Sibel Edmonds Deposition: Deep Corruption Beneath the Surface

by Erik Larson | August 9, 2009 at 01:57 pm

23466 views | 13 Recommendations | 28 comments

By Erik Larson

EDIT 8/25/09: Deposition Video and Transcript Released! http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7374

Aug 8, 2009, Sibel Edmonds gave a sworn deposition in which she testified to her knowledge of treasonous crimes and corruption involving current and former members of Congress and State and Defense Dept. officials. Given the nature of the deposition, the lines of questioning focused on Turkish espionage and services obtained through bribery and blackmail by Turkish officials and proxies. However, Edmonds has previously disclosed that the corruption involving U.S. officials also includes money laundering, trafficking in drugs, arms and nuclear secrets, U.S. support for Bin Laden/Al Qaeda, and obstruction of FBI investigations related to 9/11, before and after the attacks; she said these things came up “briefly” during the deposition. Edmonds learned of these things from wiretaps she listened to while working as a translator for the FBI in 2001-2002.

Video coverage from VelvetRevolution.us and BradBlog.com

Edmonds' Aug 8 testimony was subpoenaed by David Krikorian (Democratic 2010 Congressional candidate- OH) to support his defense against a lawsuit brought by Jean Schmidt, R-OH. Krikorian had circulated a flier in his 2008 campaign in which he alleged that Schmidt had accepted “blood money” from Turkish interests in exchange for opposing a Congressional resolution acknowledging the Turkish genocide of Armenians in World War I. The deposition took place in Washington, DC at the headquarters of the National Whistleblower Center

After the deposition, Edmonds took questions, and spoke in general terms about the deposition subjects (video, 13:25):

Larson- “Were you able to talk about any of the stuff that you’ve said about 9/11 in the past- did any of that come up?”

Edmonds- “We talked very briefly on Central Asia angle and 9/11 and the Mujahideen and Al Qaeda…and the role played by certain Turkish entities, so we talked briefly about that, yes, but mainly on the corruption U.S. persons, even in relation to those activities…it came up briefly.”

Larson- “How about the stuff about nuclear trafficking, drug smuggling, arms trafficking?”

Edmonds- “Yes, it came up- not in detail- Mr. Grossman’s name came up and Brewster-Jennings- I believe this is gonna be for the first time under Oath, on the record, people getting answer on Brewster-Jennings and the real story- not the crap that they got from the media.”

It seems that while a great deal of new information came out in this deposition that will justify criminal investigations and widespread media coverage, Edmonds was witness to a great deal more that remains to be disclosed and properly investigated.

Former Attorney General John Ashcroft had invoked the State Secrets privilege in 2002 to quash Sibel Edmonds’ lawsuit against the DOJ for suppression of her Right to speak freely about the crimes and corruption she had witnessed. He invoked the State Secrets privilege again in 2004 to prevent her from testifying in a case brought by family members of 9/11 victims, classified her date of birth and also retroactively classified letters from Sens. Grassley and Leahy that had been public for nearly 2 years (this was later overturned, when POGO, who had published the letters, sued the DOJ). The DOJ attempted to dissuade Edmonds testifying this time as well, but did not re-invoke the State Secrets privilege and did not appear at the deposition.

No so-called “mainstream” print or broadcast media showed up to cover the deposition. Too bad for them, as Edmonds’ allegations reportedly include a juicy sex scandal involving a current Democratic Congresswoman- exactly the kind of thing the mainstream media loves to cover in depth ad nauseum. Given that these allegations intersect with allegations of treasonous activities by high-level figures in the Democrat and Republican establishment, it seems unlikely the corporate media will report on this, even when the video and transcript are made public.

One mainstream media outlet did acknowledge that the deposition would be happening:

Ex-FBI Translator Tests Justice Dept. Again – CQPolitics.com

Several U.S. and Armenian independent media stayed until the press conference following the deposition, and will be covering further developments:

The event was reported on in advance and live blogged by Brad Friedman of BradBlog.com; Friedman interviewed participants by cell phone with the help of on-site associates, who also took video and photos.

