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"Mueller [...] healed [from his war wounds in Vietnam] and then became an aide to a senior officer, Jones, who was a towering figure in the Marines. Jones had earned a Silver Star and Navy Cross for valor as a battalion commander during the World War II battles of Tarawa and Saipan, respectively, and went on to become a regimental commander in the Korean War.

Jones regarded Mueller well, said retired Marine Gen. James L. Jones, who was William Jones’s nephew. The younger Jones did not know Mueller during the Vietnam War, but he learned about Mueller’s past service to the elder Jones in former president Barack Obama’s White House, where Mueller was the FBI director and the younger Jones was his first national security adviser."

Background : Nugan Hand Bank (up to 1976)

See From "The Mule: Robert Swan Mueller III" by Gene "Chip" Tatum :

In 1973 Frank Nugan, an Australian lawyer, and Michael Hand, a former CIA contract operative, established the Nugan Hand Bank. Another key figure in this venture was Bernie Houghton, who was closely connected to CIA officials, Ted Shackley and Thomas G. Clines

Nugan ran operations in Sydney whereas Hand established a branch in Hong Kong. This enabled Australian depositors to access a money-laundering facility for illegal transfers of Australian money to Hong Kong. According to Alfred W. McCoy, the "Hand-Houghton partnership led the bank's international division into new fields drug finance, arms trading, and support work for CIA covert operations." Hand told friends "it was his ambition that Nugan Hand became banker for the CIA."

In 1974 the Nugan Hand Bank got involved in helping the CIA to take part in covert arms deals with contacts within Angola. It was at this time that Edwin Wilson became involved with the bank. Two CIA agents based in Indonesia, James Hawes and Robert Moore, called on Wilson at his World Marine offices to discuss "an African arms deal". Later, Bernie Houghton arrived from Sydney to place an order for 10 million rounds of ammunition and 3,000 weapons including machine guns. The following year Houghton asked Wilson to arrange for World Marine to purchase a high-technology spy ship. This ship was then sold to Iran.

By 1976 the Nugan-Hand Bank appeared to have become a CIA-fronted company. This is reflected in the type of people recruited to hold senior positions in the bank. For example, Rear-Admiral Earl P. Yates, the former Chief of Staff for Policy and Plans of the U.S. Pacific Command and a counter-insurgency specialist, became president of the company. Other appointments included William Colby, retired director of the CIA, General Leroy J. Manor, the former chief of staff of the U.S. Pacific Command and deputy director for counterinsurgency and special activities, General Edwin F. Black, former commander of U.S. forces in Thailand, Walter J. McDonald, retired CIA deputy director for economic research, Dale C. Holmgren, former chairman of the CIA's Civil Air Transport and Guy J. Pauker, senior Republican foreign policy adviser.

One of those that Earl P. Yates brought in to help the Nugan Hand Bank was Mitchell WerBell. Yates later told the Joint Task Force on Drug Trafficking he recruited WerBell as a consultant because he "had extensive experience in Central America". Former CIA agent, Kevin P. Mulcahy later told the National Times newspaper "about the Agency's use of Nugan Hand for shifting money for various covert operations around the globe."

From "The Mule: Robert Swan Mueller III" by Gene "Chip" Tatum

BUY YOUR COPY HERE : https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07NFB8M9Q

PLEASE PURCHASE YOUR OWN COPY IF YOU USE THIS – THE AUTHOR WORKED VERY HARD AND DESERVES FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO ENCOURAGE FUTURE GREAT WORK ! I ONLY MAKE COPIES SUCH AS THIS AVAILABLE AS, OFTEN, GREAT RESOURCES CAN “GO MISSING” IF POWERFUL PEOPLE ARE MOTIVATED. – MWK

It is interesting to note that Jones served as Director of the Combat Operations Center Military Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV) in Saigon. His boss was General William C. Westmorland.

On July 1, 1970, Lt. General Jones assumed his last duty assignment as Commanding General, Fleet Marine Force, Pacific, when he relieved Lt General Henry W. Buse Jr. and served in this capacity until his retirement from active duty on September 1, 1972.

[....]

As an established officer known within the command and having been recruited by the Phoenix Program, Mueller quickly moved up the proverbial ladder. He would find that those contacts made as a young Lieutenant would prove valuable in civilian life.

