Government: FBI translator's complaints were supported by evidence,

[ashling]

Government: FBI translator's complaints were supported by evidence, witnesses
January 14, 2005 FBI0115



WASHINGTON -- Evidence and other witnesses supported complaints by a fired FBI contract linguist who alleged shoddy work and possible espionage within the bureau's translator program after the Sept. 11 terror attacks, according to a report Friday from the Justice Department's senior oversight official.

The department's inspector general, Glenn Fine, said the allegations by former translator Sibel Edmonds ``raised substantial questions and were supported by various pieces of evidence.'' Fine said the FBI still has not adequately investigated the claims.

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Edmonds maintains she was fired in March 2002 after she complained to FBI managers about shoddy wiretap translations and told them an interpreter with a relative at a foreign embassy might have compromised national security by blocking translations in some cases and notifying some targets of FBI investigations about surveillance of them.

``The FBI's failure to handle her allegations adequately contributed to Edmonds' increasingly vociferous complaints, which ultimately led to the termination of her services,'' the inspector general concluded.

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``We found that many of Edmonds' core allegations relating to the co-worker were supported by either documentary evidence or witnesses other than Edmonds,'' the report said. ``Moreover, we concluded that, had the FBI performed a more careful investigation of Edmonds' allegations, it would have discovered evidence of significant omissions and inaccuracies by the co-worker related to these allegations.''

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http://www.startribune.com/stories/484/5186725.html

[NMDemDist2]

1. well finally! Edmonds information needs to be investigated at the

highest levels

[Moderator]

2. duplicate topic, please discuss here

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=1150876