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Rarely used spy satellite monitored Elohim City According to these documents a spy satellite was tasked to gather intelligence at Elohim City – a paramilitary, Christian Identity compound in eastern Oklahoma near Muldrow. At the time this satellite was used to monitor events at Elohim City, the paramilitary trainer of the camp was German-national Andreas Carl Strassmeir. Other documents obtained from the FBI indicate informants working for the Southern Poverty Law Center had also been monitoring events at the right-wing camp prior to the bombing. And ATF records obtained by the newspaper reveal an intelligence gathering operation focused on radicals at Elohim City, as well. America’s spy-satellite program is jointly under the control of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Department of Defense (DoD). Targeting decisions are classified; however, persons familiar with the project say any domestic use of these satellites is barred by agreements between the CIA and DoD. An FBI agent familiar with the OKBOMB investigation called evidence that a spy satellite was used to monitor events at Elohim City, “Staggering!” Three experts contacted for this story agree that only under the most unusual circumstances in the nation’s history has an American spy satellite been used to gather domestic intelligence. Dr. Jeffrey Richelson is the author of a number of books, including The Wizards of Langley: Inside the CIA’s Directorate of Science and Technology, America’s Space Sentinels: DSP Satellites and National Security, The U.S. Intelligence Community, A Century of Spies: Intelligence in the Twentieth Century and America’s Secret Eyes in Space: The US KEYHOLE Spy Satellite Program. Richelson characterized evidence a U.S. spy satellite was used in 1995 for domestic intelligence gathering purposes as, “Quite remarkable and rare.” “I’ve only seen one other reference of this kind before,” he said. “The FBI employed one in the Unabomber case to photograph the suspect’s cabin in Montana. That’s the only other instance of this I’m aware of.” How investigators would be able to get clearance from the CIA and DoD to task a satellite in this manner would not be easy, Richelson agreed. The expert also said that approval for this type of operation would require a higher level of review than is normally required to initiate the routine surveillance of overseas targets of intelligence gathering. Calls to the CIA regarding the Elohim City operation were not returned by press time. However, documents created after the bombing provide an insight into the remarkable project. Elohim City connection In the wake of the bombing, USSS documents reveal that federal authorities began an investigation into Elohim City’s connection to the Oklahoma blast almost immediately. This intense early interest was apparently due to the discovery of a telephone calling card used by the conspirators, known as the “Darryl Bridges card.” Within two days of the blast, a USSS log notes that a federal agent in Miami, Fla., had already been able to trace phone calls from Timothy McVeigh’s motel room at the Dreamland Motel in Junction City, Kan., to a phone card purchased using the alias Darryl Bridges. Shortly afterwards, the Secret Service discovered that the card had been purchased from a now defunct right-wing group in Washington D.C., called the Liberty Lobby. Regarding the calling card, the USSS notes: “SA ________ advised that the 800 number had been traced to the Spotlight Co., 300 Independence Ave, WDC. A Lexis-Nexis search revealed an article dated 12-93 which indicated the group intended to arm homeless people to provide them with a “basic life skill and a confidence builder. “A Mascot search revealed an association between the Spotlight Co. and the Liberty Lobby, a private organization at the above listed address, which describes itself as a constitutionalist centrist organization that works for a non-centralized constitutional government, and the Spotlight Co. appear to be a publication of this organization. Intelligence is doing a Dunn and Bradstreet check on the Spotlight Co. The results are pending. “…. A Nexis search revealed a 04-02-95 story in the San Diego Union–Tribune which indicated that Willis Carto, an internationally known leader of the Holocaust-denial movement, organized the Liberty Lobby. The Liberty Lobby is a Washington-based group that publishes the Spotlight, a right-leaning publication with ties to Lyndon LaRouche, a perennial presidential candidate and fringe activist.” By late afternoon on April 21, the Secret Service agent in Florida had received information concerning a number of phone calls made with the calling card. Within a few days, federal investigators had a roadmap to follow the movements of McVeigh, Terry Lynn Nichols and his brother James Nichols – who was also a prime-suspect in the case at this early stage. Among the telephone records that caught the Secret Service’s interest was a phone call on April 5, 1995, from McVeigh in a motel room in Arizona to Elohim City – some 20 seconds after the card was used to call a Ryder Rental business. By the time agents discovered this call, the FBI had already traced a damaged truck axle from the downtown Oklahoma City crime scene to a Ryder truck franchise in central Kansas. Very shortly after calls to the Ryder Truck rental and Elohim City were discovered, USSS logs reveal that a spy satellite had been tasked to process intelligence at Elohim City. No spy zone The domestic use of a military satellite for domestic spying is a violation of DoD and CIA regulations regarding the proper use of top-secret national security satellites. The purpose behind the development of satellites during the Cold War was to enable the military and the U.S. intelligence community the ability to track the activities inside of those countries where Americans could not safely over-fly and take pictures. An official for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) said he was surprised to learn that federal investigators in 1995 had obtained a waiver of regulations regarding domestic spying by the agency. Rick Oborn, the Director of Corporate Communications for NGA, said: “Domestic use of the intelligence product of one of those satellites over U.S. territory is not allowed, unless there has been a finding by a team of specialists who would have to approve any domestic use of a satellite.” With the exception of the recent use of a satellite to assist in the Hurricane Katrina disaster, Oborn said he could not recall another instance in his eight-year tenure where a variance had been approved for a spy satellite to be used for domestic purposes. The evidence Documents obtained by this newspaper show that on May 2, 1995, the FBI was attempting to apprehend two suspicious characters wanted for questioning in the Oklahoma City bombing investigation. On this date a highway patrolman in Arkansas noted that a sedan bearing a license plate matching the suspects’ automobile was spotted near Elohim City, just south of Fort Smith, Ark. A Secret Service log of the event records the following: “It is now believed that Land and Jacks may be ‘holed up’ on a 410-acre religious ‘cult’ compound known as Elohim City located near Muldrow, OK. The leader of this cult is Robert Millar. Attempts are being made to establish a link with Elohim City and the Darryl Bridges telephone calling card (used by McVeigh and Nichols). Intelligence division records indicate a tie between Elohim City and the group known as the Covenant, Sword and the Arm of the Lord. “Satellite assets have been tasked to provide intelligence concerning the compound.” Black operation flush with cash The very existence of the NGA was officially denied by the U.S. government until Sept. 18, 1992, when officials at the CIA and DoD finally acknowledged the agency’s clandestine work. Regarding questions concerning the military’s involvement in gathering domestic intelligence, NGA media specialist Stephen Honda confirmed limited use of NGA assets to provide support in times of natural disaster, but warned that there are firm guidelines in place. “The nation has the historic tradition of limiting direct military involvement in civilian law enforcement activities. Posse Comitatus Act 18 U.S.C. §1385. Department of Defense policy does not permit the planning or creation of military missions or training for the primary purpose of aiding civilian law enforcement officials, and it does not permit conducting training or missions for the purpose of routinely collecting information about U.S. citizens.” Five months after the Oklahoma City bombing, the Washington Post newspaper broke a story that officials at the NGA had surreptitiously placed almost $2 billion in a “rainy day fund” – money that was hidden from DoD, the CIA and the Congress. |