[...]

Nugan Hand Bank [1976 - on]

[...]

The investigative journalist, Jonathan Kwitny, became convinced that the Nugan Hand Bank had replaced the Castle Bank and Trust Company in Nassau, as the CIA's covert banker. The bank, run by Paul Helliwell, was forced to close after the Internal Revenue Service discovered that he Castle Bank was laundering CIA funds and drug profits.

On 27th November 1979 Michael Hand wrote to Ted Shackley. It concerned a meeting the two men had recently attended in Washington: "The opportunity of meeting you again on different terms was very enjoyable and I sincerely trust that something worthwhile businesswise may surface and be profitable for both of us."

In the winter of 1979, Edwin Wilson had a meeting with Bernie Houghton and Thomas G. Clines in Switzerland in an attempt to help him out of his difficulties. This included a non-delivery of 5,000 M16 automatic rifles. The three men discussed ways of using the Nugan Hand Bank to float a $22 million loan to finance the delivery. Hand was obviously concerned that if Wilson was arrested he might begin talking about his dealings with Nugan Hand.

On 7th January 1980, Robert Wilson (House of Representatives Armed Services Committee) and Richard Ichord (chairman of the Research and Development Subcommittee of the Armed Services Committee) had dinner with Bernie Houghton at the Bourbon and Beefsteak Bar and Restaurant in Sydney.

On 27th January, 1980, Frank Nugan was found shot dead in his Mercedes Benz. With his body was a Bible that included a piece of paper. On it were written the names "Bob Wilson" and "Bill Colby". Robert Wilson was a senior member of the U.S. House of Representatives Armed Services Committee and William Colby was a former director of the CIA.

Bernie Houghton was in Switzerland at the time and he immediately rang his branch office in Saudi Arabia and ordered the staff to leave the country. Houghton also visited Edwin Wilson's office in Geneva and left a briefcase with bank documents for safekeeping. Soon afterwards, a witness saw Thomas G. Clines going through the briefcase at Wilson's office and remove papers that referred to him and General Richard Secord.

Two days after Nugan died, Michael Hand held a meeting of Nugan Hand Bank directors. He warned them that unless they did as they were told they could "finish up with concrete shoes" and would be "liable to find their wives being delivered to them in pieces".

Michael Hand, Patricia Swan, Bernie Houghton and his lawyer, Mike Moloney, spent the next few days removing files from Nugan's office. They also began paying back selected clients. One estimate is that over $1.3 million was paid out in this way.

Frank Nugan's inquest took place in April, 1980. Testimony from Michael Hand revealed that Nugan Hand was insolvent, owing at least $50 million. Hand then promptly fled Australia under a false identity on a flight to Fiji in June 1980. Bernie Houghton also disappeared at this time and it is believed both men eventually reached the United States.

According to one witness, Thomas G. Clines helped Bernie Houghton escape. Michael Hand also left the country accompanied by James Oswald Spencer, a man who served with Ted Shackley in Laos. The two men traveled to America via Fiji and Vancouver. One report published in November, 1980, suggested that Michael Hand was living in South America. It claimed that he had managed to escape with the help of "former CIA employees".

The Australian government asked the Royal Commissioner D. G. Stewart to investigate the Nugan-Hand Bank scandal. Stewart contacted the U.S. Department of Justice requesting full cooperation. The U.S. Attorney assigned to the case was “The Mule”

The Stewart Royal Commission was published in June, 1985. It stated that the "Nugan Hand Ltd. was at all times insolvent... and flouted the provisions of the legislation as it then stood in that large volumes of currency were moved in and out of Australia".

Stewart went on to blame the dead Frank Nugan and the missing Michael Hand for the illegal activities of the bank. Rear-Admiral Earl P. Yates, William Colby, General Leroy J. Manor, General Edwin F. Black, Walter J. McDonald, Dale C. Holmgren, Guy J. Pauker and Bernie Houghton were considered blameless. Despite the evidence, Hand and Patricia Swan, Nugan's secretary, were accused of being the only ones "responsible for the shredding of documents".

