Undermines· strongSEP-E028
The inspector general did not substantiate the pre-attack identification
- what the source states
- "The investigation addressed nine specific allegations raised in the media and by various Members of Congress. We did not substantiate those allegations. The evidence did not support assertions that Able Danger identified the September 11, 2001, terrorists nearly a year before the attack, that Able Danger team members were prohibited from sharing information with law enforcement authorities, or that DoD officials reprised against LTC Shaffer for his disclosures regarding Able Danger." And: "We concluded that prior to September 11, 2001, Able Danger team members did not identify Mohammed Atta or any other 9/11 hijacker. While we interviewed four witnesses who claimed to have seen a chart depicting Mohammed Atta and possibly other terrorists or 'cells' involved in 9/11, we determined that their recollections were not accurate." The chart in question "was produced by Orion Scientific Corporation (Orion) in May 1999 and contained the names and/or photographs of 53 terrorists ... including a Brooklyn cell, but it did not identify Mohammed Atta."
- what we infer
- A specific documentary alternative to the witnesses' recollection: a real 1999 chart, with a real Brooklyn cell, that did not name Atta. The finding does not dispose of the dispute — the underlying data was destroyed — but it is the only reconstruction of the artifact anyone has published.
- limitations
- A department investigating allegations against its own senior officials.
- Obtained from an archived capture of a mirrored copy of the official scan; no reachable government copy was located, and the quotes are OCR-derived.
- This report describes four witnesses who recalled the chart; the separate figure of five concerns witnesses barred from testifying, and the counts must not be merged.