CHAPTER 21
“An oath on the Qur’an is not a lawful oath under our law.”
Guilford County, North Carolina Senior Resident Superior Court Judge’
The next day at headquarters around noon, Tad told Margaret that she had to run some errands and would return in about an hour and a half. She then caught a cab to a small delicatessen in Dupont Circle that was well known for its oversized sandwiches, but was not one of the “in” spots for government officials and reporters. She asked for a table for three in a small back room and ordered a glass of water. After the middle-aged, balding waiter left, she saw Charlene and Secretary Rosenthal enter the restaurant and motioned for them to join her.
“Hello Mr. Secretary; and Charlene,” she said. “I really appreciate your meeting me here.”
“Happy to be here,” Rosenthal said. “I want to do everything I can to help find the people responsible for these terrible bombings, and so-far, I don’t feel that I have been able to contribute very much.”
Almost as soon as Charlene and the director were settled in their chairs, the waiter returned and the three diners placed their sandwich orders. Then they began a serious discussion of the ongoing investigation.
“I’m very glad that Charlene arranged this meeting,” Rosenthal said, “because I’m afraid that I may not be in a position to help you much longer.”
“What do you mean?” Davenport asked with a puzzled look.
“I mean that my days as head of Homeland Security are probably numbered,” he said. “There is no way that the president is going to go into an election campaign with me in his cabinet, especially if we haven’t caught the terrorists. It’s bad enough that this happened on his watch, but it’s even worse that the people responsible haven’t been caught. Someone has to fall on a sword, and I will likely be that someone.”
“But surely President McNeal doesn’t believe that there is anything you or Homeland Security could have done to prevent these attacks,” Tad responded. “In a country of more than 350 million people if someone wants to put a bomb in a car or a train and blow it up, there really isn’t much that anyone can do.”
“The president knows that, but he is running for reelection, and he has to convince the public that he is doing everything possible to protect them from acts of terrorism. With the economy possibly slipping into recession, he has to seem very strong and very competent on the national security issue.”
At this point Charlene added, “It’s also no secret that a lot of the president’s political advisers want the secretary out of the way, because he isn’t seen as a team player on the Christian agenda.”
“Regrettably, that is probably true,” Rosenthal agreed. “I was an early supporter of the CDR and of President McNeal, because I do believe in the Judeo-Christian principles on which this country was founded, and I know that the president is personally a very open-minded man who believes strongly in the right of all people to practice their religions freely. But I was blindsided. I never dreamed that, once in power, the Congress and the administration would move so quickly to make this a Christian nation. Boy, was I naive!”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself, Mr. Secretary,” Charlene said. “A lot of us were duped. We all thought that most people in the CDR simply wanted to make the government more caring, not turn it into a theocracy.”
“And, obviously, the secretary isn’t playing ball at Homeland Security,” Tad stated.
“No, and I won’t,” Rosenthal said. “I agree that in the past we may have gone too far in restricting the public display and practice of religion, but we have now gone much too far in using government to promote one religion to the detriment of all others. That’s not what the framers of our government had in mind.”
“And so your political enemies can use the bombings as an excuse to get you out of their way.” Tad said.
“Yes, and the really disturbing thing is that I want the people responsible for these bombings punished as much or more than anyone,” said Rosenthal, “because Chuck Rutherford was one of my very best friends, and I feel a little responsible for his death. I was supposed to be the one at the event to which he was headed when he was killed, but my plane was delayed in Chicago.”
Before Tad could speak, the waiter arrived with their sandwiches and drinks. After everyone had been served, Tad asked Rosenthal what he knew about the investigation.
“I can’t say that I’ve been kept in the dark about the investigation, but I surely haven’t been kept in the inner circle, either,” he said. “Carl Drake seems to be keeping everything pretty close to the vest.”
“What do you know about Drake?” Tad asked.
“I know that the FBI director thinks highly of him and that he has the reputation of being a no nonsense, tough crime fighter, especially when it comes to terrorism,” said the Homeland Security chief.
“And even more especially when it comes to radical Islamic terrorism,” Charlene added.
“That may be true,” Rosenthal agreed. “It is no secret that Drake sees things through Christian lenses and has little tolerance for Muslims, especially radical Muslims who want to harm Americans.”
