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Seeking answers in the ashesBy Chitra Ragavan
Attorney General Janet Reno made a calculated choice when she named former Sen. John Danforth as special counsel to reinvestigate the 1993 Waco siege. The Justice Department can now shrug off questions about the government's conduct there by citing the ongoing probe. Danforth's former GOP colleagues were baying for Reno's blood, but he has managed to silence them for the moment by imposing a month-long moratorium on congressional hearings. Danforth's mission is to determine how the fatal fire at the Branch Davidian compound started; whether the government used excessive force and attempted to cover it up; and whether the feds prevented victims from leaving the burning complex. Danforth has already interviewed key witnesses. Among them are firearms experts for the Davidians. They allege that flashes on an FBI surveillance videotape were gunfire–not reflected sunlight, as the government has argued. The Missouri Republican is also reviewing a report by arson specialists who concluded that Branch Davidians, not the government, started the deadly blaze. Danforth hasn't set a deadline to wrap up. But, with a federal trial on tap for May and Congress itching to get back into the game, he hasn't a moment to lose.
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