The Mule

Russian Connection

In 1980 Pillsbury Madison & Sutro lawyers helped make financial history when they were hired by Genentech in that company's bid to go public. Founded in 1976 by a professor at the University of California at San Francisco Medical Center, Genentech pioneered the new field of genetic engineering or biotechnology when it showed that gene-splicing was commercially viable. Pillsbury Madison & Sutro represented Blyth Eastman Paine Webber Inc., a New York investment banking firm and the main underwriter of Genentech in its initial public offering. That IPO, in just one minute, sold one million shares of common stock for $35 million, the fastest public offering in history at the time. The Genentech IPO marked Pillsbury Madison and Sutro's entry into one of the major growth industries of the late 20th century, and the firm would go on to represent such high-tech companies as LSI Logic Corporation and others. To support high-tech firms interested in investing in Russia, Pillsbury Madison in 1989 chaired a group of advisors of the first Soviet-American venture capital fund. It was imperative that the U.S. Attorney’s office recommend to Washington the need for entry into the Soviet Financial Marketplace. The man for that job was a former CIA asset placed in the Department of Justice. He was referred to as “The MULE” Robert S. Mueller III.

The Take Down

Backtracking a bit Mueller achieved the position of assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Northern California in 1976, rising to chief of its criminal division in 1981. Mueller then became assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Massachusetts in 1982, and served as the district's acting attorney from 1986 to '87.

But none of this is news. His climb up the ladder was swift. As the demand for his special skills increased, he was moved in and out of the U.S. Attorney's office to major law firms. This is called the revolving door. The CIA normally uses this tactic with their assets and operatives.

In 1987 Mueller was repositioned to the Boston firm of Hill and Barlow. It is there that he convinced a major department to resign from the firm and in favor of an international firm aligned with various Governments’ This action caused bankruptcy and closure of the firm, sending messages to other firms to align or face the same fate.

Mission complete “The Mule” was once again called on to lend a helping hand to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

How to Silence Threats

For many years, Panama's General Manuel Noriega was the embodiment of the terms "military strongman" and "de facto leader".

Although he was never the actual president of Panama, he was the key figure from 1983 to 1989 and a key US ally and CIA Asset in Central America for four decades.

His connection with the United States dated back to the 1950s, when according to various accounts, he was recruited as a CIA informant while studying at a military academy in Peru.

Noriega eventually became a prized American "asset" in a region that was becoming politically hostile to US interests in the wake of the Cuban Revolution.

He rose within the ranks of the Panamanian armed forces to become a key supporter of Gen Omar Torrijos, the military ruler who signed a treaty with the US to restore the Panama Canal zone to Panamanian sovereignty in 1977.

After Gen Torrijos's death in a mysterious plane crash in 1981, Noriega became the power behind the scenes as head of the security services.

The US relied on Panama as a regional listening post and Noriega obliged with unfaltering support for the Contras in Nicaragua, and in the fight against the FMLN guerrillas in El Salvador.

Officials in the Reagan Administration and past Administrations said in interviews that they had overlooked General Noriega's illegal activities because of his cooperation with American intelligence and his willingness to permit the American military extensive leeway to operate in Panama.

They said, for example, that General Noriega had been a valuable asset to Washington in countering insurgencies in Central America and was now cooperating with the Central Intelligence Agency in providing sensitive information from Nicaragua.

Noriega played a role in the mid-1980s Iran-Contra affair, which involved the smuggling of weapons and drugs to aid US undercover efforts to support the anti-government forces opposing the Sandinistas in Nicaragua through a group of companies called the Enterprise..

Proceeds from the Enterprise were laundered through several U.S. and offshore banks.

However, the Enterprise became increasingly suspicious of Noriega amid indications that he was skimming proceeds from the sale of weapons and drugs.

Although a congressional investigation revealed that the Reagan Administration was unaware of the illicit activities, documents released show that Reagan’s vice president, George H.W. Bush was in the loop and overseeing “The Enterprise” Operations.

Flight plans released from pilots and U.S. military aircraft operating in Honduras in support of the Nicaraguan Contras show direct involvement of Vice President Bush and other U.S. Officials in the South American operations.

Through the use of CIA proprietary companies, drugs and monies were moved through Panama and Mexico to the U.S. and other destinations. General Noriega was a key figure in these operations.

