Patsy Brumfield has an interesting gloss on the Hal Neilson indictment– that there are hints that it is part of a personal issue between Neilson and Greenlee about an issue on which Neilson sought whistleblower status. Brumfield’s story leads: “FBI Agent Hal Neilson of Oxford, whose indictment became public Thursday, asked the Department of Justice for whistleblower protection a couple of years ago after accusing the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Oxford of wrongdoing.”
Folks may remember last September Jerry Mitchell ran a story about whether the Northern District US Attorney’s office was improperly targeting Muslim convenience stores in the wake of 9/11. He wrote in part:
The U.S. attorney’s office in Oxford targeted convenience store operators in north Mississippi, many of Middle Eastern descent, despite a lack of any connection to terrorism, according to documents obtained by The Clarion-Ledger.
The Convenience Store Initiative arose from meetings with local law enforcement officers in the years following 9-11 – when Middle Eastern terrorists flew hijacked planes into the Pentagon and World Trade Center Twin Towers.
U.S. Attorney Jim Greenlee of Oxford said the government was “looking to see any links to terrorism, but what we found was criminal conduct.”
Instead of arrests for alleged terrorist plots, state and federal officials since 2006 have charged more than 60 people in Mississippi with such illegal acts as the sale of excessive amounts of pseudoephedrine – used to make meth.
Those who ran the Convenience Store Initiative say the FBI found nothing wrong with the initiative, which arose from tips from local law enforcement. In fact, they say the Justice Department in the Bush administration praised the concept.
Those involved in the initiative say the money from the illegal activity was being sent back overseas, where it couldn’t be traced and possibly could have gone to funding terrorism. But they acknowledged the money could have gone to relatives instead.
Greenlee denied the suggestion those of Middle Eastern descent were targeted. “Did we look at it from an improper purpose? No,” he said.
But Matt Steffey, professor at Mississippi College School of Law, said there are “serious constitutional and statutory issues raised by targeting people on the basis of national origin or race. … If race simply coincided with the investigation, that’s something else. But if they were targeted because of national origin, that’s unlawful and a very serious racial profiling case that would be disturbing to a lot of people.”
Of the more than 100 people listed as being investigated by federal authorities, nearly every name appears to be Islamic. FBI officials would not comment.
More than 65 have been arrested by federal authorities, the state Bureau of Narcotics and Drug Enforcement Administration agents.
I quoted more of the story in this post. I don’t remember any follow up on this story until today. Here’s a quote from Patsy Brumfield’s story this morning about the Neilson indictment– by far the best on this indictment:
Neilson reportedly sought whistleblower protection from DOJ a few years ago when he questioned the U.S. Attorney’s Office and U.S. Attorney Jim Greenlee for allegedly seeking information on Muslims throughout the region after the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and accused the agency of falsifying evidence in some cases and in entrapment and coercion of witnesses.
What action was taken by the Bush administration Justice Department on the complaints wasn’t known Thursday.
Dugas and Greenlee are 2001 Bush appointees and are expected to be replaced by the Obama administration.
Greenlee’s office did not respond to questions about Neilson’s accusations or about persistent rumors that Greenlee will retire at the end of January.
Neilson also reportedly raised ethics questions about former assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Dawson’s participation in a book about the office’s investigation and prosecution of then-Oxford attorney Richard “Dickie” Scruggs, who was sentenced to prison on two guilty pleas related to judicial bribery indictments.
Before the book was released several weeks ago, a DOJ spokesman said Dawson had retired before he worked on it. Tension between Neilson and the U.S. Attorney’s Office first became public when it was mentioned in the book, although reasons for the problems were not given.
Is there such a thing as an “Islamic name”?
Cassius Clay evidently thought so.
Conflict of interest is something the FBI supervisory agent should have understood and steered clear of, especially in view of the political difficulties with the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Law enforcement folk have no excuse except of course, politics.
