Cato study blasts Danforth's Branch Davidian report
A new study by Cato Institute says that the final official
government report on the 1993 Branch Davidian disaster
near Waco, Texas, which exonerated federal officials of
wrongdoing, is "not supported by the factual evidence."
(04/11/01)
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Attorneys plan to appeal Waco ruling
Two attorneys for the survivors of the Branch Davidian siege plan
to appeal Judge Smith's bizarre ruling that the sect members
were completely responsible for the 1993 tragedy, and that all
the FBI's actions were appropriate. (9/22/00)
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Judge whitewashes government misconduct at Waco
As expected, U.S. District Judge Walter Smith whitewashed
the federal government's lethal misconduct during the 1993
siege of the Mount Carmel religious settlement in Texas.
FBI director Louis Freeh called it a "most gratifying"
vindication. (9/21/00)
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Davidians have prison terms cut
Following a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court that he'd far
overstepped the bounds of the law with his original, draconian
sentences, U.S. District Judge Walter S. Smith Jr. slashed the
sentences of six Branch Davidians, ensuring that they'll be free
within six years. (9/20/00)
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Government attorneys deny Waco judge's bias
Despite extraordinarily partisan comments by U.S. Judge Walter
Smith and his curious conduct in an earlier, Waco-related
criminal trial, attorneys for the federal government formally
opposed claims by surviving Branch Davidians that Smith is
biased and should declare a mistrial. (9/19/00)
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Davidians' attorney asks pro-government judge to remove himself
The lead lawyer for Branch Davidians suing the federal government
over its agents' misconduct at Waco filed a motion asking U.S.
District Judge Walter S. Smith Jr. to remove himself for his
obvious pro-government bias and declare a mistrial in the case.
(9/13/00)
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Prosecution of Waco whistleblower?
Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Johnston seems to be targeted
for prosecution. Say the editors of the Dallas Morning News,
"With overwhelming evidence the Justice Department lied about
the Branch Davidian raid, there could be a public backlash
if the only major figure prosecuted is the whistleblower."
(9/13/00)
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Federal judge orders Waco evidence to be turned over
Judge Walter S. Smith has ordered the U.S. Attorney's office to
surrender evidence that it has discovered that is relevant to
the Branch Davidians' lawsuit against the federal government. An
advisory jury decided on July 14 that the government was not
responsible for the 80 deaths, but the judge still has to make
his final ruling. (8/29/00)
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What The Waco Jury Never Heard
Stuart A. Wright writes an OpEd piece concerning the facts conveniently
left out in the Branch Davidian wrongful death lawsuit against the government.
Click here for link.
Clinton discusses Waco with Danforth
Country: United States
Special Counsel John Danforth -- the former senator conducting an
investigation that some have called a whitewash of the Waco
incident -- interviewed President Clinton by phone on Wednesday.
(8/3/00)
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Reno says Waco raid concern shared
Country: United States
Just a few days after release of a statement in which President
Clinton insisted that he gave in to Justice Department demands
to assault the Mt. Carmel settlement, Attorney General Janet
Reno chimed in with a "me too." (7/28/00)
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Senate interest in Davidian case may be fading
Country: United States
Special Counsel Danforth's whitewash of federal actions at Waco may
have defused Senate interest in getting to the bottom of events
during the lethal 1993 siege. (7/27/00)
Click here for link.
On Waco, Clinton hangs Justice Department out to dry
Country: United States
After the interim Waco report whitewashed the role of high
officials in the tragedy, President Clinton made an
extraordinary statement shifting responsibility for the final
assault from himself to the Attorney General and other Justice
officials. (7/26/00)
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The ATF fired first
Author: Daryl Lindsey
Country: United States
Critics of the Waco raid won't be silenced by the Danforth report.
(7/25/00)
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Clinton felt 'personally responsible' for Waco
Country: United States
President Clinton says that he feels "personally responsible" for
the deaths at Waco. The White House waited until after the
release of the report absolving the government of wrongdoing
before announcing this. (7/25/00)
Click here for link.
