Due to an odd set of circumstances, former FBI translator Sibel Edmonds will be giving a deposition at the National Whistleblowers Center, 3238 P St. NW, in Washington D.C. at 10.30 AM Saturday (Today!)
The deposition is closed to the public, however Edmonds, attorneys from all parties including celebrity lawyer Mark Geragos, and David Krikorian, Democratic challenger for Republican Congresswoman Jean Schmidt's seat (OH-02) in Ohio will be available for questions both before (10am) and after the deposition.
Late Friday night, Sibel tweeted:
"MSM will be 'NO SHOW' tomorrow. Citizen Journalists Needed. Please disseminate. "
If you are in DC, please try to get to the National Whistleblowers Center this morning to report on this event in place of the 'real' journalists in the Washington Press Corp. Take a video camera, ask great questions, and show your support.
I won't go into the details of the deposition here, see the links below, but Sibel's deposition will include information about:
How certain Turkish entities had illegally infiltrated and influenced various U.S. government agencies and officials, including but not limited to the Department of State, the Department of Defense and individual members of the United States Congress.
How certain Turkish American cultural and business lobby groups conduct their illegal operations with direct and indirect support from the foreign governments.
Bradblog reports:
Edmonds told The BRAD BLOG today that she "absolutely intends to answer any questions, unless it's about intelligence gathering or informants." But, since "that has nothing to do with this case," she didn't anticipate any such questions.
She did say, however, that she was "obligated to respond to any questions that come out about any of the people in the 'State Secrets Privilege Gallery'". The "State Secrets Privilege Gallery" referenced is a webpage of unnamed photographs --- featuring current and former Congressmembers, high-ranking State and Defense Dept. officials, as well as lobbyists and agents from Turkish public interest groups --- which Edmonds posted in 2007. The names of most of those officials, and their ties to Edmonds own whistleblower case, has been detailed by Edmonds expert Luke Ryland here. Some of the names, said to have been illegally tied to Turkish influences, include former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (R-IL), Congressmen Dan Burton (R-IN), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Stephen Solarz (D-NY), as well as Bush Administration officials such as Richard Perle, Marc Grossman, Douglas Feith and others.
The background has been covered at Dailykos by Ohiobama this past week:
OH-02: Schmidt v. Krikorian, the GENOCIDE DENIAL TRIAL Featuring Mark Geragos and Sibel Edmonds and Sibel Edmonds Battles DOJ over Subpoena to Testify in Schmidt v. Krikorian
Bradblog has had the most comprehensive coverage, including the last minute legal wrangling:
- FBI Whistleblower Sibel Edmonds Subpoenaed, Set to 'Break' Gag Order Unless DoJ Intercedes
- EXCLUSIVE: FBI Attempts to Block Edmonds Testimony in OH Election Case; Attorneys Say Effort Insufficient to Stop Her
- EXCLUSIVE UPDATE: DoJ Pressures Ohio Election Commission to Block Edmonds Testimony
Please, if you can, make your way to the National Whistleblowers Center this morning - and send me your reports, Citizen Journalists. (Depending on the flow of information, I might try to do a running blog (liveblog?) here at DailyKos or elsewhere. I'll let you know with updates to this post or at my blog Against All Enemies.)
UPDATE: Bradblog is doing some reporting as news filters in. You can follow details here:
Edmonds has been able to say "everything that she hasn't been able to say so far, implicating many members of Congress in a criminal conspiracy," according to interviews...
Wow.
UPDATE2: from Brad:
Another break...Edmonds still being questioned under direct. Fein believes his questioning cross-examination will last two hours or so once he begins. They are now breaking for lunch. DoJ/FBI still did not show up.
The deposition is being videotaped and Edmonds hopes that it can be released as soon as possible after the deposition, though there has been some objections about releasing the video tape...