--the second one makes it look mild. With solid evidence, most of it from the government's own files, he shows that the FBI may be guilty of lying, perjury, and homicide. He found the 40 mm Pyrotechnic shells, and tied them to the fire. Retired FBI and government sources agreed to talk. The picture that emerges is even grimmer than we might have thought. Some Davidians had claimed that FBI fired into the building and shot at people who tried to escape. McNulty has uncovered STRONG proof that the statements are true. FBI infrared tapes, far better than those shown in his first documentary, show not only the FBI gunshots but also the FBI shooters. A law enforcement videotape shows the muzzle flashes. Internal FBI reports confirm that gunfire was heard from one of their sniper positions. This is only a tiny part of the new evidence McNulty has uncovered, but it should give you a guess as to what the rest is like. Here are just some of the indictments, each carefully documented, that McNulty's new documentary will level. Yes, there is a reason why 74 people burned rather than escape the burning building. Those who came out the back way--away from the media cameras--had been shot as they tried to get out. Yes, the "brave federal agents" got trigger- happy. Yes, a federal agency levied war against American civilians--including two dozen children. McNulty showed his documentary to Congressional staffs recently, and the effect was immediate. Congressmen and Staffers were seen leaving in tears, others in angry determination. Now there is talk of new congressional hearings- done the right way, for once. …."

Washington Post 8/26/99 Allan Favish notes Buried near the bottom of the Washington Post story…, is the following: "…"Another never-before-seen piece of evidence on the siege is a videotape shot by the Texas Department of Public Safety that some experts say appears to show machine gun fire directed at the compound's occupants from an FBI helicopter the morning of April 19. Federal officials have said that no federal agents ever fired on the Davidians. The video was obtained by a Colorado filmmaker, Michael McNulty, who helped produce the documentary "Waco: The Rules of Engagement." "Earlier this month, McNulty showed portions of his upcoming film, "Waco: A New Revelation," to some members of Congress. After seeing the new footage, Rep. Robert L. Barr Jr. (R-Ga.) called on Burton to reopen the Waco hearings." …"

Drudge 8/26/99 "…As the six and a half year old Waco controversy heats up again, the ATLANTA JOURNAL CONSTITUTION is reporting in Friday editions that U.S. military assistance at the April 1993 Waco siege was jusified, according to a General Accounting Office report released Thursday. The GAO, which acts as Congress' investigative arm, declares that the military's million dollar involvement -- which included the use of Army, Air Force, Texas and Alabama National personnel and equipment -- was lawful due to early reports from local law enforcement that the Davidians were running a methamphetamine laboratory from their Mt. Carmel compound. The JOURNAL CONSTITUTION's Julia Malone quotes GAO's Carol Schuster, who was in charge of the report: "The drug connection legitimizes providing military assistance without reimbursement." …..The report concludes that $982,400 of military dollars were spent on helicopters, tanks, a grenade launcher, as well as "Army Special Operations observers". No evidence of drug manufacturing was ever found at the Davidian compound…."

UPI 8/26/99 "…The woman who headed the federal jury that convicted eight Branch Davidian members in connection with the 1993 siege near Waco, Texas, says they should get new trials because of new FBI admissions. Sarah Bain headed a federal court jury that convicted the Davidians on charges related to the Feb. 28, 1993 shootout with Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents that began the 51-day siege. Four ATF agents died when they attempted to serve a warrant on Davidian leader David Koresh. In an interview with WOAI radio in San Antonio today, Bain said the admission by the FBI that agents fired flammable tear gas grenades near the compound hours before the fire that ended the siege is grounds to ask for new trials. Koresh and 80 of his followers died during the fire. Bain said: "The question never was settled in our minds during the trial as to exactly who started that fire. Most of us had some doubts that the Branch Davidians were responsible for mass suicide." …..Bain said: "All the evidence that was gathered that caused them to be put in prison was gathered after the fire. Since it now appears that some of the evidence may have been misidentified and mislabeled, and possibly the origin of that fire is now in question, it seems that they might rightly ask for a new trial." …."

Time Magazine 8/26/99 Freeper fideist remembers "…Who remembers this fact about Waco? In their coverage of the incident TIME Magazine published a full-color photo -- After the final raid, and the Branch Davidian compound lay in ashes; and while the bodies of approximately forty adults and twenty children laid there still smoldering. Government agents went to the compound’s flagpole and lowered the Davidian flag, and then raised the flag of the BATF, in the customary sign of "victory." The BATF and FBI considered the final raid, and the death of all those citizens, a "victory." …"

AP 8/26/99 Michael Sniffen "…Attorney General Janet Reno pledged today to "get to the bottom'' of why it took the FBI six years to admit that its agents may have fired potentially flammable tear gas canisters on the final day of their standoff with the Branch Davidian cult near Waco, Texas. A senior Pentagon official, meanwhile, said the military's advice was sought on how to end the standoff and that three military observers were on the scene on the day of the raid. But the military had "no operational involvement,'' said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Reno told reporters: "I have no reason at this point to believe the FBI is responsible for the deaths of those people.'' But she told her weekly news conference she was "very, very frustrated'' that six years after categorical denials by the FBI there were news reports about the possible use of flammable devices. "It is absolutely critical that we do everything humanly possible to learn all the facts as accurately as possible and make them available to the Congress and public,'' said Reno, who, along with FBI Director Louis Freeh, has ordered a fresh investigation of what transpired on April 19, 1993, at the Branch Davidian compound. Earlier, Reno and Freeh ordered 40 FBI agents led by an FBI inspector to re-interview everyone who was at the Waco scene. FBI spokesman John Collingwood said Wednesday night that the agents are to report "within weeks'' on all aspects of the use of military-type tear gas and why it took so long to be admitted publicly. Reno said she had gone over in her mind many times the events of that fiery day and had many times asked herself how the government might have handled it differently…."

