Terry Nichols Alleges FBI Played Role In Oklahoma City Bombing

By J.M. Berger
INTELWIRE.com

Terry Nichols alleged in an affidavit filed Feb. 16 that Deputy FBI Director Larry Potts was involved in plotting the Oklahaoma City Bombing along with convicted bomber Timothy McVeigh.

Potts denied the allegation in published reports this week.

The full text of the affidavit is available here. Please credit and link INTELWIRE.com when reporting from these documents.

"From the outset, I want to acknowledge my poor judgment and culpability in having assisted Timothy McVeigh," wrote Nichols.

In the affidavit, Nichols admitted helping McVeigh build a truck bomb, but said the bomb he helped build was different from the bomb McVeigh described in interviews prior to his execution.

Nichols denied any connection between the Oklahoma City bombing and his frequent visits to the Philippines. Nichols activities in that country have long been the subject of speculation, because the timing and location of his visits coincided with visits to the country by World Trade Center Bomber Ramzi Yousef (INTELWIRE analysis).

Nichols named gun dealer Roger Moore and Potts as "co-conspirators" in the bombing plot. Nichols has named Moore as a co-conspirator in the past.

"In December of 1992, Timothy McVeigh told me that while he was serving in the U.S. Army, he had been recruited to carry out undercover missions," Nichols wrote. "McVeigh did not say who had recruited him or specify the nature of his mission. McVeigh did say, however, that he was to begin making contacts with a 'network' of people after the first of the year."

The network was located "down south," Nichols wrote. Nichols claimed McVeigh threatened him and his family if Nichols did not cooperate in the bombing conspiracy. He claimed McVeigh identified Potts in "an accidental slip of the tongue."

Potts told the Oklahoman newspaper the allegations were "just nonsense and ridiculous." No further documentation was offered as part of the filing which would support the allegations.

Another affidavit alleging flaws in the official story of the Oklahoma City bombing was given by David Paul Hammer, who shared a cell with McVeigh prior to McVeigh's execution.

The full text of that affidavit is available here.

The affidavits were filed as part of a lawsuit filed by Salt Lake City attorney Jesse Trentadue.

Trentadue, a Salt Lake City attorney, has been involved in litigation against the U.S. government since the death of his brother, Kenneth Trentadue, in federal custody on Aug. 21, 1995.

Kenneth Trentadue's death was initially declared a suicide by prison officials, but the family discovered signs of numerous injuries when preparing him for burial. The family was awarded more than $1 million after winning a wrongful death suit against the government.

Trentadue's legal battle has resulted in the release of dozens of pages of previously withheld FBI documents concerning the bombing. Those documents are available here.

INTELWIRE has also obtained numerous documents directly and indirectly related to the bombing and to alleged additional conspirators in the bombing, as well as documents related to Trentadue's court case. Those documents include the following:

State Dept. FOIA: Nichols-Philippines

Nichols: I Have New OKC Evidence

Nichols Affidavit and Letter

Full Text: Rohrabacher OKC Report

Informant Report: McVeigh-Strassmeir Call

FBI Interrogation: Andreas Strassmeir

1991 Memo: 'Turner Diaries' Warning

Zawahiri Statement On OKC Bombing

Documents: Aryan Republican Army

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