8/8/09: LIVE BLOG: Deposition of Sibel Edmonds Completed, DoJ a 'No Show,' Bombshells Under Oath

8/7/09: EXCLUSIVE: FBI Attempts to Block Edmonds Testimony in OH Election Case

8/7/09: EXCLUSIVE UPDATE: DoJ Pressures Ohio Election Commission to Block Edmonds Testimony

8/5/09: Sibel Edmonds Subpoenaed, Set to 'Break' Gag Order

Drawn to the event by Krikorian’s campaign-related battles with Schmidt and Edmonds’ reports of Turkish efforts to prevent U.S. acknowledgement of Turkey’s genocide of Armenians, but also interested in the extent of corruption were Horizon Armenian TV, The Armenian Reporter and Armenian Public TV.

Andrew Krieg covered the event for HuffingtonPost.com:

Gagged Former FBI Translator Claims U.S. Rep Bribe Evidence

In response to my (and Brad Friedman’s) questions after the deposition (video, 16:10), about when the entire video and transcript of the deposition would be made public, David Krikorian said his first priority was defending himself against Schmidt’s lawsuit, and that he needed to confer with his legal and political teams about the timing. He also stated, “I think that the information that was provided in this testimony is something that every American Citizen should be aware of…. What I heard in that deposition room is fairly troubling information…. I don’t see any reason to not make it public.”

David Krikorian said, quoted by Brad Friedman:

“From my opinion, if I'm some of the current members of Congress, I'd be very very worried about the information that's going to come out of this. There are current members of Congress that she has implicated in bribery, espionage. It's not good. It's crazy, it's absolutely crazy. For people in power situations in the United States, who know about this information, if they don't take action against it, in my opinion, it's negligence.”

Regardless of whether the Obama Administration or the Democrat-controlled Congress want to investigate evidence of treason by Democrats and Republicans, and regardless of whether the corporate “news” media are inclined to report on any of this, public opinion and action organized through word of mouth and the web have the power to compel public servants to follow the law, as well as turn this into a story the corporate media can’t ignore.

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paul revere (not verified)

at 18:07 on August 9th, 2009

Go Sibel, I can't wait to see some of these bastards in jail!

Your brave! and Hot

Jan S. (not verified)

at 23:19 on August 9th, 2009

I'm amazed the mainstream media ignored this! This is news that every American should be concerned about. Yet the mainstream media, for reasons I'm still trying to imagine, just do not see this story as important enough to cover. Very strange, and very disconcerting.

Erik Larson

at 04:02 on August 10th, 2009

Yes, how can the MSM not cover such explosive allegations? Edmonds was on 60 Minutes in 2002- they also interviewed senior Senator who called her "very credible". The FBI and DOJ IG have confirmed many of her allegations, but there's been no further investigation. Many MSM, including the NY Times and CNN, signed onto an Amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to hear her free speech case, but except for the Vanity Fair piece in 2005 in which Hastert was the principal figure, there's been virtually no substantive coverage- if she's mentioned, her most serious allegations are ignored, or put in a context which makes them seem less serious.

The MSM's ownership likely has something to do with it- Glenn Greenwald recently commented on how this affected the Olbermann/O'Reilly wars

However, this is the kind of story that really goes to the heart of the kind of corruption that the Washington, DC establishment is riddled with- to acknowledge it means doing something about it- and the only thing to do is to thoroughly clean house, put a lot of high-profile, well-connected people in prison and bar them from public office. It would be revolutionary- Krikorian's invoking Washington and Jefferson was very appropo (see bradblog.com live blogging post)

farang (not verified)

at 07:53 on August 11th, 2009

The msm isn't the only ones ignoring it: have you seen a hint of it at so-called "progressive" sites like Raw Story?

