VIA CERTIFIED
MAIL AND FACSIMILE
Joseph E. Schmitz
Inspector General
U.S. Department of Defense
400 Army Navy Drive Room 1000
Arlington, Virginia 22202-4704
Dear Mr. Schmitz:
I am writing on behalf of our client Sibel Edmonds who, since August 7, 2002,
has been in touch with your office on several occasions to raise serious
allegations of security concerns regarding Air Force Major Douglas Dickerson.
In light of new information issued by the U.S. Department of Justice's Office
of Inspector General, we reiterate Ms. Edmonds' request that the Department of
Defense ("DoD") initiate and complete a thorough security
investigation of Major Dickerson.
There exists credible documentary and witness evidence that Major Dickerson and
his wife, Melek Can Dickerson, who formerly possessed access to TS/SCI through
the Federal Bureau of Investigation, no longer possess the requisite degree of
trust and integrity required to continue to have access to classified
information. Indeed, our client believes Major Dickerson has committed numerous
violations of the DoD Defense Personnel Security Program regulations. See, DOD
Inspector General Regulation 5200.2-R. This would include activities that would
render Major Dickerson subject to a revocation of his security clearance under
the applicable adjudicatory guidelines involving, and perhaps not limited to,
"allegiance to the
Based on her initial contact with your office, my client received a response
letter dated
Subsequent contacts with your office that were initiated by Ms. Edmonds' prior
counsel and the office of Senator Warner failed to achieve any substantive
result. Your letter to Senator Warner dated
The "interview" with Ms. Edmonds consisted of an unannounced visit to
her home at which time she provided the agent only with the name and telephone
number of her then attorney so that a proper interview could be arranged.
However, her attorney was never contacted and therefore the interview never
took place. It is inconceivable that the AFOSI could have completed a proper
investigation without having interviewed the key witnesses, including and
especially the individual who had filed the allegations that had led to the
investigation.
As you know, I have handled many security clearance cases over the years and I
am often involved in administrative and litigation cases that pertain to
national security issues. Based on the historical record as I understand it, I
am at a loss to explain the apparent failure of the DoD
to take Ms. Edmonds' allegations seriously.
Nevertheless, you do not need to rely on my concerns and experiences for your
basis to reopen and complete a proper and thorough investigation. The recent
conclusions issued by your counterpart within the Department of Justice should
be impetus enough to satisfy you that further action is warranted. Just last week,
the DOJ-IG released its Unclassified Summary Report titled "A Review of
the FBI's Actions in Connection With Allegations Raised By
Contract Linguist Sibel Edmonds". A copy of the report is available online
at http://www.usdoj.gov/oig/ oigspecr1.htm. Some of the conclusions included:
We found that many of
[I]t is clear from the OIG's investigation that the facts giving rise to
The majority of the allegations raised by
Based on the public release of the above report, the FBI issued a statement on
Please be reminded that Senators Patrick Leahy and Charles Grassley previously
publicly revealed that the "FBI has confirmed that the contract linguist
had 'unreported contacts' with [a] foreign official," and that the FBI
confirmed many of Ms. Edmonds' allegations concerning the Dickersons. Copies of
the letters sent by the Senators are enclosed for your convenience. Yet, as far
as is known, Major Dickerson's activities and conduct have never been
investigated and he remains able to access TS/SCI without regard to the
potential risks to the national security interests of the
Particularly in light of the damning conclusions issued by the Department of
Justice's Office of Inspector General, Ms. Edmonds' once again requests that
your office initiate an investigation into the conduct and activities of Major
Dickerson. Ms. Edmonds and her husband, who also possesses pertinent
information, are available and willing to fully cooperate with the Department.
All interview and information requests should, of course, appropriately be
coordinated through our office.
I look forward to hearing from you soon, and to having Ms. Edmonds assist your
office's efforts to protect the national security interests of the
Sincerely,
Mark S. Zaid
Enclosures
cc: Defense Security Service
Office of Special Investigations
U.S. Department of Air Force
Senator Patrick Leahy
Senator Charles Grassley
Sibel Edmonds
====================
Letter To Senator John Warner
January 25, 2005
Senator John Warner, Chairman
U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services
228 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
RE: Major Douglas Dickerson.