The Dallas Morning News 8/27/99 Lee Hancock "…A former CIA officer said Thursday that he learned from Delta Force commandos that members of the secret Army unit were "present, up front and close" in helping the FBI in the final tear-gas assault on the Branch Davidian compound. The former officer, Gene Cullen, told The Dallas Morning News that he heard the detailed accounts of the military's active involvement from "three or four" anti-terrorist Delta commandos as he worked with them on an overseas assignment in 1993. "Whether it's the macho-bravo-type talk of guys in the field, I don't know," he said, declining to identify the individuals involved. "I have no reason to suspect that they lied. And it didn't just come from one of them. There were three or four guys that confirmed that, who were from Delta."…"

NY Times 8/27/99 "…. Henry S. Ruth Jr., the former Watergate prosecutor who was another outside expert involved in the Treasury review, said the latest damage to the Justice Department's credibility was not surprising in view of how it handled the Waco affair. "People at the time thought the Justice Department evaluation was a whitewash in the sense that it didn't tell the full facts about what was known," Ruth said. "It clearly was written to vindicate the Attorney General, for some reason, who speaks well for herself." "I don't think this particular new information by itself bears on the circumstances of the fire," he said. "But what it clearly shows is that the internal investigators didn't use the proper types of investigatory techniques necessary to explore the facts. That is completely unsurprising because the F.B.I. over time has never had the institutional ability to investigate itself."…. "Are 40 F.B.I. agents doing interviews really going to restore the Attorney General's credibility?" Ruth said. "If they don't reopen the whole thing now and actually use outside investigators, this will be like the Kennedy assassination for the next 50 years. I live in the West and the Midwest and this issue is keeping the militia groups alive." Jeffrey Jamar, the F.B.I. special agent in charge at the siege, said on Thursday, "The important thing that people have to understand is that we weren't trying to hide anything." He said he did not remember being asked about the incendiary devices and he thought probably no one considered them important because they were fired hours before the fire. There was only one dissent from the 1993 Justice review, by Dr. Alan Stone, a professor at Harvard law and medical schools who was one of the experts retained by the Justice Department. He concluded that the F.B.I. had helped drive cult members to mass suicide and then misled officials in the review that followed….. But the Justice review was seen by many as a whitewash. Although President Clinton had promised a "thorough and independent examination of the affair," the main author of the Justice Department, Edward S. G. Dennis Jr., found no criticism of any Justice Department or F.B.I. officials was appropriate. "I find there is no place in the evaluation for blame and no place for fault," he said at the time. He said "mistakes were made" but did not identify who may have made them. The report concluded that the Davidians had set the fire, based on three things: an arson report analyzing the locations where the blaze began; infrared pictures taken from an airplane when the fire started that showed intense spots of heat erupting in different spots in the compound at almost the same time, and the testimony of some of the Davidians who survived. Dennis said in an interview on Thursday that the report "was not intended to be a comprehensive, all-encompassing report." Dennis said his report "did not attempt to answer every question that could be raised about" Waco, but instead focused on the questions of how the F.B.I. negotiated with the Davidians, how the fire was caused, and how the Attorney General made her decisions. He concluded that Ms. Reno was adequately briefed by the F.B.I. about the issues she faced in ordering the tear-gas assault…."

Dallas Morning News 8/27/99 Lee Hancock "… The former [CIA] officer, Gene Cullen, told The Dallas Morning News that he heard the detailed accounts of the military's active involvement from "three or four" anti-terrorist Delta commandos as he worked with them on an overseas assignment in 1993. "Whether it's the macho-bravo-type talk of guys in the field, I don't know," he said, declining to identify the individuals involved. "I have no reason to suspect that they lied. And it didn't just come from one of them. There were three or four guys that confirmed that, who were from Delta." The chairman of the Texas Department of Public Safety on Thursday told The News that evidence in the hands of Texas law enforcement personnel may support the account given to Mr. Cullen. "I'm advised there is some evidence that may corroborate" the allegation that Delta Force participated in the assault, said James B. Francis Jr., the DPS official. A Pentagon spokesman who spoke on condition of anonymity denied Thursday that any U.S. military units were involved in the assault, "as far as I know." Use of active military personnel against civilians without a specific presidential decree is a violation of federal law…."

Dallas Morning News 8/27/99 Lee Hancock "… A once-classified memo written to the Army Special Forces command, which includes Delta Force, indicated that three of its personnel watched the final tragedy unfold. The May 1993 memo stated that the observers did not participate and were warned not to videotape anything that happened. Mr. Francis said evidence in the hands of Texas law enforcement suggests that more than three Delta Force personnel were at the compound on April 19 and involved in the assault. "I have been advised that there are some police officers who have developed some evidence that needs looking into with regard to what the role of Delta Force was at the Branch Davidian compound," he said, declining to elaborate. "I think it's a subject that the FBI director and the attorney general need to look into," Mr. Francis said. "The $64 question is whether they were advisory or operational, and I think some of the evidence is problematical" ….Mr. Cullen, who said he worked as a CIA case officer from the 1980s to 1995, said Special Forces experts watched events near Waco with interest immediately after four agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms died trying to serve search warrants on the Branch Davidian compound. At the time, he said, he was a supervisor in the CIA's special operations group and had frequent contact with members of Delta Force, the U.S. Navy Seals and civilian tactical experts such as the FBI's hostage rescue team. ….While he was deployed overseas on an assignment, Mr. Cullen said, Delta operators told him that the unit "had 10 operators down there, that they were involved in the advanced forward stages of [the FBI's April 19] operations." "When they explained to me the depth to which they were involved down in Waco, I was quite surprised. They said basically they were out there in the vehicles, the Bradley [fighting vehicles], the CEV [tanks]," he said. "They were active." Documents released under the Federal Freedom of Information Act to a Tuscon, Ariz., lawyer indicate that the military's Special Forces Operations Command at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida was heavily involved in helping the FBI in Waco. Military personnel provided technical and equipment support, the defense records indicate. The command oversees Delta Force, U.S. Navy Seals, and other units…."

