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T5 B4 Sale - Christina FDR - Entire Contents - Withdrawal Notice - MFR - Letter - GovExec Print (1st PG For Reference) 140
T5 B4 Sale - Christina FDR - Entire Contents - Withdrawal Notice - MFR - Letter - GovExec Print (1st PG For Reference) 140
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October 1,1998 version
http://www.govexec.com/features/1098/1098s5.htm 11/3/2003
tON ON 7...
Lee H. Hamilton
VICE CHAIR
Ms. Chris Sales
Richard Ben-Veniste Inter-American Development Bank
1350 New York Avenue, N.W.
Max Cleland Washington, DC 20005
Frederick F. Fielding
Dear Ms. Sales:
Jamie S. Gorelick
Slade Gorton
The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States is
directed by statute to investigate the facts and circumstances surrounding the
John F. Lehman September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, including the nation's preparedness for,
Timothy J. Roemer
and immediate response to, those attacks, as well as to evaluate the lessons
learned from those attacks and to make recommendations for preventing future
James R. Thompson attacks. As part of its investigation, the Commission hereby requests to
interview you on issues relating to your position as INS Deputy Commissioner.
Philip D. Zelikow We would also like to discuss your views on the current role of immigration and
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR border control policy in combating terrorism.
You may wish to review notes and other materials you may have to refresh your
recollection during your employment at INS. Janice Kephart-Roberts, a
member of the Commission's professional staff, will make the arrangements for
your interview. The Commission would like to conduct your interview at your
office on October 21 at 3:00 p.m. At least two members of the Commission's
staff will attend your interview, and the general policy of the Commission is to
tape record interviews. Please call Joanne Accolla at 202.401.1774 as soon as
possible if you have any questions about the time and place of your interview.
Please call Janice Kephart-Roberts at 202.401.1705 to raise any other questions
you may have.
Thank you very much in advance for your time and for your cooperation with
the Commission and its staff in this important matter.
Yours sincerely,
0
Philip Zelikow
Executive Director
Background.
Meissner met weekly with AG and DAG. CS broadly attended staff meetings where AG
support and INS support would be available. Persons in attendance would depend on
topic being discussed.
What were meetings contents? AG would go on travel and take copious notes and come
back and ask about matters large as program delivery and budget matters and as small as
a software need for an admin person in Dallas. INS found in short time you had to totally
follow through on everything, 100%, to get that item taken off the get-back list.
In the fall of 1993 during negotiation of the crime bill, DM and CS argued vigorously
that INS should get a piece of the bill and budget. There were "buckets" of money in the
bill and INS wasn't on the agenda. On 9/24/93, OMB called and asked: what would INS
do with $30 million?
We had tremendous pressures on us, no one ever saw investigations as our key role, so
we never got the resources, even though DM and I asked. Even after the WTC bombing,
INS got $0 in CT and DOS got the MRV fees.
Intelligence Briefings.
As Acting Comrn'r, did receive briefings on WTCI and Kansi shooting, and at one
point there was a concern about Nigerian crime. These briefings, tended to be more
on organized crime than ever on CT. So CS had people working interagency on
Russian mafia and drug cartels and working lookouts. "I never got heavily involved
in case specific briefings" because I didn't feel like I could make a big difference on
those, whereas I could with budget and programs etc.
We just didn't have good management in place. We had a lot of good operations
guvs with a high school education vet not cut out for management. |
We were the dumping ground for all the "failed" DOJ employees.
In addition, absent the litigators who would on INS cases, there was no counterpart at
DOJ knowledgeable in INS affairs: no policy, no program, no deputy DAG
9/11 Personal Privacy
"We were trying to do a dozen things at once when probably had only done one thing at
once and maybe that not done correctly." I felt like I was always so busy fight fires I
never had the opportunity to look at things systemically the way I needed to.
On paper, Bob Bach reported to me, as did everyone. In reality, he reported to DM.
Bach would only come to Sale on personnel, logistics, or money issues. Bach worked
a lot with Dave Martin and Alienikoff in the general counsel's office (Martin a
professor at UVa and has written definitive immigration law texts.) Ask Martin or
Alienikoff about FDD work.
Talk to Joe Greene or Scott Blackman (Pearson's deputy) about senior CT docs.
Doesn't think they exist except maybe from Pearson's office.
As deputy, would go if DM could not. Doesn't recall any meetings on CT. Recalls
mtgs on Haitian/Cuban immigration issues and arguments with Dick Clarke about
that.
Congressional interest.
Sen. Abraham was cool and okay to work with, but on the House side, Lamar Smith,
Hal Rogers and Elton Gallagley were difficult and demanding.
During this time too there was an incredible time vacuum on border patrol matters, as
the AG had hope to make the Hill happy by letting the Hill (this was an oral
agreement, not in approps statute) actually determine how many border patrol agents
went to what sectors. No other agency was so micro-managed. We'd spend 4 or 5
months trying to figure out where 700 agents would go, and then we'd be asked why
we hadn't hired them yet. "It was a sick environment for a whole host of reasons."
Student tracking.
CS supported it. On admin projects (I was the budget analyst and DM and Bach
would do policy while I made the machine work). I got engaged in what we could
and couldn't do from a data management system. I went after money for it and by the
time we got it I'd really moved on to other things. The concerns were (1) privacy, ie
how the universities and ACLU would react and (2) technology, ie whether we could
actually get the thing done. We often had a bigger appetite than we could actually
implement. At this time, we were also trying to:
• Tie IDENT to case mgmt
• Develop a records management system
• In process of installing a MRV greencard, and the machines for these were a
nightmare
Student tracking arrived in the middle, with a very ambitious agenda and real visions.
But saying it and doing it were received with some skepticism from DM. But CS was
willing to support CIPRIS and let them try even though she wasn't sure it could be
delivered.
WITHDRAWAL NOTICE
Date: 10/20/2003
Pages: 8
Box 4
You are encouraged to review any notes you may have from your employment
at INS prior to the interview, in an effort to refresh your recollection of dates
and events. Janice Kephart-Roberts, a member of the Commission's
professional staff, will make the arrangements for your interview. The
Commission would like to conduct your interview at your office on October 21
at 3:00 p.m. At least two members of the Commission's staff will attend your
interview, and the general policy of the Commission is to tape record
interviews. Please call Joanne Accolla at 202.401.1774 as soon as possible to
discuss the time and location of your interview. Please call Janice Kephart-
Roberts at 202.401.1705 to raise any other questions you may have.
Thank you very much in advance for your time and for your cooperation with
the Commission and its staff in this important matter.
Yours sincerely,
Philip Zelikow
Executive Director
Page 1 of 1
Joanne Accolla
Steve, attached is the interview request letter for Chris Sales, former INS Deputy Commissioner. The interview has been set up for
October 21. POC - Janice Kephart-Roberts - thanks.
Joanne M. Accolla
Staff Assistant
National Commission on Terrorist
Attacks Upon the United States
202.401.1774
jaccolla@9-11commission.gov
10/16/2003