Cynthia McKinney has returned to her old tricks in Congress. Working through her new organization, 9/11 Citizens Watch, she plans on hosting a full-day "Congressional" briefing for Representatives and their staffs on the supposed lack of progress in investigating the 9/11 attacks. Much like the John Conyers "impeachment" panel based on the Downing Street Memos, McKinney and a couple of cohorts plan on offering their wild conspiracy theories in the guise of a sober, official hearing:

On July 22, 2005, Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) will host a full-day briefing, co-sponsored by Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ), and other sponsors, for Members of Congress and their staffs in the Caucus Room, Cannon House Office Building, Room 345, Independence Ave. & First Street SE, from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. One year after the release of the 9/11 Commission Final Report many questions about what transpired on September 11, 2001 and who should be held accountable still remain unanswered. Serious flaws and omissions in the Report have been addressed by whistleblowers and academics. Well known researchers and authors have put the events of that day into historical perspective, and have suggested possible alternatives to the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission regarding intelligence reform, domestic and foreign policy. The hard evidence has yet to be properly evaluated, and points to the need for full transparency, release of information, and continued probative investigations to have an effective, democratic response to the crisis that confronts all of us.

It's quite a stretch to claim that the "hard evidence has yet to be properly evaluated"; the evidence at hand has been pored over thoroughly by experts, the media, and pundits. However, it's vague enough that McKinney can present an elastic definition of what qualifies as "properly". She gets a bit more specific after that:

Family members of the victims of 9/11 will present a “Report Card” to address their still unanswered questions about the events of 9/11 and the lack of accountability for the security and intelligence failures that may have allowed these events to happen. Other experts will speak to the flaws in the 9/11 Commission’s process, including conflicts of interest, lack of transparency, investigative rigor and public input, and the many whistleblowers ignored by the Commission.

I have criticized the 9/11 Commission's composition too, mainly in their inclusion of Jamie Gorelick when she should have instead been questioned on her role in keeping intelligence and law-enforcement operations from sharing information. That alone could have helped the government connect the dots, although it's still questionable whether enough intelligence had actually been received to piece together that particular attack ahead of time. I don't recall that the Commission ignored many whistleblowers, though. In fact, I thought they had a lot of people testifying in public who had little to add in that venue except political grandstanding, especially Richard Clarke.

In the next paragraph, McKinney gets closer to the point (emphases mine):

One panel of experts will explore the omissions and errors in the Commission’s Final Report, including the timeline of NORAD/FAA and P-56 defense responses that day, the suspects and plot, the background of Al Qaeda and bin Laden, the involvement of other countries, the obstruction of investigations by the FBI and CIA, and foreknowledge and forewarnings prior to the attacks. Another panel will place 9/11 into historical perspective and look at the flawed assumptions that misled the Commission’s work, including the politics of illegal drugs, oil investments, covert operations and terrorism, as well as past covert operations like Contragate and the rise of the neo-conservatives and their agenda.

Ah, now we get it. McKinney has returned to her nutty conspiracy theories that got her booted from Congress for one term. In 2002, she floated the notion that 9/11 was a conspiracy to benefit corporations close to the GOP, since the attacks resulted in increased defense spending. Now she apparently intends on expanding her paranoid vision to include oil cartels, the Colombian drug trade, and the Nicaraguan freedom fighters.

If anyone can figure out a coherent rationale for 9/11 that encompasses all of those elements, please be sure to forward it to McKinney's psychiatrist.

The last topic reveals much about McKinney. The "rise of the neo-conservatives" sounds ominous, and in McKinney's world, that has stood for a Jewish cabal that secretly controls the American government. McKinney's father, Georgia politician Bill McKinney, has had plenty to say about the Jews while working on his daughter's campaigns:

That is McKinney's explanation for her 2002 primary defeat, and she is sticking to it. But there are other explanations. Her father, Georgia state legislator Billy McKinney, shared his version with an Atlanta television reporter on August 19, 2002, the night before she lost. The reporter had asked Billy McKinney about his daughter's use of a years-old, moth-balled endorsement from former Atlanta mayor Andrew Young. Such endorsements were worthless, the elder McKinney replied, because "Jews have bought everybody. Jews." In case the reporter didn't understand, he spelled the word: "J-E-W-S."

Just as at Conyers' impeachment hearings, expect this debate to draw out the anti-Semitic lunatics with their flyers charging that the Bush administration serves only Ariel Sharon's interests. Her investigation into neocons will attract them like flies. And like Conyers' gathering, it will provide moments of both political hilarity and sheer embarrassment for the Democrats. (h/t: Pirates Cove)

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Tracked on July 17, 2005 11:19 PM