New York Times 8/27/99 Editorial "…These inquiries must be thorough and speedy. Some Americans are still eager to believe that the F.B.I. deliberately murdered the cultists. Unanswered questions can only reinforce these beliefs. From the beginning, officials have insisted that the F.B.I. used conventional, non-combustible tear gas to try to end the siege of the cult's compound. Ten days after the incident, Ms. Reno told the House Judiciary Committee that "I wanted and received assurances that the gas and its means of use were not pyrotechnic." As recently as July 29, when asked about a continuing investigation into the fire by the Texas Rangers, she reasserted her belief that no incendiary devices had been used. ….The F.B.I.'s about-face was apparently prompted by documents produced in various civil lawsuits and by an interview earlier this week in The Dallas Morning News with Danny Coulson, a former F.B.I. agent in Texas. Mr. Coulson said that two pyrotechnic grenades had been used. Texas law enforcement officials backed up his recollections, asserting that the Texas Rangers' investigation had also found evidence that incendiary devices had been deployed. After a fast review of its own internal documents, the F.B.I. recanted six years' worth of denials -- insisting, however, that the canisters had been fired not at the wooden building where the cult members were gathered, but at a nearby concrete bunker, where they caused no damage. But even if that is true, questions remain. If Ms. Reno knew that such devices had been used, why did she not tell Congress? If she did not know, why did the F.B.I. withhold the evidence from her? The fact that the devices may have played no role in the fire is beside the point. The point is that the F.B.I. and the Justice Department now look at best sloppy and at worst untruthful. That in turn gladdens the hearts of conspiracy theorists everywhere. …"

New York Post 8/27/99 Brian Blomquist "…Reno was criticized shortly after the Waco disaster for claiming one reason she OK'd the government siege was because children in the compound were being abused. A subsequent Justice Department review found zero evidence of child abuse….. "No one is going to be satisfied with an internal Justice Department investigation," said House Government Reform Committee Chairman Dan Burton (R-Ind.). "They have no credibility at this point." ….The government is sticking to its denial about reports that an elite Army anti-terrorism squad, the Delta Force, might have had a role in the siege. "We did participate in the training of some ATF [Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms] agents at Fort Bragg, and a small number of observers were present at Waco. However, no military members were in any way involved in the take-down of the Branch Davidian complex," said George Grimes, spokesman for the U.S. Special Operations Command in Tampa, Fla. Grimes said "three or four" members of a military special-forces team were on hand for the siege. Asked if they were armed, he said, "I doubt it." …."

The Washinton Times 8/27/99 Rowan Scarborough "…The three Delta Force commandoes at the Branch Davidian compound in April 1993 were part of an elite unit the military secretly founded in 1977 to combat world terrorism. While their use as on-scene observers was legal, a military expert is faulting the Clinton administration for putting the soldiers in a domestic law enforcement setting where innocent people died in a horrible blaze. Said Al Santoli, a House national security aide, "Delta Force is our most sophisticated task force against terrorists and to think that Delta would be used is an abuse of their power and an abuse of their mandate. What happened in Waco was strictly a law enforcement matter."….A Pentagon spokesman said Thursday the three special forces soldiers were at Waco strictly as observers in hopes of learning something new on hostage rescue…..The issue of Delta Force aiding the FBI at Waco is not new. Attorney General Janet Reno testified before congressional committees that she sought the unit's advice before approving the April 1993 assault. A joint congressional committee investigated the commandoes' role in both open and closed hearings. But their presence does take on new importance this week with the FBI's admission that it did, despite previous denials, use incendiary devices on the same day the compound erupted in flames. A 1878 law called Posse Comitatus forbids the military from enforcing civilian laws…."

THE WASHINGTON TIMES 8/27/99 Jerry Seper "…"They could not offer an opinion. They could not critique. They could not participate. They were there strictly to observe," said the official. "The special-operations community has spent a terrific amount of time up to the present building up a hostage-rescue capability. . . . So we send observers anywhere we can." The official said the military's presence did not violate the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act that prohibits military involvement in domestic law enforcement. "Our general counsel has told me in no uncertain terms there was no problem with Posse Comitatus in any way. There is nothing more legally examined than Department of Defense's involvement in this sort of thing," the official said. But James B. Francis Jr., chairman of the Texas Department of Public Safety, which oversees the Texas Rangers, told the Dallas Morning News he believes the use of Delta Force members at the Waco site needs a better explanation. "Everyone involved knows they were there. If there is an issue, it was what was their role at the time," said Mr. Francis, who first publicly questioned whether the FBI had used incendiary devises at the site. "Some of the evidence that I have reviewed and been made aware of is very problematical as to the role of Delta Force at the siege." ….In July 1995, a House committee held a secret hearing with two former Delta Force commanders about the unit's participation in the Waco siege. The commanders said they met with Miss Reno in April 1993 on the FBI's plan to use tear gas to force Davidian leader David Koresh and his followers from the fortified compound. That meeting, four days before the fire, centered on information from Delta Force on how the military would accomplish a similar mission, but the commanders were not asked to comment directly on the FBI plan…. Rep. Henry J. Hyde, Illinois Republican and chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, has ordered his staff to retrieve the Waco file and review testimony on the use of tear gas. Sen. Orrin G. Hatch, Utah Republican and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said it appeared the public and the Congress had been "misled by the Department of Justice." He said an inquiry was in order to determine if FBI misstatements were part of a "cover-up or a negligent oversight." …."

