10 questions for John Ashcroft

3) Between Jan. 20 and Sept. 11, 2001, were the FBI field offices instructed to increase surveillance of known suspected terrorists? If so, why hasn't Ashcroft been able to provide any evidence to the commission proving it?

In her public testimony, Condoleezza Rice said, "The FBI tasked all 56 of its U.S. field offices to increase surveillance of known suspected terrorists and to reach out to known informants who might have information on terrorist activities." But commissioner Jamie Gorelick rejected Rice's claim as not factual, saying, "We have no record of that. The Washington field office international terrorism people say they never heard about the threat, they never heard about the warnings ... special agents in charge around the country, Miami in particular, no knowledge of this." According to a Newsweek report, Ashcroft rebuffed specific requests by the FBI to discuss counterterrorism with special agents in charge. At a spring 2001 meeting with special agents in charge in Quantico, Va., Ashcroft told then FBI director Louis Freeh that his priorities were "violent crime and drugs," and when Freeh said that those were not his priorities and began discussing counterterrorism, "Ashcroft didn't want to hear about it." This confrontation may be particularly significant in light of commissioner Tim Roemer's comments during Rice's public testimony: "The FBI is the key here. Nothing went down the chain to the FBI field offices." Can Ashcroft recount his conversations and meetings with FBI officials about counterterrorism?

4) After 9/11, why did Ashcroft slash almost $1 billion from an emergency FBI request to bolster counterterrorism efforts?

Immediately after 9/11 the FBI made a $1.5 billion request for emergency resources to combat terrorism. But Ashcroft refused to provide two-thirds of these resources. Roughly $1 billion in funding was denied for items such as security improvements, communications equipment and technical support. Why? Where did the money go instead?

5) Beginning in the summer of 2001, Ashcroft stopped flying commercial airlines and traveled exclusively by private jet because of an FBI "threat assessment." What, exactly, did the threat assessment say? Why is the threat assessment still being withheld from the public?

In July 2001, CBS News revealed that Ashcroft, on the advice of the FBI, "was traveling exclusively by leased jet aircraft instead of commercial airlines." At the time, the FBI refused to identify "what the threat was, when it was detected or who made it." Eight months after 9/11, in an attempt to deflect criticism, Ashcroft said his decision to stop flying commercial airlines was "because of personal threats on his life, not out of fears about terrorist hijackings." When Ashcroft was asked by a reporter to explain further he "walked from the room without comment." Curiously, when Ashcroft's behavior was initially reported, a top official at the CIA said "he was unaware of specific threats against any Cabinet member." Whatever the rationale, Ashcroft's use of private jets cost taxpayers more than $1,600 an hour. Was he aware of threat warnings? Will he now urge their immediate declassification?

Next Page: Why are at least 20 of the 22 "most wanted terrorists" still at large?

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