Report clears U.S. in Davidian siege
Country: United States
As was feared, Waco special counsel John Danforth's interim report
whitewashed government conduct during the 1993 siege and cleared
top federal officials of any "bad acts." (7/24/00)
Click here for link.
Waco report criticizes lower-level Justice Department officials
Country: United States
While former Senator Danforth's interim Waco report gives top
officials a pass, it does dangle a few lower-level Justice
Department flunkies out to dry for trying to manipulate the
outcome of the investigation. (7/24/00)
Click here for link.
Interim Waco report due today
Country: United States
Former Sen. Danforth's nominally independent interim report on
government misconduct during the 1993 Waco siege is due to be
released today. (7/21/00)
Click here for link.
SHORT TAKE: Waco Jury Ignored Murder
The Waco jury's decision that government
actions at Mt. Carmel were just fine may
make it open season on eccentrics.
Click here for link.
Davidian lawyer refuses to attend final hearing
Country: United States
Saying that Judge Walter Smith has a bias in favor of the federal
government, Mike Caddell, an attorney for Branch Davidians suing
federal officials for their conduct at Waco, says he won't
participate in remaining hearings. (7/20/00)
Click here for link.
Waco's unanswered questions
Country: United States
The jury's decision for the government in the Waco case left
reports of lying and misconduct on the part of officials
unaddressed. That means that many people remain very angry.
(7/18/00)
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Waco: What's next?
Country: United States
A jury has given the government a pat on the back for its lethal
conduct during the 1993 siege of Mt. Carmel. Now the final
resolution of the case is in the hands of Judge Walter Smith.
The result of former Sen. Danforth's investigation is still
pending. (7/17/00)
Click here for link.
Davidians' lawyer says judge ignoring law
Country: United States
An attorney for the Branch Davidians in their wrongful-death suit
against the U.S. government warned that Judge Smith appears to
be trying to engineer a verdict favorable to federal officials.
(7/14/00)
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Agent insists tear gas didn't start Waco fire
Country: United States
On the stand, an FBI agent admitted that he fired pyrotechnic tear
gas rounds on the final day of the siege at Mt. Carmel, but
insisted that they played no role in the fatal fire. (7/13/00)
Click here for link.
Agent defends FBI use of tank in siege
Country: United States
An FBI agent defended his ramming an armored vehicle through the
walls of a building housing dozens of men, women and children on
the last day of the Waco siege. (7/12/00)
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Absence of two Waco witnesses questioned
Country: United States
Observers are curious about the continuing absence of Richard
Rogers and Jeff Jamar from the courtroom. These men were the two
leading FBI commanders during the siege of Mt. Carmel in 1993.
(7/12/00)
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Government seeks to stifle Waco gunfire claim
Country: United States
The government wants the judge in the Branch Davidian lawsuit to
throw out claims that federal agents fired on Davidians on the
last day of the siege, even though official analysts differ with
their own report on the disputed incident. (7/10/00)
Click here for link.
The hounds of Waco
Country: United States
Testimony at the trial of the Branch Davidians' lawsuit against the
government makes it increasingly likely that federal agents
began the violence by opening fire on the Davidians' dogs.
(7/10/00)
Click here for link.
U.S. lawyers detail Branch Davidian's 'arsenal'
Country: United States
In wrapping up their attempt to justify the government assault on
the Branch Davidian home in Waco, federal lawyers tallied the
Branch Davidians' firearms inventory -- which has never been
proven illegal -- and summarized their religious beliefs.
(7/7/00)
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Agents given first aid training before raid on Branch Davidian
complex, one testifies
Country: United States
An ATF agent admitted in court that he and his colleagues received
Army training in gunshot wound treatment prior to the initial
1993 raid on Mount Carmel, suggesting that the agency went in
planning for a firefight. (7/6/00)
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Ex-agents recount Davidian shootout
Country: United States
In court, ATF agents admitted that they didn't know who started the
shooting on the first day of the Waco siege and testified about
military training for the raid. (7/3/00)
Click here for link.