Dear Senator Warner:
As you are aware, I have contacted your office several times regarding this
matter, and wish to thank you again for your past efforts in contacting the
Department of Defense. However, there still does not appear to have been a
serious effort on the part of DoD to properly
investigate this very serious issue; and they have given you a run-around in
response to each of your inquiries, as is evidenced by their letter dated
The DOJ-IG has just issued its Unclassified Summary report - January 2005 -
titled "A Review of the FBI's Actions in Connection With
Allegations Raised By Contract Linguist Sibel Edmonds". Which
states, in part "We found that many of
Given the serious nature of the issues involved, including possible espionage
against the United States by a member of the Armed Forces and/or his wife, I
cannot understand nor accept the failure of the DoD to properly investigate.
The DOJ-IG report does confirm my allegations, and the FBI itself has stated
that it is now investigating Melek Can Dickerson. It is time for the DoD to quit stalling.
I am attaching a copy of my attorney's letter to the DoD-IG, with its attachments,
again requesting a thorough investigation of Major Dickerson. I also request
that in your capacity as Chairman of the Armed Services Committee, with
oversight responsibility, you take whatever action you deem necessary to insure
that the DoD does what it has failed to date to do -
properly conduct a thorough investigation of Major Douglas Dickerson. I stand
ready to do my part to assist you and the DoD in your
efforts to protect the security interests of the
Sincerely yours,
Sibel D Edmonds
====================
September 2002 Letter to Alberto Gonzales
September 3, 2002
Via Fax to: 202-456-6279
Alberto Gonzales, White House Counsel
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. Gonzales:
I wish to bring to your attention a very urgent and serious security matter
involving Major Douglas Dickerson, who is currently on assignment for the
Department of the Air Force at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, D.C., and
who is scheduled to depart the U.S. September 6 or 7 for assignment in Belgium,
and his wife, Melek Can Dickerson.
Major Dickerson and his wife are currently under investigation in the
For further information matter, attached are copies of; a letter from the
Inspector General of the Department of Defense, my letter to Secretary of
Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, statements issued by the Chairman of the Senate
Judiciary Committee, Senator Patrick Leahy, and a senior Judiciary Committee
member, Senator Charles Grassley. Also attached are copies of recent Washington
Post and Cox News Service articles.
The immediate urgency is that the Dickersons, who are the key figures in this
matter, are leaving the
If you have any questions or desire additional information, please do not
hesitate to contact my attorneys: David K. Colapinto and Stephen M. Kohn, at
Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto, P.C., 3233 P Street, N.W., Washington, D.C.
20007-2756; telephone: (202) 342-6980; fax: (202) 342-6984.
Thank you for your urgent attention to this matter.
Sincerely yours,
Sibel D Edmonds
====================
September 2002 Letter to DOD-IG
September 19, 2002
Via Fax: (703) 604-8567
Joseph E. Schmitz
Inspector General
U.S. Department of Defense
The Pentagon
Washington, D.C.
Dear Inspector General Schmitz:
We represent Ms. Sibel Edmonds, who filed allegations regarding violations of
the DOD Personnel Security Program by letter dated August 7, 2002. An inquiry
into Ms. Edmonds' allegations was opened under Hotline case number 85069.
By letter dated
Ms. Edmonds alleged in her letter of August 7th that both Major Douglas
Dickerson and his wife, Melek Can Dickerson,1/ have
committed numerous violations of the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) Personnel
Security Program. Improper contacts with foreign governments, officials or organizations
by spouses of military personnel also constitute violations of the DOD
Personnel Security Program. In addition, a security risk may exist when an
individual's family members may be subject to duress or other potential
influence by a foreign country.