Original Sources (www.originalsources.com) 8/27/99 Mary Mostert "…Washington Post Staff Writer Edward Walsh describes "A visibly angry Attorney General Janet Reno…'Prior to April 19th, 1993, I received assurances that the gas and its means of use were not pyrotechnic,' Reno said. 'Since then, I have consistently been told that no pyrotechnic devices were used. I will continue to pursue this matter to get to the truth. That is why Director Freeh and I have ordered a full review of all the facts concerning this matter. I intend the results of the review to be made public and I will not stop till I get to the bottom of this.'" And we are supposed to BELIEVE this nonsense? This is an act. The fact of the matter, there never WAS a real investigation. Exactly four years ago, in my capacity as editor of the Reagan Monitor, I put together an entire newsletter which was titled: "The Waco Cover-up - Monkeys in the Works of Justice." The September 1995 issue lead article was entitled "WHY? - There are still too many unanswered questions." In the interest of helping Congress and the Justice Department save time they might like to pursue the following questions which were never addressed in 100 hours of sworn testimony at Congressional Hearings on the ATF raid on the Branch Davidian church and home (not "compound") in Waco, Texas.:…

1. Why, at a time when there is such lax enforcement of the law, were a group of religious people invaded, without prior warning, by a quasi-military arm of the government?

2. Wy did the American media and Congress so calmly accept the invasion by the government and the demonization of Koresh?

3. Why did no one question the propriety of the government labeling a group of religious people a "cult?"

4. Even so, why would belonging to a "cult" minimize your constitutional rights?

5. Why didn't the ATF treat the Branch Davidians like ordinary citizens, as did the local sheriff and Texas social workers?

6. How could key evidence, such as the metal front door Koresh opened, which was riddled with bullet holes from shots fired by the ATF into buildings on February 28, 1993, disappear?

7. Why did the ATF investigation, which had been prompted by disgruntled ex-Davidians begin and end in the summer of 1992?

8. Why was the investigation suddenly revived and vigorously pursued beginning after the November 1992 election?

9. Why did Littl Rock ATF chief, and friend of Bill Clinton, Bill Buford, place two calls to a former Davidian, Poia Vaega in New Zealand on New Year's Day, 1993 and January 3, 1993, to seek out a story concerning alleged sexual abuse of Vaega's sister?

10. Why did Bill Buford begin to assist in the investigation and why did he become a chief planner of the raid from his Little Rock office and later a participant in the raid with his Little Rock agents? And, why did they go first to New Orleans so that the media did not know they were actually from Little Rock?

11. Why did another Clinton Crony, Roger Altman, then Deputy Secretary of Treasury, (which administer ATF), fly out from Washington to visit Buford after he was injured in the February 28, 1993 raid?

12. Why hasn't anyone investigated the link between Buford and President Clinton?

13. Why were Democrats on the Committee, especially Rep. Charles Schumer (now SENATOR Charles Schumer) so obviously intent upon trying to evade the issue at hand - i.e., why nearly 100 American citizens had their home invaded and then ripped apart by army tanks, children and pregnant mothers gassed and shot at and finally incinerated as a direct result of government action?

14. Why did the Democrats on the Committee insist upon bringing in extraneous issues such as the possible interest of the National Rifle Association, and the lurid written statement read by a 14 year old girl about alleged sexual abuse four years earlier, that had not been substantiated or believed by her own mother or grandmother. Further more, as she read the statement, which seemed written not from the view of a young girl who was raped, but from the view of a man doing the raping, why did she stumble over words SHE supposedly wrote?

15. Why has there been no outcry at suggestions by members of the Congressional committee that they circumvent the First Amendment to the Constitution and find "some way" to "legislate cults" to prevent "gullible citizens" from joining them?

16. Why did the FBI use psychological warfare techniques on a building occupied by little children? 17. Why doesn't the press fully expose the misinformation and lies that agents of the government told the American people?

18. Why did the ATF use so much money and so many men to invade the isolated religious group where no citizen had filed a formal complaint against them, when there are so many uninvestigated complaints against heavily armed gangs and drug dealers who terrorize law abiding citizens in numerous high crime areas, such as South Los Angeles?

19. Why, if the tactics used against the Davidians are justified, didn't the ATF use them against crack houses in the cities of America?

20. Why has no one in government been held accountable for the decisions they made which led to the death of at least 76 Americans, most of whom were women and children.

21. Why is it taking so long to get the truth about the largest law enforcement disaster in the history of the United States out to the public? It is now more than six years since it took place.

22. Why was the ATF raid named "Operation Showtime?"

….Not surprisingly, nobody in the Justice Department was disciplined over Waco. Nobody resigned as a result of dozens of people dying at Waco. People where allowed to retire, or left the service with full benefits or fired and re-hired. However, as Jack Zimmerman, an attorney who went into the Davidian chapel and home during the seige to urge them to come out, said in 1993: "Nobody in the Justice Department has been disciplined over Waco. They have been disciplined over Ruby Ridge but not over Waco, and they are the same people! There were more tanks in Waco than there were in Somalia! And we had a Secretary of Defense resign over that alleged shortcoming because he had turned down a request for armor by American commanders in the field! He resigned because it was his mistake and men died…..

