Seeker of Truth
06-03-2003, 07:48 AM
Conspiracy Theories Thrive After Wellstone Plane Crash
Kevin Diaz, Star Tribune Washington Bureau Correspondent
Published June 3, 2003 WELL03
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- When federal investigators released a report last month about the plane crash that killed Sen. Paul Wellstone, some members of Congress hoped it would dispel talk that his plane was sabotaged.
It didn't.
In Internet chat groups, political Web sites and the published reports of several leftist academics, conspiracy theories about Wellstone's death last October maintain a life of their own, particularly in northern Minnesota.
In one nasty exchange, a retired prosecutor from Duluth has threatened to take legal action against a University of Minnesota-Duluth philosophy professor who espouses the belief that the Bush White House had a hand in Wellstone's demise.
The former prosecutor, Thomas Bieter, alleges that the professor, Kennedy-assassination theorist James Fetzer, has committed "criminal defamation" by publishing articles suggesting a government coverup of the crash investigation.
Wellstone associates say they have done nothing to encourage such speculation, which some fear could trivialize the senator's political legacy and turn his memory into a morbid pop culture story.
"It's not productive," former Wellstone aide Allison Dobson said. "We're very anxious to get to the bottom of the crash, but at the same time, this sort of thing seems like chasing one's own tail. . . . We have every confidence that the NTSB and the FBI are doing their work well."
But a final report by the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) is months away.
Left-wing theories
When a prominent political figure dies suddenly, it isn't uncommon for rumors and speculation to spring to life. When White House lawyer Vince Foster committed suicide in 1993, for example, right-wing groups alleged that he was murdered and that then-President Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton covered it up.
In Wellstone's case, suspicions surfaced within days of the Oct. 25 crash near the Eveleth-Virginia Municipal Airport that killed him, his wife, Sheila, their daughter Marcia, three staffers and both pilots operating the chartered Beechcraft King Air A100 airplane.
In an Oct. 28 article published on an alternative journalism Web site under the title "Was Paul Wellstone Murdered?" Buffalo State College journalism professor Michael Niman wrote, "There is no indication today that Wellstone's death was the result of foul play. What we do know, however, is that Wellstone emerged as the most visible obstacle standing in the way of a draconian political agenda by an unelected government. And now he is conveniently gone."
More @ startribune.com (http://www.startribune.com/stories/1752/3915354.html)
Kevin Diaz, Star Tribune Washington Bureau Correspondent
Published June 3, 2003 WELL03
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- When federal investigators released a report last month about the plane crash that killed Sen. Paul Wellstone, some members of Congress hoped it would dispel talk that his plane was sabotaged.
It didn't.
In Internet chat groups, political Web sites and the published reports of several leftist academics, conspiracy theories about Wellstone's death last October maintain a life of their own, particularly in northern Minnesota.
In one nasty exchange, a retired prosecutor from Duluth has threatened to take legal action against a University of Minnesota-Duluth philosophy professor who espouses the belief that the Bush White House had a hand in Wellstone's demise.
The former prosecutor, Thomas Bieter, alleges that the professor, Kennedy-assassination theorist James Fetzer, has committed "criminal defamation" by publishing articles suggesting a government coverup of the crash investigation.
Wellstone associates say they have done nothing to encourage such speculation, which some fear could trivialize the senator's political legacy and turn his memory into a morbid pop culture story.
"It's not productive," former Wellstone aide Allison Dobson said. "We're very anxious to get to the bottom of the crash, but at the same time, this sort of thing seems like chasing one's own tail. . . . We have every confidence that the NTSB and the FBI are doing their work well."
But a final report by the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) is months away.
Left-wing theories
When a prominent political figure dies suddenly, it isn't uncommon for rumors and speculation to spring to life. When White House lawyer Vince Foster committed suicide in 1993, for example, right-wing groups alleged that he was murdered and that then-President Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton covered it up.
In Wellstone's case, suspicions surfaced within days of the Oct. 25 crash near the Eveleth-Virginia Municipal Airport that killed him, his wife, Sheila, their daughter Marcia, three staffers and both pilots operating the chartered Beechcraft King Air A100 airplane.
In an Oct. 28 article published on an alternative journalism Web site under the title "Was Paul Wellstone Murdered?" Buffalo State College journalism professor Michael Niman wrote, "There is no indication today that Wellstone's death was the result of foul play. What we do know, however, is that Wellstone emerged as the most visible obstacle standing in the way of a draconian political agenda by an unelected government. And now he is conveniently gone."
More @ startribune.com (http://www.startribune.com/stories/1752/3915354.html)