Ant (not verified)

at 10:03 on August 20th, 2009

Jan S. You must live in a hole. Is it not Glaringly obvious that the mainstream media works against us and our interests? They lied us into Iraq, tried lying us into Iran, told you fire brought down the towers, told you bin Laden did it even though he's still not wanted by the FBI for 9-11. Go to www.cjr.org and see who owns what to see which bomb makers control your news and world view.

Sand2 (not verified)

at 06:05 on August 10th, 2009

Asking a stupid question? Who or what organization is interviewing Ms Edmonds and Mr Stein etc? The video and audio quality you are linking to [ Video coverage from VelvetRevolution.us and BradBlog.com ?] doesn't seem to be coming from the interviewers feed?

Erik Larson

at 17:02 on August 10th, 2009

EDIT: I think i misunderstood your question, but my answer below may help some other folks. Brett and Craig of VR/Justice Through Music also work w/ BradBlog- Craig videotaped and Brett asked questions, kept Brad updated and used his cell phone for Brad to ask questions directly of deposition participants- does this answer your question?

My first reply:

this is an important point; sorry for not making it clearer in my article.

Edmonds was subpoenaed by David Krikorian to give testimony he plans to use to defend against a lawsuit by Jean Schmidt. Bruce Fein was representing Schmidt. A court-appointed reporter and videographer recorded the deposition, which was closed to the public, although witnesses from the National Whistleblower Center (NWC) were present. Stephen Michael Kohn is one of the founders of the NWC and is also Edmonds' attorney.

Hopefully, the deposition vid/transcript will be made public soon; as Edmonds was subpoenaed by Krikorian, the decision about when to make it public is apparently up to him, and he will be rely on advice from his legal/political team. He intends to make the entire thing public asap, but it may not be until after the court battle is over; this is scheduled for Sep 3.

Keep an eye on Bradblog.com for updates, but I will definitely be posting the deposition material here asap.

crowbar (not verified)

at 15:38 on August 12th, 2009

Eric, you and I see a rare phenomenon before us. Let us protect her.

Erik Larson

at 19:49 on August 13th, 2009

Amen, crowbar- I think she may be alive today due to her contacting Congress, the DOJ IG and going very public with her allegations- the best thing people can do to protect her may be to spread the info- the more famous she is, the bigger the PR crisis should she meet an unfortunate end- and become a martyr- like Joan of Arc, as you said

Sand2 (not verified)

at 15:10 on August 13th, 2009

" does this answer your question" ~ Yes, thanks.

I forgot (not verified)

at 21:46 on August 10th, 2009

There are two reports on the same subject in the two given links below. They give much more details on the story:

http://www.asbarez.com/2009/08/10/fbi-insider-links-turkish-lobby-to-bribery-and-blackmail/

http://www.reporter.am/go/article/2009-08-10-sibel-edmonds-offers-details-of-turkey-s-covert-operations-in-u-s-

I forgot (not verified)

at 21:53 on August 10th, 2009

The first link is working, but sorry about the second link, it is not working, you have then to go to:

http://www.reporter.am/

Then look for the reprt by title:

Sibel Edmonds offers details of Turkey’s covert operations in U.S.

by Emil Sanamyan

I forgaten (not verified)

at 21:58 on August 10th, 2009

Sorry the second link is not working. You have to go then to:

http://www.reporter.am

and look for atricle:

Motomojo (not verified)

at 22:06 on August 10th, 2009

Nothing will happen no one will be charged no one will be fired, jailed, fined etc... in fact no one will even know any of this happen.

The American people are only interested in who is winning on American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, Americas got Talent, Big Brother, etc...

As Zbig stated in his book "Between Two Ages"

"Soon the American people will no longer be able to reason for themselves.They will rely on the Media to do their reasoning for them"

And since the Media (who is owned by the very ones perpetrating these crimes) did not cover this the poor Sheep will never know since they will not here it on any of the MSM outlets. And you know the deal if something happens but is not reported on the MSM it never happen and if something didn't happen but is reported to have happen on the MSM well it happen you can count on that cos the Media never lies they always have our best interest at heart.