Washington Times 8/27/99 "…After conducting an investigation of their own, members of the famed Texas Rangers found that as a matter of fact the FBI did happen to fire two military-style pyrotechnic grenades during the April 19 attack, which ended in a terrible conflagration and the deaths of the 86 people inside, 24 of them children. James Francis, chairman of the Texas Department of Public Safety, told the Dallas Morning News that the Rangers have accumulated "overwhelming evidence" for their findings, some of it photographic, some of it physical, but all of it problematic for the government officials who led or approved the attack. A former FBI official who helped oversee the agency at Waco, Danny Coulson, has himself conceded that agents used the devices. One wonders who gave permission to agents to fire the devices, and why did no one acknowledge using them at the time? The news has forced Justice Department officials into Clintonian back flips. Agency spokesman Myron Marlin, who had dismissed such allegations as "nonsense" when an independent film maker raised them, abruptly had to announce that Justice was trying to get to the bottom of them. Miss Reno said Thursday she was "very, very frustrated" about the new findings. ….But neither the FBI nor the Justice Department has much credibility in the bank now. Miss Reno has ordered 40 FBI agents to reinvestigate the issue, and a report is due "within weeks." One wonders how they can be trusted to find out in weeks what they could not find out in six years. Sounds more like a job for the Texas Rangers. Or independent film makers. Whoever does the investigating, there is still more to the job. Mr. Francis says that members of the Army's secret Delta Force anti-terrorism squad were at Waco. The Pentagon has previously acknowledged military officials were present at the time, although it won't identify them. It also denies they were involved in any of the operations. Says Mr. Francis, "Some of the evidence that I have reviewed and been made aware of is very problematical as to the role of Delta Force at the siege." The military isn't supposed to be playing sheriff or otherwise carrying out domestic law-enforcement duties except with respect to anti-drug efforts. The General Accounting Office, an independent investigative arm of Congress, now says that in fact the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) called the military to the scene, citing possible drug-related activity at the compound. No one found any drug-related paraphernalia at the site though. …."

CNSNews.com 8/27/99 Justin Torres "…"They sat on information for six years and outright denied" that pyrotechnic devices were used, said Mark Corallo of the Government Reform and Oversight committee, chaired by Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN). "What else have they lied about under oath?" Corallo told CNSNews.com that Burton has "no confidence in the Attorney General's ability to conduct an investigation into her own department," and characterized the committee's contacts with the Department of Justice as "not very substantive." "The FBI has been much more helpful," Corallo said….. "

WorldNet Daily 8/27/99 L Rockwell "…The government killed them. Or least most people assumed so. Coming on the heels of several military aggressions abroad, big government appeared to be riding high after Clinton's 1992 victory, and with the dramatic increase in the size and aggressiveness of the federal police state, it seemed highly likely, even certain, that the BATF and the FBI simply decided to send these problem people to their deaths. What was to stop the agents from doing so? Does anyone really believe that these agents were just too caring and law-abiding to have done it? If that were true, the Feds wouldn't have tortured the people inside with recorded rabbit death screams played at high volume, cut off their water and electricity, and generally tried to drive them out of their homes, let alone pumped the church full of a poisonous tear gas banned for use against soldiers under international law. One by one the excuses for federal behavior evaporated: drugs, guns, child abuse, and aggressive political dissent weren't the reason…."

WorldNet Daily 8/27/99 L Rockwell "…After the massacre, the denials began. Clinton said they killed themselves. Reno echoed that same view. At congressional hearings, all the officers involved denied setting the fire. Elaborate scenarios were concocted, without a shred of evidence, designed to show how Koresh had started the fire. The Feds were indignant that anyone would doubt their word, and insulting to anyone who questioned their motives. It's taken six years, but this may be coming to an end….An Army training manual says that these devices lead to fires and sometimes even explode on impact. And yet even this whistle-blower doubts the devices led to the fire itself. That has led some people to doubt that Coulson himself is telling the whole truth. After all, his admission comes only after independent research got hold of pictures of the empty canisters held with other evidence by the Texas Rangers. …."

WorldNet Daily 8/27/99 L Rockwell "…The government's handling of this case from beginning has been a moral outrage. It is not enough that the Justice Department targeted the peaceful Davidians for reasons that are still unclear. It is not enough that they attempted to starve them out of house and home and then massacred them. It is not enough that the Feds immediately plowed the land under and destroyed evidence, arrogantly planting a US government flag in the mass grave. But to continue to show no regret, much less remorse, about the incident, except to attempt to make martyrs of the attacking agents themselves, and to continue to tell lie after lie, raises fundamental questions. The federal law-enforcement apparatus is misnamed. For my perspective, it wouldn't affect the question of federal guilt if the Davidians did burn their own community. It is an outrage that the Davidians were targeted in the first place. It is an outrage that the government, filled with officials who have sworn to uphold the Constitution, tried to starve out a religious community. If it turned out that Koresh, driven crazy by the government, finally set the place on fire, it wouldn't change the fact that Waco represents an appalling abuse of power. …."

Hon. Bob Barr 8/27/99 "…U.S. Representative Bob Barr (GA-7) today posed a series of questions to President Clinton regarding military involvement during a 1993 attack in Waco, Texas that left over 80 Americans dead. The text of Barr's letter follows: "I am disturbed to learn your Department of Justice has apparently spent the past six years lying to Congress and the American people about whether incendiary devices were used in the Waco attack. However, this issue pales in comparison to emerging evidence indicating the Administration may also have lied about the involvement of military special operations forces in the assault on April 19, 1993. "The Texas Department of Public Safety, and a former C.I.A. official have indicated military forces were deployed as forward elements of the assault. Additionally, there is further evidence, such as videotapes and Defense Department documents, that corroborate this evidence. "As you know, using military forces for domestic law enforcement is expressly illegal under U.S. posse comitatus law. For this reason, I urge you to reveal all the facts regarding military involvement at Waco immediately, so those responsible for any legal violations can be swiftly disciplined and prosecuted. To that end, I ask that you provide answers to the following questions immediately: 1) Were any active duty or reserve armed forces personnel present at, or in any other manner connected with, the planning, execution or review of the Waco assault? 2) If such personnel were so utilized, how many soldiers were used, what units were they drawn from, and what was their precise role in the assault? 3) If military personnel were so utilized, did they discharge any weapons or explosive devices, or assist law enforcement personnel in doing so? 4) In addition to personnel, what equipment and ordnance did the military utilize or make available during the siege and assault? 5) If military personnel were so utilized, who issued the orders allowing their involvement and did those orders provide for explicit rules of engagement? 6) As a matter of policy, who in your administration had the authority on April 19, 1993 to order military involvement in domestic law enforcement? 7) Given reports that military operations against the Branch Davidians were predicated at least in part on allegations of U.S. drug law violations, which might provide the only legal basis on which military equipment -- not personnel -- could be used in Waco, why was there no hard evidence before, during, or after the assault of drugs, drug paraphernalia, and any other violations of U.S. drug law? …"