“I don’t think any of us have much tolerance for the Muslims who want to harm our country,” Tad said, “but it seems to me that Drake has been so blinded by his dislike of Muslims that he refuses to acknowledge the possibility that anyone else could have been responsible for the attacks. Does Homeland Security have any information that might implicate any other group or individuals in these bombings?”
“No we don’t, but there is something that Charlene and I think you ought to know about,” Rosenthal said in a hushed tone as he looked around the restaurant to see who else was there. “But, before I tell you, you need to understand that the information we have is very preliminary, totally unsupported and completely confidential. I haven’t even told the president about this yet.”
Tad put down her turkey sandwich and leaned over the table closer to the secretary who spoke in even more hushed tones.
“We have heard from some former government employees, including a few who were with the FBI, that there is some kind of shadowy network within the government that attempts to promote Christianity while discrediting other religions.”
“I thought the entire government was attempting to promote Christianity,” Tad said, “but what do you mean by discrediting other religions?”
While Rosenthal took another bite of his corned beef on rye sandwich, Charlene attempted to answer Tad’s question,
“It’s no secret that the administration has a pro-Christian agenda,” McGill said, “but that’s not what we’re talking about. This goes much deeper. There is some kind of network of people who are much more activist in promoting their Christian agenda, and apparently- according to these former employees- this includes doing things to discredit other religions.”
“What kind of things?” Tad asked.
“Well, for example, making sure that information about any crime or alleged immoral behavior committed by a Muslim, Jew or Hindu finds its way into the media in a way that everyone will know the person’s religion,” Charlene explained, “while religion is never even an issue if a Christian does something wrong.”
“And you think this group may be exerting influence on our investigation?” Tad asked.
“We don’t really know that,” Rosenthal answered, “and, like I said, our information is very, very murky. We just want you to know that there may be people in the government who would like to make sure that Muslims are the ones convicted of the bombings in the court of public opinion in the event that no one is ever convicted in a court of law.”
“So as to convince the public that we need a more Christian country,” Tad said.
“Apparently,” said Charlene. “There are a lot of people in this government who are not going to rest until this is the Christian Republic of the United States of America. They are pulling out all of the stops to get that amendment passed.”
“Well, I’ll be damn,” Tad said. “I must say that this isn’t the first I’ve heard of a Christian network, but it is the first suggestion that the network might actually be tainting the investigation. I wonder if Drake is aware of this.”
“I honestly don’t know,” Rosenthal said. “From what I can tell, he is sincerely convinced that the bombings are the work of Islamic terrorists. Whether he is getting accurate information or not, I can’t say.”
“That is always a problem,” Tad agreed. “Far too often, the people in positions of power get incredibly poor information from their most trusted sources. From the Bay of Pigs, to Vietnam to Iraq, it is amazing how many important decisions have been based on false or incomplete information. I hope that is not what is happening in this case.”
“I hope not,” Charlene agreed. “We need to catch these damn terrorists so that people can get back to living their lives without fear. Our economy is hurting and it’s going to get a whole lot worse if people don’t feel safe.”
“That brings up an interesting question,” Tad responded. “It may be one that you don’t feel comfortable answering, Mr. Secretary, because it has some political ramifications and you are part of this administration.”
“I’ll answer if I can without being disloyal to the president,” Rosenthal said. “Shoot.”
“Okay,” Tad said. “What effect do you think the bombings will have on the upcoming elections?”
“Well, speaking academically, I would think that not solving the case would be detrimental to the president and to all CDR candidates,” the secretary said, “while solving it would obviously help the president and his party.”
“And it might be particularly helpful to the CDR if the public believes that Muslims were responsible and they are captured or killed,” Tad suggested.
“I would imagine so,” said Rosenthal. “I don’t think there is anyone in the government from either party, however, that doesn’t want this case solved as quickly as possible.”
“I hope you’re right- which brings up another question,” Tad said. “Are we looking for the right people? Is it possible that domestic terrorists might be responsible?”
“It’s possible. There are a lot of domestic terrorists and whackos that the FBI and Homeland Security have under constant surveillance- from individuals to loosely knit groups such as the Confederate Christian League, a radical offshoot of the Confederate Heritage Organization,” Rosenthal answered as he motioned for the waiter to bring the bill. “I’ve sent everything we have on all of them to Drake, but apparently he doesn’t think they are the ones responsible.”