Notably, in his letter of September 10th, Col. Worth states that OSI's
investigation focused on "Major Dickerson's relationship with the
American-Turkish Council." This statement is very troubling for a number
of reasons. First, Ms. Edmonds never even mentioned the name of this
organization in any of her communications with the DOD, DOD IG, Department of
the Air Force IG, and AFOSI, concerning this matter. Second, Ms. Edmonds'
concerns are not limited to whatever contacts Major Dickerson might have with
the American-Turkish Council. Third, this statement by Col. Worth is evidence
that the AFOSI and the Air Force IG did not properly review Ms. Edmonds'
concerns in this matter. Fourth, Col. Worth's letter characterized Ms. Edmonds'
concerns in the narrowest and most limited way which demonstrates that both the
AFOSI and the Air Force IG did not appreciate the gravity and seriousness of
Ms. Edmonds' allegations in this matter.
There is no indication that either the AFOSI or the Air Force IG has investigated
the Dickersons' relationships with other organizations and individuals which
would be necessary in order to conduct a complete and thorough investigation of
this matter. In addition, neither Ms. Edmonds nor her counsel was requested by
AFOSI or the Air Force IG to provide additional information. Without obtaining
additional information from Ms. Edmonds it would be impossible for the AFOSI or
the Air Force IG to obtain the detailed information regarding the identities of
the organization(s)/individual(s) and the scope of their relationships to the
Dickersons. In addition, there are a number of other allegations of wrongdoing
that have been made (a number of which have already been substantiated) against
Mrs. Dickerson, which would constitute additional violations of the DOD
Personnel Security Program. Once again, there is no indication that either the
AFOSI or the Air Force IG is even aware of these matters involving Mrs.
Dickerson which impact her husband's clearance, let alone that a complete and
thorough review of such allegations has taken place.
We are hereby providing you with additional information so that you may
commence an investigation immediately. These allegations involve extremely
serious matters, including but not limited to several leaks of sensitive
information by Mrs. Dickerson to a foreign country and direct threats that were
made by Mrs. Dickerson against Ms. Edmonds and her family. These allegations
are also considered serious by the Senate Judiciary Committee. See, Letter from
Sen. Patrick J. Leahy and Sen. Charles E. Grassley to Hon. John Ashcroft
(August 13, 2002), attached hereto.2/ We also incorporate herein all of the
allegations contained in the attached August 13th letter from Senators Leahy
and Grassley to Attorney General Ashcroft.
Mrs. Dickerson was a contract monitor at the FBI Washington Field Office
translations department and was granted a security clearance by the FBI to work
as contract monitor to perform translation services for the FBI commencing in
October or November, 2001. However, Mrs. Dickerson had past and ongoing
associations with one or more subject(s) or target(s) of an ongoing FBI
investigation and failed to disclose those associations to the FBI. In June,
2002, the FBI confirmed in an unclassified briefing to the U.S. Senate
Judiciary Committee that Mrs. Dickerson did, in fact, have undisclosed contacts
with a foreign official who was the subject or target of an FBI
investigation.3/
Ms. Edmonds believes there is credible evidence that both Mrs. Dickerson and
her husband, Major Dickerson, had ongoing improper and undisclosed contacts
with one or more foreign officials. Such improper contacts are not limited to
whatever contacts the Dickersons may have with the American-Turkish Council.
Notably, the public record already reflects that the Dickersons maintained
frequent associations with foreign nationals (aside from whatever relationship
with the American-Turkish Council they may have). We believe that those
associations and the frequency of such associations were not reported by the
Dickersons as required by FBI/DOJ and DOD requirements, and that these
associations are such that the Dickersons would be vulnerable to coercion,
exploitation, or pressure from a foreign government.
Moreover, the Dickersons made statements to Ms. Edmonds and others that reflect
that the Dickersons have a substantial financial interest in a foreign country
that makes both of them vulnerable to foreign influence.
In addition, Mrs. Dickerson was assigned to translate information obtained from
FBI wire-taps concerning one or more subject(s) or target(s) of an
investigation, but she had past and ongoing improper and undisclosed contacts
with the subject(s) or target(s). Mrs. Dickerson is suspected of leaking
information to one or more targets of an FBI investigation to which she was
assigned to perform translation services.
Mrs. Dickerson also improperly instructed Ms. Edmonds and another employee at
the FBI not to listen and translate certain FBI wire-taps because Mrs.