www.texasrangers.org web site 8/27/99 "…As the DPS said shortly after the fire at the Branch Davidian compound in 1993, the Ranger inquiry, which was requested by the U.S. Department of Justice, would be the most complicated in the organization's history. Nearly a third of the Texas Ranger Division, working with DPS crime lab personnel, DPS Special Crimes investigators and other DPS personnel, collected thousands of pieces of evidence at the scene. Though the fire occurred six years ago, the DPS undertook the renewed inquiry in June, at the direction of DPS Public Safety Commission Chairman James B. Francis Jr. in response to questions raised concerning some of the evidence. We think it is important to make this point: The DPS is not investigating the FBI or the U.S. Department of Justice. Once the Rangers have completed their inquiry, the results will be sent to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Waco, which has jurisdiction in this matter…."

CNN TalkBack Live 8/27/99 "…BATTISTA: And there are other developments today. With us now from Dallas is CNN correspondent Tony Clark. He covered the Branch Davidian siege back in 1993. Also on the phone with us from Tyler, Texas is Lee Hancock, a reporter for "The Dallas Morning News." She broke a story today about alleged military involvement and the use of Delta Force commandos in the standoff. Lee, let me start with you. To what extent were these forces supposedly used? LEE HANCOCK, "DALLAS MORNING NEWS": Well, what I have been told by a former CIA employee was that it was his understanding in speaking with some members of the Delta Force unit, that there were Delta personnel who were active, who were involved in what happened down there. He would not tell to what extent that they were involved. He said they were in tanks and that they were in CEVs. This is something, of course, that the Department of Defense has flatly denied. ….BATTISTA: OK, so when your source used the word "active," did he describe that? HANCOCK: Well, not beyond saying that they were in the tanks and they were in the Bradleys, which, you know, would at least imply more than just a passive or advisory role. BATTISTA: Well, I did talk to a former Delta Force commander, right before the show, who told me that if they were driving the Bradleys that is within their jurisdiction, if you will. In other words, if people, the people in the FBI, did not know how to drive those vehicles, then the Delta Force personnel would drive them and still be within the legal limits of their involvement. HANCOCK: That's interesting. I had not heard that. But, I mean, he certainly would -- they are very strict on the involvement of military forces. From what the Defense Department says, they're very strict on the involvement of military forces in domestic law enforcement. So if that's correct, you know, he may well be correct. BATTISTA: Well, what do we know about the source, this Gene Cullen? Are there any other sources for the story? HANCOCK: Well, there is a gentleman by the name of James Francis. Mr. Francis is the chairman of the Texas Public Safety Commission. This is an agency that is, among other things, over the Texas rangers. The rangers were the lead investigators in the criminal case that ensued after the Davidian standoff ended. Mr. Francis said of Mr. Cullen's remarks that he knows or has been advised of evidence in the hands of police officers that may corroborate what Mr. Cullen is saying…..

CNN TalkBack Live 8/27/99 "…BATTISTA: Lee, how many military personnel are we talking about? Any numbers? HANCOCK: Well, you know, I've heard several numbers. One, there are some documents that have been released by the Department of Defense, under the Freedom of Information Act, and they indicate that there were three personnel from the special forces command. It does not say who they were. It, in fact, blanks out the name of the unit as classified. Now Mr. Francis has told me that it's his understanding, based on the evidence that he is aware of, that there were possibly more than three. Mr. Cullen says what he has heard from these Delta Force people that he spoke with; he heard that there were as many as 10. And again, I would say Mr. Cullen did tell me, he said, he doesn't know whether or not they're telling the truth, but he said these people, he believes, would have no reason to lie, and he didn't hear it from just one of them; he heard it from three or four.

CNN TalkBack Live 8/27/99 "…BATTISTA: If they were driving the Bradley vehicles -- and there is some thought that they were -- is that active involvement or advisory? REVELL: Well, I would think that would be -- require a very high level of authority, and I doubt very seriously that they were driving the Bradleys. However, if they were observing, they would have to be in the Bradleys, because there was outcoming gunfire from the compound, and they certainly couldn't observe in an unprotected location.

CNN TalkBack Live 8/27/99 "…BATTISTA: Well, where did the chain of truth start to breakdown? Because as I understand it, the FBI agents deposed six years ago in the initial report did admit to using pyrotechnic devices several times. Somehow that information didn't get passed on to anyone else? STONE: Well, I had this strange experience, after the report was actually published. I sent a letter and a preliminary comment to Louis Freeh about my concerns about Waco. At that point, several FBI agents themselves called me to describe things, which were, I thought, very, very serious matters, which were never put into the published reports of the Justice Department. BATTISTA: And what were those? STONE: So, I think what you're hearing, now is really a pattern that is all through what happened at Waco. BATTISTA: What were those serious matters? Can you tell us? STONE: Well, for example, one agent told me that he had advised them not to use psychological warfare against the Branch Davidians, because they were religious fanatics and it would drive them to suicide. And then the person in charge told them he was tying their hands, and the very next day, he wrote a report, urging them to use the psychological warfare, which they did. So they contravened their own experts, their own best advice, and did things which produced this tragedy.