The unfortunate downing of a Corporate Air Services aircraft supplying contras in Nicaragua and Honduras on October 5 th , 1986 started a chain of events that would result in both criminal and Congressional investigations in addition to the death of several key figures having knowledge or direct involvement in “The Enterprise”.

The sole survivor of the crash was Eugene Hasenfus, an ex marine and Air America employee.

Hasenfus was the CIA operative [a cargo handler] captured by the Nicaraguan Army on 6 October 1986 after his airplane was shot down over Nicaragua's southern region and where he had parachuted safely to the ground. [He had been previously ordered to no t wear a parachute! The pilot and co-pilot were killed in the crash.] He thus functioned in that chaotic region of the planet as a spy of sorts, chiefly providing arms to the Contra Rebels (Ronald Reagan's covert crusade.) His capture eventually led to the revelation of, and subsequent media frenzy over, the infamous Iran-Contra Affair .

Below you will find the confession of Mr. Hasenfus, which lay out the operational and command structure of the operations.

The United States Government vehemently denied any connection to the doomed flight or their purported CIA activities.

Here you will find a CIA sanitized document concerning the CIA and government denial of the aircraft and its activities.

Ultimately, the government would accept responsibility for the flight and curtail all activities by Corporate air Services, They did not, however stop the supply train to the contras.

While utilizing the proprietary company Corporate Air Services, the CIA also utilized assets within the U.S. Military to accomplish their missions. Pilots stationed in Honduras began supporting the Contras in the early 80’s from an Air Force Joint Task Force out of Palmerola AFB. JTF Bravo pilots continued support via MEDEVAC Helicopters flying from Honduras to the various contra camps in Nicarauga.

Here is a flight plan filed by pilots of one such flight. Supporting documents are found on Page 48 of the Tatum Chronicles

The documents indicate that General Noriega was suspected of draining monies and drugs from “The Enterprise”. In later documents recovered from Honduras it would be revealed that both Barry Seal and Manual Noriega were to be eliminated. The Clintons were found to be supporting The Enterprise as agreed.

Thus in February 1986, Barry Seal was assassinated outside a federally protected facility in Baton Rouge Louisiana.

5 May 1989: An aide to President Ronald Reagan was convicted after a newspaper reported that the US had secretly supplied arms to Iran From Alex Brummer and Martin Walker in Washington. The former National Security aide, Oliver North, the man at the heart of the 1986 Iran-contra affair, was yesterday found guilty on three counts including deceiving Congress and receiving an illegal gratuity in a verdict which seems certain to rebound with a vengeance on President Bush and his predecessor, Mr Reagan.

The three counts were: shredding government documents; accepting a bribe in the shape of a security fence; and seeking to keep the truth from Congress.

Emerging from the courtroom yesterday, the chief prosecutor, Mr John Kekker, said: “The jury has spoken after a long and difficult trial and the principle that no man is above the law has been vindicated.” Mr Kekker, a marine veteran of Vietnam like North, added: “He has been found guilty of three very serious charges” in a case which “some people said could not be tried.” The North verdict paves the way for several other Iran-contra trials including those of Admiral John Poindexter, the former national security advisor; as well as middlemen, Mr Richard Secord and Mr Albert Hakim.

The Special Prosecutor is expected to continue his investigations which could affect several figures in the Republican Administration. As the verdict emerged, President Bush sought to clear his own name saying: “There has been much needless, mindless speculation about my word of honor.” The President has said that he would respond to questions about his role in the affair as soon as the trial ended.

The Findings :The Jury appeared to have accepted the arguments of the defense lawyer, Mr Brendan Sullivan that North was only following the orders of his White House superiors. They were convinced, however, that North should be declared a common criminal for arranging for a $13,800 (£8,118) security fence for his Virginia home and for joining his secretary, Ms Fawn Hall, in the destruction of sensitive government documents and falsifying the record after congressional and other investigations of his activities had begun. The counts on which North has been found guilty carry penalties which could put him behind bars for 10 years and result in fines of up to $750,000. The sentencing has been set for June 23. There has been no indication from President Bush that he would consider a pardon for the man he considers a hero for his service in Vietnam and Central America. The verdict by a Washington jury of nine men and three women came after 23 days of deliberation and less than 24 hours after Judge Gerhard Gesell urged them to put in longer hours to reach a decision. It brings to a jolting end North’s claims throughout congressional testimony that he was simply the fall guy, carrying out his superiors’ orders. This verdict became problematic for Bush and the “Enterprise”. It paved the way for further in depth investigations and trials, no doubt leading to the involvement by the White House and Oval office. Witnesses had to go, and on top of the list were several high profile officials.