All of this will be swept under the rug by next week and business as usual will keep rolling on

Bill Black (not verified)

at 05:37 on August 11th, 2009

The ADL Blocked efforts to label the Armenian Genocide as such.

Talk about hypocrites and Holocaust deniers....

T heir ancestors were also behind the massacres, young Turks being led by Donmeh Judaics, TEmmanuel Carraso: B’nai B’rith Official, Messim Russo: Assistant to Djavid Bey, Tallaat Pasha, Vladimir Jabotinsky et al

BRITISH AMBASSADOR TO THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE SIR GERALD LOWTHER’S LETTER TO SIR CHARLES HARDING, May 29, 1910 — “Shortly after the revolution in July 1908, it soon became known that many of the Young Turks’ leading members were Freemasons. It was noticed that Jews of all colours, native and foreign, were enthusiastic supporters of the new dispensation, till, as many Turks expressed it, every Hebrew became a potential spy of the Young Turks. Turks began to remark that the movement was rather a Jewish than a Turkish Revolution.”

farang (not verified)

at 07:54 on August 11th, 2009

Thank you, Bill.

WhiteOpsPatrot (not verified)

at 06:09 on August 11th, 2009

Slowly, the block of lies gets stripped away.Sibel Edmonds, has risked her life obviously, to help all of us get to the truth. A very respectable lady.

I, thank her very much and `Now Public` for covering the corruption of our renegade, Criminal, (supposed) leadership. Also great to find this site.

mick in nz (not verified)

at 11:08 on August 11th, 2009

America needs to honestly investigate 911,the Fed,AIPAC,the MSM and the entire Electoral System.

If "Special Interest Groups" maintain control you are doomed and your children will hate you for your inaction.

Motomojo (not verified)

at 13:45 on August 11th, 2009

(If "Special Interest Groups" maintain control you are doomed and your children will hate you for your inaction.) Ha! are you kidding

The children born after Sept 11 2001 view this police state as Normal and through their continued brainwashing in the indoctrination centers (Public Schools) they will not hate you they will think you are nuts or worse a terrorist for not going along with whatever the criminals deem necessary to keep them safe from the boogie man.

These Monsters are not concerned with anyone over 40 as they know the next generation will look upon them as their Saviors and will start turning on even their parents.

You have to face facts they have and are indoctrinating the next generation into accepting this New World Order as as Bush called it after 9/11 "the new freedom"

All they need is one Generation and they can completely change the world.

I hate to say it but we allowed all of this to happen by ignoring what was going on and just looking for more and more ways to entertain ourselves and leaving everything to the "Experts"

Now go reap what you have sown.

Dee Struct (not verified)

at 14:28 on August 11th, 2009

I say GO SIBEL! also! But I fear that the corruption is so pandemic and inter-woven that "they" will cook something up to entrap and embroil her so as to turn her into a pariah, so the MSM can do what the media here does best......... you got it!

She is a very, very brave, honest American. I can only wish her the very best.

nader paul kucinich gravel (not verified)

at 07:26 on August 12th, 2009

Anderson Baldwin Carter Choate Clemente Gonzalez Gravel Kaptur Kucinich McKinney Nader Paul Perot Sheehan Ventura

Future of a Nation that can not trust the Government & Propaganda Media?
DNC & RNC have sold out the country in order to enrich themselves
Chronic lying as career path, intellectual prostitution for paycheck
Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me
Does the Government & Propaganda Media lie to you?
Mussolini Corporate State, Subversion of Democracy
Poodles, Puppets, Sham debates, & Scam elections
Wall Street Bailout Bill: Bush McCain Obama et al.
AIPAC 9/11 Bankers Extortion Blackmail Bribery
Independents agree on more than we disagree
Elite Ruling Class Greed or public servants?
Speak no evil, hear no evil, see no evil?
Honesty compassion conscience guts?
Both parties are corrupt to the core
Beware the divide and conquer
Whistle-Blower leaks multiply
A very RawStory on PressTV
InfoWars on a PrisonPlanet
Israel-first dual-nationals
Gung-Ho Chickenhawks
Homeland Police State
JFK RFK MLK Malcolm
Anthrax Intimidation
"Federal" Reserve
NAFTA Nation?
GGreenwald

