Kenneth Ellman

Story:
Louis Freeh, Ex-FBI Chief, Taps Old Skills in New Job

Comment: From Kenneth Ellman, email:ke@kennethellman.com
I find the comments here to be very interesting.
There is frequently some "self-promotion" in media coverage and that is to some
extent the basis of the cooperation between the subject of the article and the
writer. No surprise there.
I do not think that Louis Freeh is doing anything other that what has become normal and expected. That is to make a business based in part upon your life experience working for the government. Freeh is now doing as a private business what he was supposed to be doing as FBI Director. That is looking out for the interests of his client, which as FBI Director was the people of the United States and now as a private business is whoever hires him. This does not particularly upset me. I did not expect Freeh upon retirement to go into the dry cleaning or supermarket business. Keep in mind he is a former Federal Prosecutor and a former United States District Court Judge in addition to his FBI experience.
I do find the above comment by Robert Slate to be a powerful and simple reminder:
“The FBI under Louis Freeh failed to investigate the report from Arizona flight instructors that middle eastern men wanted to take flying lessons but didn’t care to learn how to land the airliner. Otherwise, 911 might not have happened.”
I do not recollect any good explanation for this failure except that the information was not properly processed and considered. Certainly the FBI failed in a terrible way as regards this incident and all the more so since dedicated and good FBI agents had forwarded this information for action and it was simply not addressed or utilized. The world would have been different if those who failed had simply done their job.
The crimes and failures by law enforcement, including the FBI, are a true disappointment. The Ruby Ridge murders, the Limone case, the Robert Hanssen spy case, there is no end at all. Government is people and from time to time people will fail. They also usually do their job well.
While Louis Freeh did appear before Congress on October 19, 1995 and admitted the terrible failures (of his predecessor ) causing murders at Ruby Ridge, he did not seek any prosecution for the murders committed under government authority. The government paid money damages, that is all.
The private clients of the now former Director Louis Freeh, do not care about that.
They are looking for credibility, honesty and public impact. Louis Freeh can probably deliver that.
His clients will get the professional aid they seek. I never heard Freeh claim he was perfect or never made a mistake. So life continues.
Kenneth Ellman, Box 18, Newton, NJ 07860
email:ke@kennethellman.com