The General Has To Go : In a 1985 meeting, in Costa Rica, William Barr advised V.P Bush that funds and product were being siphoned off by partners in “The Enterprise”. Bush ordered Barr to find out who was responsible. The Finding was simple. The Clintons were cleared, but Barry Seal and Manual Noriega were the thieves. Vice President Bush was adamant that both Seal and Noriega had to be “taken care of”. His fear of a path leading to the White House and possible impeachment at the minimum resulted in orders for is trusted counsel William Barr to pave the path and find a solution. Below is a synopsis of the meeting

Who is William Barr

[See William Pelham Barr (born 1950) ]

From 1973 to 1977, William Barr was employed by the Central Intelligence Agency. A confidant to DCI ["Director of Central Intelligence'] GHW Bush, Barr was well trusted and very adept at whatever assignment given by the DCI. Barr was a law clerk to Judge Malcolm Wilkey of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 1977 through 1978. He served on the domestic policy staff at the Reagan White House from May 3, 1982 to September 5, 1983, with his official title being Deputy Assistant Director for Legal Policy.

As a confidant, V.P. Bush used Barr as unofficial legal counsel for “The Enterprise”. As the result of the 1985 meeting he was well aware of the need to neutralize General Noriega. After all, it was Barr that found the thieves.

Seal was no longer a threat as he was “taken care of” in 1986 by friends of Jeb Bush out of Colombia..

The Path is Paved

In 1989, at the beginning of his administration, President George H. W. Bush appointed William Barr to the U.S. Department of Justice as Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel, an office which functions as the legal advisor for the President and executive agencies.

Barr was known as a strong defender of Presidential power and wrote advisory opinions justifying the U.S. invasion of Panama and arrest of Manuel Noriega, and a controversial opinion that the F.B.I. could enter onto foreign soil without the consent of the host government to apprehend fugitives wanted by the United States government for terrorism or drug-trafficking.

By mid-December that year, ties had deteriorated so far that President George H W Bush launched an invasion, ostensibly because a US marine had been killed in Panama City, although the operation had been months in the planning.

Noriega sought refuge in the Vatican's diplomatic mission in Panama City. The US tactic to flush him out was to play deafening pop and heavy metal music non-stop outside the building.

By 3 January 1990, it had worked and Noriega surrendered. He was flown to the US with prisoner of war status to face charges of drug-trafficking, money-laundering and racketeering.

Although Barr had written the opinion that the invasion was justified, It was up to Attorney General Dick Thornburgh to prosecute the General.

Though General Noriega was indicted in February 1988, the three lawyers who prosecuted him were assigned exclusively to the case only after he was brought to the United States in January 1990. Until then the case had been developed by Government lawyers largely for political purposes and with no certainty that it would ever go to court.

Many Worries at First

The chief prosecutor would be Michael (Pat) Sullivan who would be assisted by Myles H. Malman and William C. Bryson, the deputy United States Solicitor General, a specialist in classified documents.

The prosecutors had a number of concerns: an indictment they considered weak, a decision by the Government not to try to consolidate the charges against the General a move that would have strengthened the team's hand and the possibility that the defense would exercise the General's right to an immediate trial, thereby forcing them to play their hand as it was dealt.

But the Government team also said it got a break when the defense elected not to exercise its right to a speedy trial. Under Federal law, General Noriega and others charged with him would have been entitled to a trial within 70 days of arraignment.

President Bush was briefed by AG Richard Thornburgh concerning the lack of evidence and confidence in gaining a prosecution. It did not take Bush long to come up with the answer. “We need The Mule”.

Mueller was working as the U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts when he got the call and according to a Princeton alumni report, was on the next plane.