Dickerson claimed that she knew the subject(s) and was confident that there
would be nothing important to translate concerning those subject(s) or their
conversations.
When Ms. Edmonds refused to go along with Mrs. Dickerson's instruction and,
after Ms. Edmonds reported Mrs. Dickerson's conduct to FBI management, Mrs.
Dickerson threatened the lives and safety of Mrs. Edmonds and her family
members, who were citizens of, and resided in, a foreign country. Ms. Edmonds
alleges that Mrs. Dickerson made such threats because Ms. Edmonds refused to go
along with Mrs. Dickerson's scheme to obstruct justice and because Ms. Edmonds
reported her concerns about Mrs. Dickerson's wrongdoing to FBI management.
As a result of misconduct by Mrs. Dickerson, numerous translations were not
properly conducted, and/or intentionally not conducted, which threatened
intelligence and law enforcement investigations related to September 11th and
other ongoing counter-terrorist, counter-intelligence and law enforcement
investigations. As a result of Mrs. Dickerson's misconduct, extremely sensitive
and material information was deliberately withheld from FBI translations.
In addition, FBI work order documents concerning translations related to
September 11th investigations were falsified and contained forgeries of Ms.
Edmonds' name and/or initials.
By letter dated May 8, 2002, Ms. Edmonds, through counsel, notified Attorney
General John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, III, that as a direct
result of the FBI's failure to address or correct the serious misconduct and
security breaches that were reported by Ms. Edmonds, the safety and security of
Ms. Edmonds and her family has been jeopardized and that a foreign country has
targeted Ms. Edmonds' sister to be interrogated "and taken/arrested by
force." Ms. Edmonds' counsel's letter of May 8, 2002 to the Attorney
General and FBI Director also provided them with a copy of the arrest warrant
served by the foreign country at the residence of Ms. Edmonds' sister in the
foreign country together with a copy of the English translation of the arrest
warrant.4/
We believe that the warrant that was issued to Ms. Edmonds' sister in the
foreign country is the direct result of improper contacts between the
Dickersons and a foreign country, and was a result of the threats that were
made by Mrs. Dickerson when she threatened the lives and safety of Mrs. Edmonds
and her family members, who were citizens of, and resided in, that same foreign
country. In addition, we believe that the threats made by Mrs. Dickerson, and
the issuance of the arrest warrant, were the result of improper and undisclosed
contacts by Mrs. Dickerson and Major Dickerson with a foreign official. Such
acts taken by Mrs. Dickerson (and other statements made and conduct by both
Dickersons) would indicate a preference for a foreign country over the United
States which would also make Major Dickerson prone to provide information or
make decisions that are harmful to the interests of the United States, and such
acts reflect a level of personal conduct and outside activities that raise a
security concern that may be disqualifying. Our concern in this regard is
heightened by the fact that it is alleged that Mrs. Dickerson has maintained
dual citizenship with a foreign country and has continued to possess a foreign
passport from that same country as well as by the statements to others by both
Major and Mrs. Dickerson that they have financial or business interests in that
foreign country.
It is inconceivable how the Department of Defense could tolerate permitting one
of its military officers to have access to classified information under such
circumstances, especially when that officer's spouse is alleged to have: (1)
threatened another person employed as a translator for the FBI on counter-terrorism
and counter-intelligence cases; (2) committed other misconduct and serious
security violations while employed by the FBI (such as having unreported
contacts with one or more foreign officials while performing translation
services for the FBI regarding conversations involving the same foreign
officials); and (3) to make matters worse, carried out those threats by leaking
information about the FBI translator to a foreign country (or agents thereof)
so retaliation could be carried out against members of the FBI translator's
family who resided in that foreign country. Moreover, as outlined above, there
is more than sufficient information to require a security investigation of
Major Dickerson based on foreign influence, foreign preference, personal
conduct, security violations, and outside activities. See, e.g., Adjudicative
Desk Reference (ADR), Adjudicative Guidelines, Version 2.2, pp. 3-13 (July,
2001) (Guidelines B, C, E, K, and L).5/
Additionally, we do not believe that Major Dickerson could be considered an
"innocent spouse" and there is ample evidence that he was involved in
(and/or had knowledge of and failed to report) many of the activities of his
wife that comprise her acts of misconduct. Moreover, in light of the serious
allegations raised against Mrs. Dickerson, and the alleged involvement of Major
Dickerson in his wife's nefarious activities with, or on behalf of, foreign
interests, Major Dickerson is vulnerable to coercion, exploitation, or pressure
from foreign interests.