Hey, Anderson. From the lack of comments, I’d about decided all my readers had fled.
NMC, what’s that remark? Best keep silent and thought a fool, or comment and be confirmed? Your readers are here, perhaps just minding their p’s and q’s.
I’ve actually had to be (relatively) busy this past week — possibly some of the others are suffering the same work-related disease. Maybe the long weekend will help us recover.
But this story says nothing about lying to the DOJ; covering up his involvement in owning part of the building and failing to disclose this information. So doesn’t it seem that even if there was a big rift in the home office it still doesn’t explain the deceit in persnal financial disclosure for which he was indicted? Wonder why Brumfield completely left all that part out of her story?
It’s in her story, which only quoted the parts of that were news to me.
There are and always will be good cops and bad cops…good teachers and bad teachers…good doctors and bad doctors…good writers and news reporters!
Good bloggers and bad bloggers?
HERE,HEAR!
Suggestion: We allow the judicial system to work and for us not to be too quick to judge! What would you do if you had to fight for your life?
Silence on the Alan Lange blog is telling. No comments on the FBI Oxford boss being indicted!?!? Readers here r very muted 2. Why? FBI offices r doing the principal police work 4 federal law enforcement and its smelling 2 high heaven? No wonder the NYC head (Brink) came 2 Miss a couple of years ago 2 take charge…
Charlie, I think there are indications that the NY guy was sent down here as a form of punishment, aren’t there?
He retired this summer so u might b right. I appreciate ur coverage of the ‘breaking’ story here.
His prior station was legal attache in Saudi Arabia and he had a techy background 2. Neilson and a tax expert like Walsh r connected in this in a very strange way. Or perhaps I might not understand the cupidity of real estate deals and the cocaine-like rush and irrationality of intense money making. I expect more from FBI leaders however.
Charlie…PLEASE, I beg you, stop using text abbreviations.
I thought the silence on the Lange’s place interesting too. He doesn’t even mention that his book first mentioned this story coming down the line. I submitted some quotes and links to Patsy’s column and he never put them up.
The Yemeni’s running/owning the convenience stores in North Miss. can be vetted/traced back to the gas dist,/banks that are allowing them to be in business.
We hope and pray they are not terriosts (they are not!)
Only small business owners that violated state laws on meth. precurors(sp)…
Is the FBI asking questions of the right entities?
Cocaine & reefer are the drugs of choice among the elites and meth for the poor. No president, attorney general, or governor has been successful in stopping our drug appetite. I wonder who in Oxford or the state are rewarding themselves with the profits thereof? Who has bought their immunity and who from?
greenlee threw neilson under the bus. i hope neilson writes a book or talks to jerry mitchell.
This seems like a witch hunt against a career FBI agent and dedicated public servant. Let’s let the legal system do its thing before anyone jumps to judgement…if Neilson is found innocent, the prosecuting attorney should resign!!!
Public opinions don’t have technical definitions of facts like courts do. The damage to law enforcement will be in both arenas. You have to admit the natural absurdity of being both a rent payer and a land lord at the same time.
Either one is a humble civil servant or a lord.
I would suggest that we should be very concerned that allegations brought by an individual that is financially gaining from book sales can be taken as the full truth. If, and I mean if our judicial system works, then we will know the whole truth about this indictment.
When we are irresponsible like the media, by giving opinions without all the details, then all we do is help distroy the lives of those we are so quick to judge. Remember, anyone can accuse you of anything, what would you do?
Conspiracy! Neilson was set up by Greenlee after the whistleblower action. I am sure Greenlee or staff sat down with the other partners and said make him a silent partner and offer this moron a payout and then we’ll nail him. Why weren’t the other partners mentioned by name? Greenlee cut them a deal for setting Neilson up.
[...] representing Neilson (though as a public defender). Quinn quotes the Daily Journal article I had earlier linked about Neilson questioning the US Attorneys office and Jim Greenlee “for allegedly seeking [...]