Mueller and Barr became friends in the early to mid 70’s as both assets of the CIA.

The Mule proceeded to train Sullivan on witness intimidation and training techniques. Ethical conduct was off the board. Mueller explained that they are dealing with a murderer, drug lord, and terrorist.

They assessed the prospective list of witnesses to determine who would be the witness best to deliver the blow to the Jury. Gabriel Taboada was chosen. Taboada was extradited from Switzerland and placed in protective custody. Facing 25 years on drug charges and money laundering, he was given the opportunity to receive testimony necessary to convict Noriega. In return he was promised minimum security prison and rapid freedom.

Barr, Sullivan and Mueller would weave a story which guaranteed a conviction. And if delivered properly by Taboada a jury would have to convict.

Taboada’s testimony was so convincing that the Justice Department decided to use him in several other high profile cases.

Unfortunately for Taboada, his sentence was not reduced as promised.

Taboada was eventually released only to be killed in Bogota by a gunman.

On April 9, 1992, Noriega was convicted on eight counts of drug smuggling and racketeering. He received a 40-year sentence, reduced to 30 years, and served 17 years before being extradited to France for money laundering, signed on the order of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

General Manual Noriega died on May 29 th , 2017.

Here is the announcement about The Mules return to the Department of Justice. Mueller joined the U.S. Department of Justice in 1989 to spearhead the prosecution of Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega. He took charge of the DOJ's criminal division in 1990, where he oversaw the Lockerbie bombing case and formed the agency's first cyber-dedicated unit.

Mueller is the assistant to Attorney General Dick Thornburgh and as acting Deputy Attorney General. James Baker, with whom he worked on national security matters.

BCCI : Enter “The Mule”

In 1986 investigations began into banks tied to the Iran Contra scandal.

In 1989 it was found that a small bank branch in Atlanta, Georgia was making large loans to Iraq. As Justice Officials briefed the President, an emergency session with his trusted inner circle was called.

The CIA and The Enterprise apparently had accounts tied to the bank. An investigation would surely reveal the association to other banks and account owners which could be devastating.

As historian Roger Morris has usefully reminded us, Saddam’s regime was midwifed by not one but two coups supported by the CIA: the first brought the Baathist Party to power, the second, an internal coup, engineered the ascension of Saddam’s family-centered faction to the top. It is unlikely that Saddam would have ever been a position to impose his perverted militarist vision on Iraqi society without the assistance of the elitist operatives whose headquarters now proudly bears the name of George Herbert Walker Bush. Let us also remember that Saddam was sustained in his harsh rule with the eager support of Ronald Reagan and the aforementioned George H.W. Bush. Indeed, the latter’s passionate embrace of Saddam seemed to know no bounds, so avidly did Bush ply the dictator with money, agricultural credits (which allowed Saddam to use his scarce hard currency for weapons) and advanced technology – including “dual-use” gear for weapons of mass destruction – despite the strong warnings of his own Cabinet against such reckless policies, and a 1989 report by the CIA that Iraq had greatly accelerated its nuclear program, and was now the world’s largest maker of chemical weapons.

Bush also used the global criminal network of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) to secretly funnel cash and weaponry to Saddam – then intervened to quash federal investigations of the scam. What was BCCI? Only “one of the largest criminal enterprises in history,” according to the United States Senate. What did BCCI do? “It engaged in pandemic bribery of officials in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas,” says journalist Christopher Bryon, who first exposed the operation. “It laundered money on a global scale, intimidated witnesses and law officers, engaged in extortion and blackmail. It supplied the financing for illegal arms trafficking and global terrorism. It financed and facilitated income tax evasion, smuggling and prostitution.”

The Italian bank BNL was one of BCCI’s main tentacles. BNL’s Atlanta branch was the primary funnel used to send millions of secret dollars to Saddam for arms purchases, including deadly chemicals and other WMD materials supplied by the Chilean arms dealer Cardoen and various politically-connected operators in the United States like, weapons merchant Matrix Churchill.

As soon as the BNL case broke, Bush moved to throttle the investigation. He appointed lawyers from both Cardoen and Matrix to top Justice Department posts – where they supervised the officials investigating their old companies. The overall probe was directed by Justice Department investigator Robert “The Mule” Mueller.

