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Waco Archive - The articles

I am compiling an archive of articles found on the internet - hopefully when enough material is archived a comprehensive view of this disaster can be established.

Oklahoma City Bombing Grand Jury Says it's Been 'Intimidated' 10-8-98 OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Grand jurors investigating the Oklahoma City bombing say they have been frustrated by "blatant attempts to improperly intimidate and influence" the outcome of their work. In the five-page interim report, the Oklahoma County grand jury referred to attempts to influence the panel in general terms and did not name any one person. The grand jury was impaneled last year to investigate an alleged conspiracy in the planning and carrying out of the April 19, 1995, bombing. There also were allegations that the government had prior knowledge. The panel said someone has anonymously contacted one or more grand jurors at home. "We are offended by the improper and perhaps illegal attempts to exert influence on the outcome of ourinvestigation," the grand jury wrote in the report issued Wednesday. Assistant District Attorney Patrick Morgan, the panel's legal adviser, would not say whether those contacts are being investigated. The grand jury also said its investigation had been marred by public statements attacking its work. "Although we recognize and respect everyone's right to their own opinion, we are frustrated with constant unfounded public statements by some persons who claim to have special standing in the matter attacking us and those who work for us," the report said. "Those comments serve no useful purpose and we view them as blatant attempts to improperly intimidate and influence us," it said. The bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building killed 168 people and injured more than 500 others. Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols were convicted by federal juries. Nichols was sentenced to life in prison for conspiracy and involuntary manslaughter. McVeigh, convicted of murdering eight federal agents and other charges, was sentenced to death. An appeals court earlier this week ordered evidence used in those trials to be turned over to Oklahoma authorities who want to prosecute the two for the deaths of the other 160 people killed in the bombing. Seven of those were not on federal property when the truck bomb exploded. Republican state Rep. Charles Key, who led the petition drive to convene the county grand jury, alleges that the government knew about the bombing ahead of time but did nothing to prevent the blast.