Date: Sun, 16 Jul 1995 15:01:42 -0400 From: alerts@gatekeeper.nra.org (NRA Alerts) To: firearms-alert@shell.portal.com Subject: FAXNET: Waco Wake-up Call 95-07-14 NRA-ILA FAX NETWORK 11250 Waples Mill Road * Fairfax, VA 22030 Vol. 2, No. 30 7/14/95 Phone: 1-800-392-8683 * Fax: 703-267-3918 WACO WAKE-UP CALL On Wednesday, July 19, a special U.S. House joint subcommittee will convene hearings on government actions that resulted in civilian and law enforcement deaths during the failed raid and subsequent siege of the Branch Davidians at Waco in 1993. Significant questions surrounding the Waco tragedy continue to fuel speculation that the Clinton Administration hasn't "come clean" with the facts and the President's reluctance to release documents that may provide information relevant to the investigation further fuels this controversy. To his credit, Sub-committee co-chair Rep. Bill Zeliff (R-N.H.) has vowed that if the documents contain information germane to their inquiries, he will subpoena them. Controversy also surrounds the Department of Justice decision to prohibit a private engineering firm retained by NRA- ILA, Failure Analysis Associates (FaAA), to x-ray the fire- damaged guns removed from the Mt. Carmel center. FaAA has a distinguished record of analyzing a number of high-profile failures, from the Challenger shuttle explosion to the Exxon Valdez oil spill to the detection of ignitors on C/K pickup trucks on the notorious NBC Dateline. One of the main justifications given by the BATF for the Waco raid was allegations that the Branch Davidians possessed illegal machine guns. On Monday, June 26, Dr. John Moalli, Managing Engineer with FaAA, arrived in Austin to begin x-raying the firearms. However, despite having clearance from the House Committee on Standards and Conduct, FaAA was denied access by Attorney General Reno's former personal assistant Richard Scruggs. As NRA-ILA Executive Director Tanya Metaksa noted, "If the Clinton Administration wants to create the impression of a cover-up, it's performing flawlessly." DOJ TO INVESTIGATE RUBY RIDGE: On Thursday, July 13, The Washington Post reported that the Justice Department has opened a full-scale investigation into whether FBI officials covered up the bureau's action in the 1992 raid on Randy Weaver's home in Ruby Ridge, Idaho. According to the Post story, DOJ officials are looking into the possibility that a high-ranking FBI official may have destroyed documents that could have altered the official account of what happened during the standoff. LATE BREAKING NEWS: FBI Director Louis Freeh announced today that Larry Potts, the man in charge of both the Ruby Ridge and Waco tragedies, has been removed from the Bureau's No. 2 post. Last year, the Justice Dept.'s own task force concluded the Bureau's conduct "contravened the Constitution" and that criminal charges should be considered against responsible agents. Look for more details on this subject following next week's House hearings. With critical hearings just days away, anti-gun politician Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) ran to the press and charged NRA with orchestrating the hearings, payrolling a witness, and above all, hiring the nation's foremost engineering firm specializing in failure. "The scent of the NRA has lingered around these hearings for a while," he said, "and now we've found a skunk." But the odor is never foul when a citizens' group hires the nation's best scientists to study evidence. The stench arises when official Washington conceals evidence in a tragedy that cost four agents and eighty-two civilians their lives. Stay tuned: Hearings commence July 19th! NEW! NRA-ILA INAUGURATES 24-HOUR FAX INFO SYSTEM: "NRA-ILA FaxLine" is a service which will eventually make most ILA alerts, fact sheets, and brochures available by fax 24 hours a day - although lines will be busiest from 6:00-12:00 in the evening, Eastern time. You pay only the cost of the call. To use the system, you must call from your fax machine. Just dial (703)- 267-3734 and follow the voice instructions ; you'll have your documents in minutes. And if you have any problem with the system, call Grassroots at 1-(800)-392-8683 for help. A LOOK AT THE STATES: Minnesota: Congratulations to NRA- endorsed candidate Skip Carlson, who won Tuesday's special election in House District 52A. Your votes made the difference! Ohio: The Senate passed SB 68, the NRA-backed right to carry bill. It moves to the House Judiciary Committee for consideration this fall. Oregon: Gov. Kitzhaber was expected to announce today a list of bills which he plans to veto. At press time, he still had not announced whether he would sign SB 1096, the NRA-backed instant check bill replacing the 15-day wait on handgun purchases, or HB 2784, legislation strengthening the state firearms preemption statute. We'll update you in next week's fax! He did sign HB 2569, a bill increasing the offense for hunter harassment from a violation (civil penalty) to a Class A misdemeanor. =+=+=+=+ This information is provided as a service of the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action, Fairfax, VA. This and other information on the Second Amendment and the NRA is available at any of the following URL's: http://WWW.NRA.Org, gopher://GOPHER.NRA.Org, wais://WAIS.NRA.Org, ftp://FTP.NRA.Org, mailto:LISTPROC@NRA.Org (Send the word help as the body of a message) Information may also be obtained by connecting directly to the NRA-ILA GUN-TALK Bulletin Board System at (703) 934-2121.