Chenoweth Calls For Deputy Fbi Director’s Resignation
Idaho lawmakers reacted swiftly and strongly Thursday as an alleged FBI cover-up of the Randy Weaver siege continued to unravel.
U.S. Rep. Helen Chenoweth, R-Idaho, demanded that FBI Deputy Director Larry Potts be fired. Potts supervised the 11-day bloody standoff from Washington, D.C.
Killed were a deputy U.S. marshal, Weaver’s 14-year-old son and wife, Vicki.
The central issue is who drafted special rules of engagement that said FBI snipers “could and should” use deadly force against armed men spotted in the open at the Weaver compound. Long-standing FBI policy bars the use of lethal force except in self-defense.
Weaver himself, reached at his Grand Junction, Iowa, home, agreed there was an FBI cover-up, but declined to comment further, citing advice from his lawyers.
A Justice Department investigation after the standoff found that federal agents overstated the threat from Weaver, a white separatist, perhaps to the point of paranoia.
Potts has denied he approved or even saw shoot-on-sight orders. But he is contradicted by two on-site FBI commanders and the Justice Department investigation.
FBI Director Louis J. Freeh promoted Potts, his close friend, to agency deputy on the same day he censured him for his role in the case.
“It is arrogant and shows not only callous disrespect for the people of Idaho, but for the nation,” Chenoweth said Thursday.
She called for Potts’ immediate firing for lying to investigators and violating Vicki Weaver’s civil rights. A sniper shot and killed her while she stood in her cabin doorway holding her 10-month-old daughter.
“Rodney King was subjected to what they say is police brutality,” Chenoweth said, “and this reaches far beyond what happened with the Rodney King incident.”
Chenoweth and U.S. Sens. Larry Craig and Dirk Kempthorne, both Idaho Republicans, sent letters Thursday to Attorney General Janet Reno.
They want a thorough investigation and criminal charges if warranted, and are urging a Senate subcommittee preparing to review the Waco, Texas, standoff to add Ruby Ridge to their review.
“It is critical for the American people and the Congress to know all the facts, be certain that the truth is known and that law enforcement personnel who obstruct justice and misuse their power are themselves brought to justice,” Craig and Kempthorne said in a joint written statement.
FBI and Justice Department reviews of the Weaver incident - while finding plenty of errors and lapses in judgment - determined there was not enough wrongdoing to warrant criminal charges.
, DataTimes