CNN TalkBack Live 8/27/99 "…BATTISTA: We don't know if that's the case, though, do we? REVELL: We do not. And we don't know whether he received that information, and if it seems, and it, as you said, which was news to me, that an agent in a deposition -- an HRT agent had indicated they'd used a pyrotechnic device, then I think there has been a disconnect here that is very, very troublesome, and needs to be corrected. One of the problems in this, from the very outset, is the Justice Department and the FBI have been more concerned about the litigation issues than informing the public at large. And I think that in a case of this magnitude, that cannot be allowed to override the need for the public to know all of the facts, and to get them out early, and to stop all of this hearsay and consideration of, you know, things like the government intended to kill these people and so forth.

CNN TalkBack Live 8/27/99 "… BRANNON: Well, of course this gentleman is entitled to his own view. I would say if he chooses to look at the world in that way, then I would ask him one question: Please tell me, sir, under what conditions you believe a law enforcement authority is authorized to torture babies. If you can give me an example... BATTISTA: What do you mean by that? BRANNON: I mean that's what happened there. The children that I represent and that are now dead were attacked and tortured by the FBI. BATTISTA: How do you -- define "attacked and tortured." BRANNON: They were attacked at the beginning of the raid by hundreds of federal agents firing weapons. They were tortured by the various methods that you even illustrated at the beginning of the program here... BATTISTA: You mean the music? BRANNON: ... by noises, by cutting off the electricity, by various methods. And then, in the end, they decided that we will fire tear gas into these children, knowing the children did not have gas masks, and that, therefore, the other people will run out with them. So what they did was to say, we will torture babies because we don't like what their parents did. I don't believe that that is authorized, under any theory of proper law enforcement.

CNN TalkBack Live 8/27/99 "…REAVIS: May I say something, here, about that? Sue Commandante Marcos, the Mexican guerrilla, has been holding a good part of the state of Chiapas since 1994. The Mexican government says we're not going to dislodge him, because we know if we did, children would die. The Mexican government has not collapsed because it hasn't dislodged Marcos. It has not fallen into international disrepute. No harm has come to the Mexican people. The question, in my mind, is why did the American people think it was so imperative to do something so quickly to end that standoff with Koresh? Why don't we have the patience and the concern for children that our neighbors to the south show?

CNN TalkBack Live 8/27/99 "…KATHLEEN: Yes, it's been a while. I don't recall what the FBI did as far as trying to get the children to be safe, out of that house before all of this came about. BATTISTA: She's asking whether any efforts were made to get the children out. BRANNON: The answer is no. BATTISTA: Emphatically? BRANNON: Emphatically.

CNN TalkBack Live 8/27/99 "…BRANNON: It has not been established, and in fact, we strongly believe the evidence will go the other way, as to who started that fire. The reason that that information is coming out just now is not because of the civil lawsuit. The reason that you just heard them fess up to using pyrotechnic devices is because Mike McNolte is coming out with a new -- with a new documentary film. He went to Washington and showed it around on Capitol Hill. The FBI has seen it. And they had to come up with a spin doctor answer as to what do we say now, because they prove we have been lying. And so what we've heard is this story about, well, they only used a couple, and they only used them five hours before, and that will turn out to be false, as well. BATTISTA: As I understand it, though, the pyrotechnic device is not capable of starting a fire of that magnitude. BRANNON: Then you misunderstand the facts. They will -- if there's an flammable material near, they burn, and they will start a fire. And when you try to pick one up, you cannot pick it up because it is hot.

CNN TalkBack Live 8/27/99 "…REAVIS: Here is the point that's being overlooked in the present discussion: Everyone is looking for the ignition source. It's as if you had a cigarette lighter and the ignition source is the flint. But a cigarette lighter also has cotton that is soaked in a fluid that is highly flammable. Before that fire started, in the last couple of hours, the FBI fired 400 "ferret" rounds into that building, which soaked it in a chemical called methylene chloride, which is used in paint thinners. BRANNON: Which is highly flammable. REAVIS: That's right. The chemical manuals say "Do not use this indoors -- poses fire an explosion danger." So the FBI prepped that building for a fire, however it was ignited, and I don't think we know for certain how it was ignited yet.

CNN TalkBack Live 8/27/99 "…BRANNON: We have found out the additional information. It's getting the government to admit it that is the problem. And they've stonewalled it until they could not stonewall it any longer. That is after the Texas Rangers caught on to that they were being made a kind of "goat" by the FBI, and this horde of evidence that was down there that they would not let anybody have access to. Then they -- Mike McNolte managed to get access to it and discovered those pyrotechnic round shells. That's why it is just now coming out. REAVIS: There's another answer to that question, too. And that is that the media didn't do its job in 1993, investigating what happened. It accepted the FBI's version as true. BRANNON: I second that motion.

Cox News Service 8/27/99 Bob Dart "…An infantry weapons expert said Friday that a fire ``could certainly'' have been caused by the type of tear gas grenade that the FBI has admitted using at the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas, six years ago. Charles Cutshaw, an editor at Jane's Defense Information Group and a retired U.S. Army intelligence officer, said that M-651 CS canisters use a pyrotechnic charge to distribute a potent form of the fine particles commonly referred to as tear gas. ``Under the right conditions,'' he said, setting off one of these canisters could ignite a secondary fire. The conditions include the grenade exploding on something that burns, such as wood. …"

Associated Press 8/27/99 C Bryson Hull "…The government's admission that pyrotechnic devices were used the day the Branch Davidian compound burned is sweet satisfaction for a filmmaker who has said for years that authorities are lying about the Waco tragedy. "Getting answers is satisfying, but it will be much more satisfying when the people who are responsible are in prison,'' said Michael McNulty, whose six years of digging preceded the latest revelations about the 51-day siege. "All of this is not about Mike McNulty, or the films that have been done, or about selling the films. It's about finding the truth.'' ….The film cast doubt on Justice Department claims it used only non-burning grenades on April 19, 1993. McNulty said he found physical evidence to that effect - one pyrotechnic shell and a photograph of another shell that had been misidentified - more than a year after the movie's release. The evidence will be included in McNulty's second film, "Waco: A New Revelation,'' to be released this fall. ….The Texas Rangers, custodians of the evidence through an arrangement with the federal government, earlier this year opened an inquiry into evidence identified by McNulty. …."