Left and rights of passage
Black and whites of youth
Who can face the knowledge
That the truth is not the truth?
Obsolete
Absolute

crowbar (not verified)

at 15:47 on August 12th, 2009

What can be made from all these cow-paddies??? They're too poison for fertilizer.

Archie1954 (not verified)

at 09:57 on August 12th, 2009

If it comes down to a choice of who do I believe, I side with Ms. Edmonds. She actually names names and she risks her own reputation in doing so for no reward except knowing that she has done her duty. She gets no other reward from telling the truth, so what's in it for her telling the truth? She has lost her job by telling the truth, she has absolutely nothing to gain by lying about it. She wants the authorities to investigate her allegations but I have this terrible feeling that the authorities already know the truth of what she says and are not interested in it becoming public. We all know what a complete and total disaster Bush was. Is this flirting with nuclear secrets and dealing with potential enemies just another one of his egregious activities? You know his penchant for the gift that keeps on giving. Is he in fact the worst traitor of all?

crowbar (not verified)

at 15:18 on August 12th, 2009

Lies and deceit are horrified by TRUTH.

Any democratic government must have transparency and TRUTH, or it is a hoax.

Any person that dares to reveal TRUTH, exposing amoral people of immense power and evil, are the truest heroes of any society.

Sibel, you are in the league with Joan of Arc.

Let not the complacency of the American masses allow the THUGS to burn you!

Btok (not verified)

at 18:03 on August 14th, 2009

It's about time these guys start getting put in the slammer! Seems some lawmen, Judges and lawyers have this idea that the law doesn't arrest until these crooks have finished commiting their crimes, let me tell you with these criminals you'd never get finished waiting! I can't wait! Nothinhg I hate worse than an arrogant criminal who has snuck into high office! Love to see Obama, and the Off-Shore Foreign Bankers and their Globalist Elite buddies do some hard time, have their wealth distributed back to the taxpayers who they stole from, along with being executed for High Treason!

I hope everyone of them rots and burns in Hell at the hands of their idol - Satan!

In God We Trust!

Btok

Mac-101 (not verified)

at 00:15 on August 19th, 2009

How could they blackmail a Democratic Congresswomen for being bisexual? Wouldn't this be worth a lot MORE votes in a Demo district?

take head (not verified)

at 03:29 on August 19th, 2009

False-flag nuclear and anthrax attacks within the next 3 years. Can't give specifics I'm afraid.

Randy Albert

at 14:48 on October 28th, 2009

This country is in trouble. http://killacab.blogspot.com/2009/10/i-want-to-share-incredible-story-about.html

in Washington, Crime, Israel, democrat, republican, Congress, Pentagon, Sibel Edmonds, whistleblower, gag order, Defense Department, Censorship, corruption, United States, Bin Laden, World, War on terror, Bush administration, Al Qaeda, Pakistan, Espionage, Media Blackout, D.C., Treason, Turkey, Bribery, Blackmail, LOBBYIST, cover up, STATE DEPARTMENT, CLASSIFIED, executive branch, WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION, MUJAHIDEEN, CORPORATE MEDIA, MAINSTREAM MEDIA, DENNIS HASTERT, state secrets, US Politics, 9 11 Truth, nuclear secrets, criminal investigation, Armenian genocide, FBI investigation, diplomatic relations, marc grossman, 9 11 cover up, nuclear trafficking, certain foreign business relations, turkey genocide, Turkish genocide, denny Hastert, nuclear terrorism, Brewster-jennings, covert operation, national whistleblower center, abuse of classification

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