OKBOMB Documents: Strassmeir, Gamaat Islamiyah And More

The FBI's investigation of Andreas Strassmeir as a suspect in the Oklahoma City bombing began just days after the arrests of Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, according to a document received from the State Departmnet under the Freedom of Information Act.

4/28/1995: State Department OKBOMB Query to Bonn

The redacted document is believe to refer to Strassmeir. It reports the results of criminal history and police and federal intelligence checks on the subject. The date of the cable is April 28, nine days after Oklahoma City. The investigation was sparked by an April 27 e-mail and telephone call from an FBI Special Agent, whose name has been redacted.

Military records and other checks were in process but had not been completed as of April 28. Additional records may be forthcoming from the State Department.

An affidavit submitted by Strassmeir to McVeigh's defense team was provided to INTELWIRE by Salt Lake City Attorney Jesse Trentade (story).

2/29/1996: Affidavit of Andreas Strassmeir

In the affidavit, Strassmeir briefly describes his history in the U.S. and claims only minimal contact with extremists, notably omitting any mention of his time with the Texas Light Infantry militia group (story).

Strassmeir said he met McVeigh at an April 1993 gun show in Tulsa, Okla. According to Strassmeir, that was the only meeting between the two men.

INTELWIRE has obtained several other documents relating to Oklahoma City.

Of particular interest is a State Department cable dated April 4, 1995 which requests information from authorities in Hong Kong concerning a woman there whose name appears in a telephone book obtained from Timothy McVeigh.

4/27/1995: State Department OKBOMB Query, Hong Kong

A search of trial records and INTELWIRE database materials revealed no leads on this woman, or any connection between Hong Kong and either McVeigh or Nichols.

Other documents released in response to INTELWIRE's FOIA request include:

4/20/1995: Gamaat Islamiya call on OKC

An April 20 call to the U.S. Embassy in Paris claimed responsibility for the Oklahoma City bombing on behalf of Gamaat Islamiyah, the terrorist group led by the "blind sheikh," Omar Abdel Rahman.

Rahman was on trial in Brooklyn at the time of the bombing. While some circumstantial correspondences surround Gamaat Islamiyah and the OKC bombing, the phone call was not specific enough to carry any special credibility.

Four days after this call was received, the judge in the Rahman case -- Michael Mukasey, now attorney general of the United States -- told jurors on April 24, 1995 that the Oklahoma City bombing "cannot possibly be connected in any way with any defendant in this case."

Whatever one thinks of possible links between the Oklahoma City bombing and Islamic extremism, which have never been proven, this admonition grossly overstated the state of the OKBOMB investigation as of April 24.

Other calls received in the wake of the bombing were grimly comical in their ineptitude.

4/20/1995: Brussels call on OKC

A caller to the U.S. embassy in Brussels, for example, attempted to claim responsibility on behalf of the Nation of Islam.

CALLER: I AM CONFIRMATION OF ISLAM (?).

STATION REP: YES.

CALLER: THE BOMBING WHICH OCCURRED IN OKLAHOMA CITY JUST A FEW HOURS AGO WAS MADE BY US.

STATION REP: IS IT THE NAME OF THE SECT OF WACO?

CALLER: IT MIGHT HAVE LINK... IN FACT, SOME GUYS OF WACO BUT IT IS NOT ACTUALLY ABOUT WACO, TEXAS. THE STUFF WITH DAVID KORESH IN WACO TEXAS HAS GOT NOTHING TO DO WITH IT.

The caller claimed a second bombing was planned, among other less coherent points. The embassy employee who took the call was inexplicably polite.

STATION REP: FROM WHERE DO YOU CALL US?

CALLER: WE CALL. WE ARE IN EUROPE. I AM IN EUROPE ACTUALLY.

STATION REP: IN BELGIUM?

CALLER: NOT IN BELGIUM, BUT IN EUROPE. WE HAVE... THE NATION OF ISLAM IS NOT ONLY IN THE UNITED STATES.

STATION REP: THANK YOU.

CALLER: YES. (Hangs up.)

4/23/1995: Riyadh call on OKC

Another call to the U.S. embassy in Riyadh was explained by the embassy there:

"RSO and AFOSI receive many reports of odd calls to residences/offices orginated by bored females who are desirous of talking to an American male. We cannot rule out a similar basis for this call."

Additional documents were provided to INTELWIRE by Jesse Trentadue.

5/18/1995: FBI, FD-302, FEMA Report

A FEMA official near Dallas, Texas, interviewed by the FBI reported a curious incident. Prior to the bombing, he "received a copy of two 'National Militia' identification cards from FEMA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.. At the top of the copy was the warning, 'These are not official credentials. If spotted, challenge the holder.'"

The official said he believed the information had originated with the Defense Department.

5/31/1995: FBI, FD-302, Murrah Building Demolition

This simply reports the implosion of the Alfred E. Murrah federal building, which had been irreparably damaged in the bombing.

3/28/96: FBI, FD-302, Wayne Green

This simply records the death of Wayne Green, an employee of Burns Security at the Regency Tower Apartments. The apartment building was near the Murrah building and its security cameras picked up an image of Terry Nichols' truck driving by the building on the Sunday before the bombing. The document -- which was obtained by Trentadue from defense investigator's files -- contains some provocative but nonsensical notes scrawled on the margin which don't appear to be particularly significant.

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