TERRY NICHOLS CLAIMS FBI OFFICIAL 'APPARENTLY; INVOLVED IN 0KC BOMBING
SALT LAKE TRIBUNE - Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols says
a high-ranking FBI official "apparently" was directing Timothy McVeigh
in the plot to blow up a government building and might have changed the
original target of the attack, according to a new affidavit filed in
U.S. District Court in Utah. The official and other conspirators are
being protected by the federal government "in a cover-up to escape its
responsibility for the loss of life in Oklahoma," Nichols claims in a
Feb. 9 affidavit.
Documents that supposedly help back up his allegations have been sealed
to protect information in them, such as Social Security numbers and
dates of birth. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Utah had no comment on the
allegations. The FBI and Justice Department in Washington, D.C., also
declined comment. Nichols does not say what motive the government would
have to be involved in the bombing. The affidavit was filed in a lawsuit
brought by Salt Lake City attorney Jesse Trentadue, who believes his
brother's death in a federal prison was linked to the Oklahoma City
bombing. The suit, which seeks documents from the FBI under the federal
Freedom of Information Act, alleges that authorities mistook Kenneth
Trentadue for a bombing conspirator and that guards killed him in an
interrogation that got out of hand. Trentadue's death a few months after
the April 19, 1995, bombing was ruled a suicide after several
investigations. The government has adamantly denied any wrongdoing in
the death.
In his affidavit, Nichols says he wants to bring closure to the
survivors and families of the attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal
Building, which took 168 lives. He alleges he wrote then-Attorney
General John Ashcroft in 2004, offering to help identify all parties who
played a role in the bombing but never got a reply. . .
McVeigh and Nichols were the only defendants indicted in the bombing.
However, Nichols alleges others were involved. McVeigh told him he was
recruited for undercover missions while serving in the military,
according to Nichols. He says he learned sometime in 1995 that there had
been a change in the bombing target and that McVeigh was upset by that.
"There, in what I believe was an accidental slip of the tongue, McVeigh
revealed the identity of a high-ranking FBI official who was apparently
directing McVeigh in the bomb plot," Nichols says in the affidavit. . .
In addition, Nichols says McVeigh must have had help building the bomb.
The device he and McVeigh built the day before the bombing did not
resemble the one that ultimately was used, Nichols says, and "displayed
a level of expertise and sophistication" that neither man had.
pmanson@sltrib.com
SALT LAKE TRIBUNE - Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols says
a high-ranking FBI official "apparently" was directing Timothy McVeigh
in the plot to blow up a government building and might have changed the
original target of the attack, according to a new affidavit filed in
U.S. District Court in Utah. The official and other conspirators are
being protected by the federal government "in a cover-up to escape its
responsibility for the loss of life in Oklahoma," Nichols claims in a
Feb. 9 affidavit.
Documents that supposedly help back up his allegations have been sealed
to protect information in them, such as Social Security numbers and
dates of birth. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Utah had no comment on the
allegations. The FBI and Justice Department in Washington, D.C., also
declined comment. Nichols does not say what motive the government would
have to be involved in the bombing. The affidavit was filed in a lawsuit
brought by Salt Lake City attorney Jesse Trentadue, who believes his
brother's death in a federal prison was linked to the Oklahoma City
bombing. The suit, which seeks documents from the FBI under the federal
Freedom of Information Act, alleges that authorities mistook Kenneth
Trentadue for a bombing conspirator and that guards killed him in an
interrogation that got out of hand. Trentadue's death a few months after
the April 19, 1995, bombing was ruled a suicide after several
investigations. The government has adamantly denied any wrongdoing in
the death.
In his affidavit, Nichols says he wants to bring closure to the
survivors and families of the attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal
Building, which took 168 lives. He alleges he wrote then-Attorney
General John Ashcroft in 2004, offering to help identify all parties who
played a role in the bombing but never got a reply. . .
McVeigh and Nichols were the only defendants indicted in the bombing.
However, Nichols alleges others were involved. McVeigh told him he was
recruited for undercover missions while serving in the military,
according to Nichols. He says he learned sometime in 1995 that there had
been a change in the bombing target and that McVeigh was upset by that.
"There, in what I believe was an accidental slip of the tongue, McVeigh
revealed the identity of a high-ranking FBI official who was apparently
directing McVeigh in the bomb plot," Nichols says in the affidavit. . .
In addition, Nichols says McVeigh must have had help building the bomb.
The device he and McVeigh built the day before the bombing did not
resemble the one that ultimately was used, Nichols says, and "displayed
a level of expertise and sophistication" that neither man had.
pmanson@sltrib.com
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