Reply to “Patrick from Cincinnati”

I posted a comment on the “Screw Loose Change” blog calling attention to my post about “Screw Loose Change” dissing the NYC-CAN.

I got some rather rude replies which I won’t discuss, except to mention that Pat Curley needs to remind his fans again to clean up their “potty mouth,” as he and/or James have put it in the past.

Now to some more substantive replies, by one “Patrick from Cincinnati”:

Diane: is it my understanding that you believe that one of the lawyers helping to prepare the filing is someone you believe might be working for Pakistani intelligence? Did I read that right?

I’m not making any specific allegation about William Pepper or his current relationship with the government of Pakistan. But I’m concerned about the possibility that he may have a conflict of interest.

Today I watched the relevant part of 9/11: Press for Truth again.

In the section titled “The Money Trail,” William Pepper is described as “an international lawyer and consultant to the Pakistani government.” He is presented as an informed source about India’s investigation into the money transfer from Omar Saeed Sheikh to Mohammed Atta.

If indeed this is accurate, then it sounds like he should be called to testify before a commission investigating 9/11. But I question whether he should, himself, be on the commission.

(P.S., 9/9/2009: I should clarify that I hope this issue turns out not to be such a big deal after all. “Consultant” sounds like it could be just very brief temporary employment of some kind. Still, it would be desirable to find out the specifics of his exact dates of employment, what part of the Pakistani government he worked for, and in what capacity. I’ve asked someone active in NYC-CAN to find this out for me.)

Later, Patrick from Cincinnati posted another comment:

It looks like you have too much faith in your attorneys. I’m an attorney, and I’ve known some shitty lawyers in NYC.

Point taken. I don’t claim to know for sure that Pepper is going to win against the NYC government’s challenges to the ballot initiative. The points I intended to make here are:

1. At least one of the NYC government’s objections, i.e. the claim that there’s no provision for funding, is just not true.
2. However good or bad a lawyer William Pepper is, he did indeed look into NYC’s election law, as did other people in New York 9/11 Truth, contrary to Pat Curley’s assumption that they didn’t.
3. In general, legal issues are not necessarily as straightforward as they might at first glance appear. Pat Curley should not assume he knows for sure that the NYC government’s objections are valid and irrefutable.

Then, later, Patrick from Cincinnati wrote:

Also, do you really believe that William Pepper has a connection with Pakistani intelligence because Press for Truth told you so? Doesn’t that make you a crazy person?

Press for Truth didn’t say, nor do I claim, that he worked for Pakistani “intelligence,” specifically. He was identified as a “consultant” to the Pakistani government, without specifying which branch. I assume this means a consultant on international law issues, since he’s also identified as an “international lawyer.”

9/11: Press for Truth is one of the better 9/11 documentaries. Mostly it focusses on things like the 9/11 Commission and the coverups that have been acknowledged even by official sources. It also features the work of Paul Thompson, who does make an effort to be accurate and whose Cooperative Research website has been recommended as a “useful 9/11 resoruce” even by some “9/11 debunkers,” such as by Mike W. on the 9/11 Myths site. 9/11: Press for Truth does not advocate WTC demolition theories or anything similar. (It does contain a brief, somewhat ambiguous section which many viewers have interpreted as a nod to the WTC demolition crowd, but which isn’t really, at least if you know what the Skyscraper Safety Campaign was.) While it does contain some minor factual errors and editing glitches, on the whole it seems to strive for accuracy. (See some more detailed comments about it by me here.)

Of course it’s possible that Press for Truth is mistaken about who/what William Pepper. However, if it’s true, then indeed he might have a conflict of interest. In any case, it is something he should be asked about.

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