Former FBI director defends Saudi prince from bribery allegations

[Snazzy]

Source: Chicago Trib

Former FBI director defends Saudi prince from bribery allegations

By Tom Hamburger and Josh Meyer | Washington Bureau
12:18 AM CDT, April 7, 2009

WASHINGTON — Former FBI Director Louis Freeh says $2 billion that flowed from Britain to bank accounts controlled by the Saudi ambassador in the U.S. were sent as part of a secret arms deal between the British and the Saudis that, among other things, made it easier for the Saudis to evade American weapons-sales restrictions.

Freeh's comments were made to the Public Broadcasting Service for a " Frontline" documentary to be broadcast Tuesday. They have drawn criticism in Washington, where the transfer of funds to the Saudis continues to be the subject of a Justice Department international corruption inquiry.

The bank accounts were controlled by Prince Bandar bin Sultan, a member of the Saudi royal family who served as Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States. The money was transferred as part of a complex deal between the British government, the British arms manufacturer BAE Systems and the Saudi government, in which Bandar also got use of an Airbus 340 plane.

...

Freeh, now a private lawyer and consultant representing Bandar, acknowledged to Frontline that close to $2 billion was sent to accounts at Washington's former Riggs Bank from Britain. The funds were part of a complex "oil for planes" deal that allowed Saudi Arabia to purchase arms with "maximum flexibility" even if the purchases ran afoul of congressional restrictions, he said.

"U.S. arms could be purchased through BAE in a way that did not deal with the objection of the U.S. Congress to the selling of American equipment to the Saudis," Freeh explains in the interview.

....


Read more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-freeh_for_5sapr07,0,5542203.story

[EFerrari]

1. Oh, this is rich:

"Freeh was FBI director from 1993 to 2001 and became known for his tough approach to white-collar crime and terrorism."

That would be Louis Freeh who hampered John O'Neil's investigation of al Qaida. It must be terrible to be career FBI and have to suffer leadership like Freeh.

[saigon68]

8. He is a gangster in a $1000.00 suit

He takes his orders from the rich and powerful

A true

"Lap-Dog"

[closeupready]

12. You got it.

n/t

[PufPuf23]

2. Freeh is openly offering as a defense that

the BAE-Bandar Bush deal was to evade US weapon sale restrictions.

What amoral and entitled people. Disgusting on all accounts.

[EFerrari]

3. Right here my mom would say, "This is why 9/11 happened."

Freeh was director until about a week before 9/11, iirc.

[Snazzy]

4. this is right at the heart of the beast

got a little bit of a whole lot of tentacles showing. Tony Blair gets his payout, so does Bush family buddies the Saudis, throw in some arms proliferation networks. Claw along a little further and you start getting into just about any bit of BFEE malfeasance you can recall from the last decade and further. Hope this gains investigative traction and coverage already.

[EFerrari]

6. It makes you want to tent the whole joint just like a house is tented

for cockroaches and termites.

[JJ]

5. Freeh was too busy investigating Clinton's zipper...

to worry about what Bin Ladin was doing.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

10. Wrong!

It was Clinton's cock! (please pardon my language :evilgrin:)

[acmavm]

7. What a novel defense. They only did it so they could avoid breaking the

restrictions on selling armaments to a country that supports terrorists. REAL TERRORISTS.

When did the treason laws expire?

[Solly Mack]

9. déjà vu

"deal that allowed Saudi Arabia to purchase arms with "maximum flexibility" even if the purchases ran afoul of congressional restrictions, he said."


Damn.

[blm]

11. The banking system has always been one big TOOL for BFEE's illegal ops - they HAD to collapse it

before they got caught again, like they did with BCCI. Obama should have learned from the wrongs of Clinton when he made the grave decision to protect Bush and his cronies throughout the 90s. He better not follow Clinton's example at the expense of this nation's sovereignty and security. DON'T TRUST ANY OF THEM, BARACK!

[librechik]

13. cushy job for Freeh

explains a lot

[Snazzy]

14. Frontline interview now up

http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/bribe/2009/04/louis-freeh-interview.html