Newsmax has an accusation from Rep. Curt Weldon that the 9/11 Commission staffer that ignored Captain Scott Philpott in June 2004 and his information on Able Danger was Dietrich Dieter Snell, one of the Commission's senior staffers. However, Weldon also asserts that Snell worked for Gorelick, presumably at the Department of Justice:

An aide to former Clinton Justice Department official Jamie Gorelick blocked the 9/11 Commission from hearing bombshell testimony about the findings of the elite Able Danger military intelligence team, Rep. Curt Weldon said late Friday.

"The person who debriefed [Able Danger analyst] Scott Philpot was, in fact, the lead staffer for Jamie Gorelick," Weldon told the Fox News Channel's "Hannity & Colmes." "His name was Dieter Snell."

Weldon contended: "It was Dieter Snell who did not brief the 9/11 Commission. The 9/11 Commissioners were never briefed on Able Danger."

The implication, of course, is that Snell blocked the information to help keep Gorelick from getting blamed over the inability of Able Danger's team to share its information with the FBI. The only problem with this scenario is that no one seems to know when Snell worked for Gorelick. Snell participated in the prosecution of Ramzi Yousef for WTC I in the Southern District of New York. As such, he would have worked with Mary Jo White -- who so strenuously objected to Gorelick's rules that one of her memoranda remains classified.

The fact that Snell interviewed Philpott isn't a revelation; I noted it in this post on August 13. If Snell has a long relationship with Gorelick, it might prove interesting; if he helped Gorelick with implementing the "wall", then his presence on the staff would create a great deal of suspicion about his meeting with Philpott. However, after two hours of Googling, I find nothing that shows Snell worked for Gorelick at DoJ as anything but a prosecutor.

Readers? (h/t: several CQ readers and Big Lizards)

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» The 800 Pound Gorelick? from Small Town Veteran
Rumor has it that Dafydd ab Hugh has been hearing some very interesting rumors about who kept the 9/11 Commission from hearing about the Able Danger project. I'll add my own speculation to Dafydd's rumors. It's been quite obvious for [Read More]

Tracked on October 22, 2005 5:29 PM

» Fly By 10/22/05 from The Strata-Sphere
UPDATE: Ed Morrissey is rightfully questioning whether Schnell was associated with Gorelick. We should know for sure this is the case before tagging Schnell with Gorelick. Does anyone have a solid link? Otherwise I am withdrawing this claim. END U... [Read More]

Tracked on October 22, 2005 6:33 PM

» Snell worked for Zelikow, not Gorelick from TOPDOG08.COM
As much as you've got to love Curt Weldon for having the guts to say he will resign if the Able Danger cover up continues, you've also got to admit that at times Congressman Weldon can get his facts wrong.... [Read More]

Tracked on October 23, 2005 2:35 PM