When the waiter arrived, the secretary took the check.
“I’ll take care of this,” he said.
“Thank you for lunch and for the information, Mr. Secretary,” Tad said, “and good luck in keeping your job. We need people like you in government.”
“Thank you, Agent Davenport,” Rosenthal replied. “You and Charlene keep sharing information and she’ll keep me in the loop.”
“Don’t worry, we will,” Tad responded, as she, Charlene and Rosenthal stepped out onto Connecticut Avenue and flagged two cabs.
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When Tad arrived back at headquarters, she saw several news reporters leaving Drake’s office. She surmised that they may have been there seeking a response to the news conference that Hakim and other Muslim leaders were scheduled to hold at noon.
After reaching her office, she closed the door and set her large video screen on television mode. Then she flipped through the news channel spectrum until she saw Hakim on the screen. He was standing at a microphone with several other men, some dressed in western-style suits and others in more traditional Muslim tunics and turbans. She turned the volume up in time to hear her old friend speak.
“The reason for us being here today is to express our outrage; our sadness and our patriotism,” Hakim began. “As Americans, we are outraged that anyone- regardless of their cause- would resort to violence against innocent men, women and children. No cause justifies killing and injuring innocent people.”
“We are also saddened that the people leading the investigation to find and apprehend those responsible for the bombings have chosen to leak stories to the media that place the blame for the bombings on Muslims, although no one has produced any evidence that Muslims are responsible.”
“And finally, we want to express our patriotism, because as Americans, we want these people caught as quickly as possible and subjected to all of the penalties allowed by law. And we want to offer our assistance in any way possible to help capture those responsible for these horrendous acts. They are acts that violate the most basic principles of the Qur’an and of our faith.”
And then a familiar news reporter appeared on screen.
“That news conference was held just a little over an hour ago,” the reporter said. ”And then, just a few minutes ago, this is what Associate Director Carl Drake had to say in response.”
Tad looked at the screen carefully. Drake was sitting behind his desk responding to the newsman’s questions.
“Director Drake, what is your response to the news conference held today by several national Muslim leaders criticizing the taskforce for leaking information to the media that they say unjustly implicates Muslims in the recent terrorist bombings?”
Drake sat straight in his chair with a photograph of the president on one side of the wall behind him and what appeared to be a framed quotation of some type on the other side.
“My response is very simple. I have not authorized the release of any information to the media and I cannot comment on any aspects of an on-going investigation.”
“But, Mr. Director,” will you take the Muslims up on their offer of assistance?”
Apparently aware that whatever he said could have serious political ramifications, Drake waited before answering.
“We appreciate the assistance of any and all American citizens,” he said. “If the Muslim leaders have any information that they believe is important, I urge them to call the hotline that we have established for just such a purpose.”
“So you have no plans to set up a meeting with the Muslims to allay their fears that the investigation is targeting them?” the reporter asked.
“I can assure the Muslims that no one is being singled-out in our investigation,” Drake responded coolly. “We are simply following the evidence wherever it leads us.”
“With that remark, the director ended the questioning, claiming that he had important work to do on the investigation,” the reporter said, as he closed the story.
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In a phone call with Toby later that evening, Tad told him everything about her lunch with Rosenthal, including the tip about a Christian network and the information about domestic terrorists. They also discussed the press conference and Drake’s response.
“You had Drake pegged,” Davenport said. “He was just diplomatic enough, but he also made it clear that he wasn’t going to give any special attention to a bunch of Muslims.”
“No surprise there,” Toby said. “But back to the Rosenthal thing for a minute- I wonder if the Society of Saints thing that Trey is in could be related to the Christian network that Rosenthal mentioned?”
“Well, Rosenthal wasn’t sure what to make of it,” Tad explained. “He and Charley just thought that somebody on the taskforce ought to know about it just in case someone is actually trying to taint the investigation.”
“I’m glad he did mention it,” said Toby, “and at some point when the time is right, I might ask Trey to look into this further. If anyone is in a position to find out about a Christian network trying to make Muslims look bad, Trey is that person.”