Additional support would be provided by William Barr. Meanwhile, White House aides applied heavy pressure on other prosecutors to restrict the range of the probe – especially the fact that Bush cabinet officials Brent Scowcroft and Lawrence Eagleburger had served as consultants for BNL during their pre-White House days as spear-carriers for yet another secretive international front that profits from war, weapons, and the avid greasing of highly-placed palms: Kissinger Associates.

The U.S. Senate later found that the probe had been unaccountably “botched” – witnesses went missing, CIA records got “lost,” all sorts of bad luck. Most of the big BCCI players went unpunished or got off with wrist-slap fines and sanctions.

John Kerry, Mueller friend and College Team Mate : The Unbeatable Duo

William Colby passed the mantle of secrecy as Director of the CIA to George H.W. Bush in 1976. Along with this mantle included “The List”.

As discussed earlier two of the trusted few on that list was Robert Swan Mueller III and William P. Barr.

William P. Barr earned his place in the intelligence community as a young legal aid to Director of Central Intelligence George H.W. Bush.

These two young CIA assets would soon form an alliance which would change the landscape of American Politics and protect the assets and operators in what would eventually be called, The Deep State.

In time they would both move up the proverbial ladder to become the leaders of our United States Justice System.

As CIA director in the mid-1970s and as Ronald Reagan’s vice president, George H.W. Bush helped forge a world of strongmen, wars, cartels, and refugees that continues today. In particular, he was deeply involved in the events that became known as the Iran-Contra scandal, a series of illegal operations that began with a secret effort to arm Contra fighters in Nicaragua in the hopes of toppling the leftist Sandinista government; this effort became connected to drug trafficking, trading weapons for hostages with Iran, and banking scandals.

In 1987, Arthur Liman, chief counsel for the Senate Select Committee on Secret Military Assistance to Iran and the Nicaraguan Opposition, described it as a “secret government-within-a-government … with its own army, air force, diplomatic agents, Justice Department officials, intelligence operatives and appropriations capacity.”

Independent counsel Lawrence Walsh, tasked with investigating Iran-Contra, concluded that the White House cover-up “forestalled timely impeachment proceedings against President Reagan and other officials.” Bush was a central figure in this.

Today the secret government has been renamed “The Deep State”. This entity is comprised of government officials and permanent employees in decision making positions.

Without the support of the Deep State operators, an elected official is set on a path of destruction

1. AG announced appointment of Robert S. Mueller, III as an assistant to the AG, May 16, 1989 ("AG announced appointment of Robert S. Mueller, III as an assistant to the AG," online pending)

2. DOJ announced the resignation of Henry G. Barr as an assistant to the AG, May 16, 1989 ("DOJ announced the resignation of Henry G. Barr as an assistant to the AG," online pending)

3. AG issued a statement regarding the guilty finding and life sentence imposed on Mudhammed Ali Hamadei, Lebanese terrorist who hijacked a TWA airliner, May 17, 1989 ("AG issued a statement regarding the guilty finding and life sentence imposed on Mudhammed Ali Hamadei, Lebanese terrorist who hijacked a TWA airliner," online pending)

4. DOJ announced resignation of Harold G. Christensen as Deputy Attorney General, May 22, 1989 ("DOJ announced resignation of Harold G. Christensen as Deputy Attorney General," online pending)

5. AG's statement regarding the conviction of three former executives of Commodore Savings Association of Dallas on bank fraud charges and violations of federal election laws, May 26, 1989 ("AG's statement regarding the conviction of three former executives of Commodore Savings Association of Dallas on bank fraud charges and violations of federal election laws," online pending)

6. AG made available a copy of the letter sent to William Gray, III regarding the Department's investigation into leaks within DOJ, May 31, 1989 ("AG made available a copy of the letter sent to William Gray, III regarding the Department's investigation into leaks within DOJ," online pending)

Mueller, Robert (Criminal Division), Washington, DC April 3, 1989

Organized Crime: National Organized Crime Strategy, memorandum to Robert Mueller, III, and report on Organized Crime Program accomplishments December 11, 1990

