With Attorney General John Ashcroft testifying before the 9/11 Commission
today, a quick analysis of his previous statements shows he has repeatedly
lied to Congress about the Bush Administration's counterterrorism record.
Specifically, when questioned by Congress in 2002 about why he tried to
de-prioritize and slash funding for counterterrorism before 9/11, Ashcroft
resorted to dishonest denials -- even in the face of budget documents that
proved he was not telling the truth.

For instance, in testimony before the House of Representatives, Ashcroft
said that before 9/11, his "number-one goal" at the Justice Department "was
the prevention of terrorist acts" and that he immediately "began to shape
the department and its efforts in that respect"1. But according to the
Washington Post, internal Administration documents from before 9/11 "show
that Ashcroft ranked counterterrorism efforts as a lower priority than his
predecessor did"2. The 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."

Ashcroft tried to blame his negligence of counterterrorism on the previous
Administration, telling Congress that "the five-year plan that had been put
in place by my predecessor didn't mention counterterrorism"3. But according
to the New York Times, "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'"4.

Ashcroft has even been dishonest about events after 9/11, telling Congress
that when the Administration was writing the emergency counterterrorism
funding bill after the attacks, the FBI "came to me with a $670 million
request, and we counseled them to take that to $1.1 billion"5. But according
to the Washington Post, "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"6.
Ashcroft "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.'"

Sources:
1.. Attorney General John Ashcroft testimony, 02/28/2002.
2.. "FBI Budget Squeezed After 9/11", Washington Post, 02/22/2004.
3.. Attorney General John Ashcroft testimony, 02/28/2002.
4.. New York Times, 03/01/2002.
5.. Attorney General John Ashcroft testimony, 02/28/2002.
6.. "FBI Budget Squeezed After 9/11", Washington Post, 02/22/2004.