Dallas Morning News 8/27/99 G Robert Hillman Lee Hancok "…Attorney General Janet Reno was considering the appointment of an outside investigator to direct the review of the FBI's role in the fiery end to the 1993 standoff with the Branch Davidians, a Justice Department official said Friday. A team of FBI agents was still being assembled at the request of FBI Director Louis Freeh but their work will await the appointment of a team leader, said bureau spokesman Tron Brekke. …"

WorldNetdaily 8/28/99 Betsy Gibson "…Meanwhile, the documented information WorldNetDaily has obtained reveals that not only did Reno actively seek involvement by Delta Force, but she was warned at one meeting she attended with the FBI, Delta Force Colonel John Boykin and Webster Hubbell that the use of CS tear gas would have a variety of effects, one of which would be "Some people would panic, Quote: "mothers may run off and leave infants." …A WorldNetDaily Special Forces source who analyzed this and other statements says Delta Force was clearly uncomfortable with any association with the FBI's plans at Waco….."

WorldNetdaily 8/28/99 Betsy Gibson "…WorldNetDaily's source says he believes that statement shows again how Delta Force cringed over getting involved at WACO… . These official and unofficial comments went ignored and, in fact, one Special Operations Officer was threatened with court-martial if he continued to protest, the source said. At another point in the document, Delta Force personnel explain to Reno that Special Forces encounters are almost always militaristic and involve outright enemies who are often heavily armed. Delta Force explains that in its standard modus operandi it was, "The principles of surprise, speed and violence of action [that] were essential to any operation. [redacted] stated that momentum should be maintained and that ground gained should not be relinquished." A WND military source says "violence of action" usually refers to killing the "hostiles." …"

WorldNetdaily 8/28/99 Betsy Gibson "…A former Special Forces commando says he spoke yesterday to a Delta Force commando who was present at the final tear-gas assault on the Branch Davidian compound. Keith Idema, who was a member of Special Forces and Special Operations units from 1975 to 1992 and helped to train hostage rescue team personnel for both Delta Force and the FBI, says pictures from Waco released this week by the Texas Department of Public Safety have been mistakenly identified by the department as gun silencers and suppressors belonging to David Koresh and his followers which were found inside the compound after the fire. Idema says they are actually concussion grenades manufactured by a company, Defense Technology, and purchased by the FBI. Idema also says the bright light seen on video footage as flashing inside the building moments before the fire broke out have been misidentified as a fire started by Branch Davidian leader David Koresh, when, in fact, to the trained eye of a Special Forces explosive expert it is unmistakably the flash caused by a "concussion grenade" that has been lobbed inside the compound…."

WorldNetdaily 8/28/99 Betsy Gibson "… A concussion grenade uses a brilliant flash and loud bang to render an enemy in its vicinity blind, deaf and immobile for a brief period during which commandos can overpower them. Such grenades should be used only for military purposes and were wholly inappropriate, if not illegal to be used in a situation involving women and children -- and any situation where potentially inflammable tear gas was still hanging in the air, the former Special Forces operative said….The concussion grenades and military fuses he says were used moments before the fire broke out could have ignited the lingering tear gas vapors and started the fire. Idema also points out that other photographs released clearly show an FBI agent with a .50-caliber Browning machine gun next to his leg. Such weapons are to be used only against armored equipment and weapons, certainly not civilians, says Idema…."Why were they there?" he asks. "Koresh didn't have any tanks or helicopters, or APCs. The Geneva Convention states that these weapons are never to be used in an anti-personnel role."

Newsday.com 8/28/99 Michelle Mittelstadt "…Prompted by the latest furor over federal law enforcement's conduct during the final, fateful hours in the 1993 standoff with the Branch Davidians, Congress is scurrying to review years-old hearing records and organize a fresh round of inquiries….Burton, who dispatched investigators to Austin this week to review evidence gathered from the compound's charred remains, pledged to convene hearings, calling them ``absolutely essential.'' House Majority Whip Tom DeLay, R-Texas, agreed: ``We've got to get to the truth,'' he said. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, who pronounced the credibility of Attorney General Janet Reno's Justice Department at ``an all-time low,'' is moving towards hearings as well. House Judiciary Committee staffers are wading through testimony from the 10 days of nationally televised House hearings in 1995 to determine if new inquiries are warranted. And Rep. Bob Barr, who participated in the earlier hearings, suggested that Congress should consider perjury charges….. .But neither the Justice Department nor Congress can properly investigate the matter, argued Danny Coulson, the former senior FBI official who touched off the controversy by publicly revealing that military pyrotechnic canisters were used in the waning hours of the 51-day siege. He said the Justice Department ``has no business'' investigating itself and called congressional hearings political theater. He suggested an independent investigation. ``It needs to be investigated and decided in a cooler environment, one away from the TV cameras,'' said Coulson, who was a deputy assistant FBI director during the standoff. …"

8/28/99 Michelle Mittelstadt AP FoxNews "…Prompted by the latest furor over federal law enforcement's conduct during the final, fateful hours in the 1993 standoff with the Branch Davidians, Congress is scurrying to review years-old hearing records and organize a fresh round of inquiries. …. "It is now clear that the Justice Department misled the Congress and the American people," said House Government Reform Committee Chairman Dan Burton, R-Ind., accusing officials of "sitting on this evidence for six years, all the while maintaining that it didn't exist." …. Spurred by the FBI's reversal, Barr and others are pressing for inquiries far afield of the tear gas issue. They are demanding answers to some nagging controversies, among them why the Army's secretive Delta Force was on the scene, and whether shots were fir