On July 12, 1988, President Reagan formally requested that Dick Thornburgh serve as his Attorney General, following the resignation of Edwin Meese, with only five months remaining in his presidency. On November 19, then President-elect Bush asked Thornburgh to stay on. Three years later, on April 4, 1991, the news of Pennsylvania Senator John Heinz's tragic death in a plane crash ultimately resulted in Thornburgh's resignation in August 1991 to run for the U.S. Senate. During his tenure, Thornburgh's priorities concentrated on drug trafficking, organized and white-collar crime, civil rights, antitrust and environmental fields. Major topics include: savings and loans scandals, Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) money laundering scandal, and Banca Nazionale del Lavoro (BNL). Thornburgh signed the United Nations Drug Convention in Vienna, December 1989, and participated in major TREVI (Terrorism, Radicalism, Extremism, Violence International) meetings. The war on drugs extended to South and Central America and topics include the apprehension of Noriega. Other topics are, for example: Project Triggerlock (regarding violent career criminals), the terrorist bombing of Pan Am flight 103, the bombing and death of Judge Robert Vance, Operation Weed and Seed, Superfund hazardous waste cleanup actions, and the Exxon Valdez case. During glasnost Soviet Justice Minister Veniamin F. Yakovlev invited Thornburgh to visit Moscow to discuss democracy, the rule of law, and human rights, the first visit ever by a sitting Attorney General of the United States to the Soviet Union. Thornburgh served as the Bush administration's "point man" for efforts to enact the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), signed into law on July 26, 1990. Other matters on the domestic front include Thornburgh's participation in the Council on Competitiveness (CC), the Domestic Policy Council (DPC), Economic Policy Council (EPC), judicial appointment issues, and the so-called Thornburgh Memorandum. The Attorney General files are in fourteen sections: Speeches; News Releases; Transcripts; Nomination and Confirmation; Attorney General's Files; Daily Schedules; Events; Foreign Trips; DPC, EPC, and CC; Department of Justice Issues; Weekly Reports; Correspondence; News Clippings; and Reports. Digital reproductions of portions of the collection are available online.

Thornburgh is running the Justice Department today through three senior aides, all of whom served him during his two terms as Pennsylvania Governor, from 1979 to 1987. Closest is the executive assistant Robert S. (Robin) Ross Jr., deputy general counsel during Thornburgh's first term as Governor. As ''gatekeeper,'' Ross shuttles requests and reports from the bureaucracy through the Attorney General's office.

Murray Dickman, a mustachioed computer jock, runs the Justice Department's budget and personnel operations. He also serves as the department's liaison to conservative political forces.

David Runkel, Thornburgh's low-key media adviser, also served as his press secretary in Harrisburg. Now press officials throughout the law-enforcement community report to Runkel each morning to alert him of potential public-relations problems in their departments and to receive their marching orders for the day.

As they did in Harrisburg, these three men have set much of the tone for Thornburgh's first year as Attorney General, leaving little doubt that change is afoot.

Thornburgh

Yes. But most of our department contact with the FBI was carried out through Bob Mueller, who was my personal assistant first and then head of the criminal division, and of course now is the director of the FBI. Again, one of those things where I didn’t meddle with the FBI. If there was something going on there that I had to know about, then I counted on them to let me know or Mueller to let me know.

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Early in the Bush administration it was quite clear that something had to be done about Manuel Noriega. He was under indictment in the United States, an indictment that had been secured under my predecessor. The President called me over one day to the White House to ask me, Was this a good indictment? Were we going to be able to convict him on these drug and money laundering charges that had been secured before the grand jury? He didn’t have to spell it out for me, I could very easily get the drift that what was contemplated was some action designed to take him into custody and it would be a Pyrrhic victory indeed to take him into custody, bring him back here and find the case fell apart at the seams.

So I went back to the department, talked to Bob Mueller, who was then probably my special assistant for criminal matters, and asked him to undertake, as an experienced prosecutor, a review of the case, the evidence, and give me an assessment as to whether there was a good case. He did, there was, and I so advised the President. Of course, not long thereafter, Operation Just Cause was initiated and General Noriega was apprehended, brought back, tried, convicted and rests today in federal prison. That, I think, is a very important role for an Attorney General to play in advising the President on issues well outside the province of the Attorney General but a necessary predicate for that kind of action.