We do not believe that these matters could have been thoroughly or completely
reviewed in the short time that AFOSI and the Air Force IG devoted to reviewing
Ms. Edmonds' letter of August 7th. After reviewing this matter further we
believe that you will agree that Ms. Edmonds' allegations of Personnel Security
violations are very serious and that they warrant further investigation by your
office. For all of the above reasons we hereby request that you re-open this
matter and that the DOD OIG thoroughly investigate these matters.
Please direct all correspondence or communications about these matters to this
office. If you, or anyone at the Department of Defense or Inspector General's
offices, has any questions regarding this matter
please feel free to contact me. Thank you in advance for your attention to this
matter.
Sincerely,
David K. Colapinto
Attorney for Ms. Edmonds
Enclosure
cc: Senator Patrick J. Leahy,
Senator Charles E. Grassley
Senator John Warner
====================
August 2002 Letter to DOD-IG
August 7, 2002
Via U.S. Certified Mail
Return-Receipt Requested
and Via Fax
Joseph E. Schmitz, DOD Inspector General
400 Army Navy Drive Room 1000
Arlington, VA 22202-4704
Dear Mr. Schmitz:
I wish to bring to your attention a very urgent and serious matter involving
Major Douglas Dickerson, who is currently on assignment for the Department of
the Air Force at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, D.C. I believe that
Major Dickerson and his wife, Melek Can Dickerson, have committed numerous violations
of the U.S. Department of Defense ("DOD") Personnel Security Program.
See, DOD Inspector General Regulation 5200.2-R. I believe there is credible
evidence to indicate that both Major Dickerson and his wife have been subjected
to improper "foreign influence", indicated a "foreign
preference", involved with "outside activities" and membership
in organizations that could create an increased risk of unauthorized disclosure
of classified information, had improper and unreported contacts with foreign
officials and/or other entities under the control of foreign influence, and
both of them have engaged in other conduct that would make them untrustworthy
and unreliable for the purpose of maintaining a security clearance with the
United States government.
The misconduct and serious security breaches caused by Mrs. Dickerson while she
was employed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI") are
currently under investigation by the United States Senate Judiciary Committee
and the U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ") Office of Inspector
General ("OIG"). As supporting information, attached are copies of
statements issued by the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator
Patrick Leahy, and a senior Judiciary Committee member, Senator Charles
Grassley. Also attached is a recent Washington Post article concerning this matter.
Mr. Dickerson has stated that he is scheduled for assignment to
Mr. and Mrs. Dickerson's knowledge and testimony are vital on these matters. It
is imperative that both be readily available in the
I cannot overstate the seriousness and urgency of this matter. Attached please
find a letter from my attorneys to the Attorney General dated May 8, 2002,
which states that as a result of the Dickersons' improper relationship with a
foreign country and the misconduct of Mrs. Dickerson, my safety and security
and the safety and security of my family has been jeopardized. Attached to that
letter is credible evidence that a foreign country has targeted my relatives to
be interrogated and "taken/arrested by force" by serving an arrest
warrant at the residence of my sister, which is the result of the improper
relationship between the Dickersons and the foreign country. This incident
further demonstrates a clear breach of the DOD's security regulations.
I specifically request that you personally take prompt and immediate corrective
action. In addition, I demand that the DOD take action to prevent the
Dickersons from leaving the
If you have any questions or desire additional information, please do not
hesitate to contact my attorneys: David K. Colapinto and Stephen M. Kohn, at
Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto, P.C., 3233 P Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20007-2756;
telephone: (202) 342-6980; fax: (202) 342-6984.
Thank you in advance for taking time to address my concerns.
Sincerely yours,
Sibel D Edmonds