Ashcroft & 9/11: AG Previously Lied Under Oath

A look at Attorney General John Ashcroft's sworn testimony to Congress show he has repeatedly contradicted the facts about his record in de-emphasizing and cutting funding for counterterrorism before and after 9/11.

ASHCROFT CLAIM:

"I had asked for and requested an increased funding for counterterrorism efforts of $436 million, and that was for the FY 2002 budget."
– Attorney General John Ashcroft, 2/28/02

FACT:

According to a simple analysis of the Department of Justice's counterterrorism programs, Ashcroft actually proposed an FY2002 budget that would have slashed $500 million out of counterterrorism from the FY2001 level.
– Center for American Progress analysis, 4/13/04

ASHCROFT CLAIM:

For the post-9/11 emergency counterterrorism bill, the FBI "came to me with a $670 million request, and we counseled them to take that to $ 1.1 billion."
– Attorney General John Ashcroft, 2/28/02

FACT:

"In the early days after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the Bush White House cut by nearly two-thirds an emergency request for counterterrorism funds by the FBI... The document, dated Oct. 12, 2001, shows that the FBI requested $1.5 billion in additional funds to enhance its counterterrorism efforts with the creation of 2,024 positions. But the White House Office of Management and Budget cut that request to $531 million. Attorney General John D. Ashcroft, working within the White House limits, cut the FBI's request for items such as computer networking and foreign language intercepts by half, cut a cyber-security request by three quarters and eliminated entirely a request for 'collaborative capabilities.'"
– Washington Post, 3/22/04

ASHCROFT CLAIM:

Before 9/11, "our number-one goal was the prevention of terrorist acts. It is our -- it certainly is our goal. And we began to shape the department and its efforts in that respect." – Attorney General John Ashcroft, 2/28/02

FACT:

"Documents indicate that before Sept. 11, Ashcroft did not give terrorism top billing in his strategic plans for the Justice Department, which includes the FBI. A draft of Ashcroft's 'Strategic Plan' from Aug. 9, 2001, does not put fighting terrorism as one of the department's seven goals, ranking it as a sub-goal beneath gun violence and drugs... The papers show that Ashcroft ranked counterterrorism efforts as a lower priority than his predecessor did."
– Washington Post, 3/22/04

ASHCROFT CLAIM:

"The five-year plan that had been put in place by my predecessor didn't mention counterterrorism." – Attorney General John Ashcroft, 2/28/02

FACT:

"In fact, the plan issued by Attorney General Janet Reno in 2000 said the Justice Department would have to devote more attention and resources to terrorism, citing sophisticated computer and bomb-making technology and the 'emerging threats of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons.'" – NY Times, 3/1/02