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Tuesday, 23-Nov-1999 08:45:57 209.245.171.22 writes: The plot thickens . . . boy! I bet these two fellas have gone over their stories together so much with so much coaching from superiors . . . what they have to say will fit together like a perfectly puzzle. Janice ~~~~~ Danforth's team will question two FBI agents who drove converted tank By Terry Ganey And William H. Freivogel Of The Post-Dispatch WACO, TEXAS -- The two special agents were assigned to a vehicle that tore down the back side of the complex in an attempt to roust the Branch Davidians. They may have been able to see if agents fired weapons. Investigators for special counsel John C. Danforth are preparing to question two FBI agents who drove a converted tank during the siege on the Branch Davidian complex in 1993 and who may have been in a position to see if agents fired weapons. The two are special agents James T. Walden and Gary Harris, who were assigned to a vehicle that tore down the back side of the complex in an attempt to roust the Branch Davidians. Experts for the Branch Davidians who have reviewed infrared tapes of the event say they can see flashes of gunfire around the tank. Meanwhile, the Justice Department is balking at the simulation that Danforth proposed to test whether the flashes on the tape are images of gunfire. On Monday, the Justice Department will file a detailed explanation of the reasons it thinks a simulation will not be reliable, a source told the Post-Dispatch. The Justice Department will make alternative proposals that would involve different kinds of tests and a different format from the simulation that Danforth proposed and a judge ordered last week. The simulation and preparations for the agent interviews were just two new elements in the Waco investigation, which seemed to accelerate last week. In addition, investigators for Danforth began sifting through hundreds of thousands of bits of debris from the Branch Davidian siege stored in cans in a warehouse in Waco. Danforth also asked U.S. District Judge Walter S. Smith Jr. for temporary custody of 36 spent shell casings to compare them with hundreds of weapons that were in FBI agents' hands during the 51-day siege. Danforth has asked the FBI to turn over those weapons for ballistics tests. Attorney General Janet Reno appointed former Sen. Danforth, R-Mo., on Sept. 9 to determine whether government agents fired guns or started the fire that ended the siege. About 80 people died, most from the fire and some by gunshots. The government's position has been that the Branch Davidians started the fire and that some of them killed themselves or each other. FBI officials have said none of its agents fired weapons. Michael A. Caddell, the lead attorney representing Branch Davidian survivors in a wrongful death suit, said he believes Danforth's investigators will question Walden and Harris sometime after Thanksgiving. Branch Davidian lawyers have agreed to let Danforth's investigation team question certain key witnesses before the plaintiff's lawyers do so. Caddell said he plans to depose Walden and Harris in about three weeks. He said the pair have not testified in court or before Congress about what happened at the Branch Davidians' Mount Carmel complex outside Waco. "Clear a path" According to FBI after-action reports, Harris was the driver and Walden the commander of the converted tank that was rigged with a boom to shoot tear gas into the upper story of the complex at Mount Carmel. The tear gas was supposed to force people out. After mechanical problems knocked out that vehicle, Harris and Walden transferred to another that was not equipped with a boom to fire tear gas. Harris drove the replacement tank to the back of the complex. The report said he and Walden were supposed to "clear a path" through the structure. Their tank began battering a back wall of the gym building. "When it was determined that the structure was empty, the vehicle was driven through the structure from the black (back) to the white (front) side," the report said. "After moving into the room as far as was possible, Special Agent Walden reversed and removed the vehicle from the structure. As he was doing so, he observed smoke followed by flames from the kitchen area." Caddell believes the shooting came from agents who were on the ground around the tank to prevent Branch Davidians from attacking it. He said the after-action reports from Walden and Harris are silent on the issue of gunfire from other agents. The flashes that appear on the FBI's infrared tapes occur about the time that Harris and Walden's tank is demolishing the gym. Richard Schwein, one of the FBI commanders at the Waco siege, said it was "inconceivable" that any agents were on the ground near the converted tank that was knocking down the gym. "There were specific orders not to have anyone on the ground," Schwein said in an interview with the Post-Dispatch. "You don't put people under fire on the ground." Schwein's theory is that the flashes on the tapes are from FBI agents using shotguns to fire tear gas rounds into the building. He said that five or six members of the FBI's hostage rescue team were inside each Bradley Fighting Vehicle. He said the flashes may have come as agents inside the Bradleys fired tear gas rounds from that vehicle's firing ports. Justice Department officials say they doubt the simulation ordered by Judge Smith on Monday would resolve the issue of gunfire. Marie L. Hagen, the lead Justice Department attorney defending the government in the suit, wrote Caddell last week saying the FBI's forward looking infrared (FLIR) camera that was used at Waco no longer exists. "The FLIR system used on April 19, 1993, has been modified and upgraded at various times since 1993 and, therefore, is not identical to the system that generated the tapes at issue," Hagen wrote. "Among other things, the system was switched from analog to a digital format." Lawyer scoffs at government Department officials said late Friday that Monday's court filing will give a more detailed explanation of the problems with a simulation and make alternative proposals. Caddell, the Branch Davidian lawyer, scoffed at the government objections. "We can send a man to the moon, but we can't get a camera that's six years old?" said Caddell. "It's ridiculous." Justice Department lawyers have resisted the simulation idea all along, though their reasons have changed. When Branch Davidians' lawyers first proposed a test, the Justice Department and the FBI said the specifications of the infrared camera had to remain secret for national security reasons. Then, the FBI proposed a separate private simulation for Danforth's office alone. Judge Smith approved an independent simulation, allowing the government and the Branch Davidians' lawyers the opportunity to suggest how the test could be conducted. Those who know Judge Smith doubt that he will be receptive to the government's objections. The judge has become increasingly skeptical of the government's conduct, insisting in recent months that the Justice Department turn over all its evidence to the court. Late last week, investigators for Danforth's office visited a storage shed in Waco where tons of debris from the siege has been kept in large storage boxes. Wearing medical masks and gloves, they picked through the material. Assistant U.S. Attorney William Johnston, who prosecuted Branch Davidians in 1995, referred to the material as "junk evidence" which was not used during the trial and has never been carefully examined. The debris includes hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammunition that exploded during the fire. === What happened last week MONDAY The FBI confirms that special counsel John C. Danforth wants the FBI to turn over several hundred guns it had at Waco. The St. Louis County police may perform the ballistics tests. U.S. District Judge Walter S. Smith Jr. orders a court-supervised simulation of the last day at Waco to determine whether flashes on infrared tape are gunfire from government agents. Tuesday Danforth seeks an independent study of spent rifle shell casings found at Waco to determine whose guns fired them. Justice Department officials, who ask not to be named, begin questioning whether the simulation of the infrared tapes will be reliable. Wednesday through Friday About a dozen investigators, including postal inspectors working for Danforth, analyze buckets full of evidence from the crime scene. Thursday Justice Department lawyers defending the government against the Branch Davidians' wrongful death suit raise questions about the ability to recreate the camera that was used for the infrared tapes at Waco. William McGivers |