Agents describe hail of bullets at beginning of siege
Country: United States
Government agents had their turn at the trial of the Branch
Davidians' wrongful death suit against the federal government,
defending the hail of bullets with which they began the Waco
siege. (6/30/00)
Click here for link.
Davidian testifies he played no role in fire
Country: United States
Waco siege survivor Clive Doyle testified in court that his fellow
Branch Davidians had nothing to do with starting the deadly
standoff or setting the final fire. (6/29/00)
Click here for link.
Waco survivor says tank damage hampered escape
Country: United States
Misty Ferguson, a survivor of the 1993 Waco siege, testified that
the government tank attack so damaged the building that escape
from the flames became almost impossible. (6/28/00)
Click here for link.
Witness: Koresh didn't call FBI 'the Beast'
Country: United States
A surviving Branch Davidian told a judge and jurors that David
Koresh never labeled the government as an enemy and didn't
predict a battle with federal agents. (6/28/00)
Click here for link.
Waco survivor: 'I could hear rushing, screaming, crying'
Country: United States
The judge and jurors in the Branch Davidians' wrongful death
lawsuit against the government heard a survivor describe the
last day of the siege and deny that the group had any plans to
commit suicide. (6/27/00)
Click here for link.
Investigator for Davidians calls government inquiry 'incompetent'
Country: United States
An expert testified in court that the government's assertion that
Branch Davidians set themselves on fire is based in an
"incompetent" investigation of the lethal final blaze. (6/27/00)
Click here for link.
Trial takes its toll on survivors
Country: United States
While they finally have a chance at justice seven years after their
friends were slaughtered by government agents, surviving Branch
Davidians find it painful to relive the fatal 1993 siege through
courtroom testimony. (6/26/00)
Click here for link.
Davidian lawyers challenge report
Country: United States
A report by a firm tied to the FBI that claims that federal agents
did not fire weapons on the last day of the 1993 Waco siege has
been challenged by experts assisting the Branch Davidians.
(6/26/00)
Click here for link.
Waco And The Corruption Of Liberalism
Author: Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.
"The mainstream press is trying to ignore it, but the government’s role in the fire at Waco seven years
ago is finally on trial, thanks to the wrongful-death lawsuit brought by the victims’ families. At last, the
possibility for establishing wrongdoing now presents itself."
(6/23/00)
Click here for link.
Ex-FBI official testifies that assault went beyond plan
Country: United States
Former FBI deputy assistant director Danny O. Coulson testified in
court that tanks were not supposed to be used against the Branch
Davidian building at Waco. Evidence also indicated that the FBI
dropped plans to ask for surrender before the final assault.
(6/23/00)
Click here for link.
Sect could have been coaxed out, FBI figure told officials
Country: United States
Shortly after the end of the Waco siege, FBI tactical commander
Richard Rogers told investigators that negotiators could have
coaxed sect members to surrender peacefully. Instead, the agency
chose a fatal assault. (6/23/00)
Click here for link.
Firing at shadows: The raid on Waco
Country: United States
In court, jurors were told that ATF agents admitted that on the
first day of the Waco siege they blindly fired into windows.
They shot at anything that moved. (6/22/00)
Click here for link.
Jurors hear 911 tape in Branch Davidians trial
Country: United States
Jurors in the Branch Davidians' wrongful-death lawsuit against
the federal government heard a 911 recording of a panicked sect
member reporting that BATF agents were attacking them. (6/22/00)
Click here for link.
Children, Koresh in spotlight as Waco testimony opens
Country: United States
Testimony in the Waco wrongful-death lawsuit began Tuesday. Branch
Davidian attorneys opened with pictures of 15 children killed in
the government's 1993 raid. Federal laywers countered that
Koresh and the Davidians "caused this dangerous situation to
occur." (6/21/00)
Click here for link.
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