Guest MikeSC Report post Posted October 13, 2004 (CBS/AP) Sen. Mark Dayton said Tuesday he is closing his Washington office because of a classified intelligence report that made him fear for the safety of his staff. Dayton, D-Minn., said the office will be closed while Congress is in recess through Election Day, with his staff working out of his Minnesota office and in Senate space off Capitol Hill. "I take this step out of extreme, but necessary, precaution to protect the lives and safety of my Senate staff and my Minnesota constituents, who might otherwise be visiting my Senate office in the next three weeks," he said on a call with reporters. "I feel compelled to do so because I will not be here in Washington to share what I consider to be an unacceptably greater risk to their safety," he said. CBS News Correspondent Bob Orr reports that federal officials said they knew of no new, specific intelligence information that would have prompted Dayton to close his office. U.S. officials say they "know of no specific intelligence that al Qaeda is targeting Capitol Hill, Washington or any U.S. site, reports Orr. And there is no information that any attack is imminent. Intelligence analysts from the Terror Threat Integration Center did brief members of Congress recently. But, officials say the information shared was "very general in nature -- along the same lines of the threat reporting we've been talking about all summer," reports Orr. Brian Roehrkasse, a Homeland Security Department spokesman, said the department had no intelligence indicating al-Qaida intends to target any specific U.S. locations. Added Capitol police spokesman Michael Lauer: "There's been no specific threats against the Capitol complex. We continue to be on guard now, all the way up to the election and all the way through the inauguration." Dayton said he could not describe the contents of the top-secret intelligence report, which was presented to senators at a briefing two weeks ago. "None of us can predict the future," he said. "I hope and pray that the precautions I've taken will prove unnecessary." Asked what advise he would have for Minnesotans who want to travel to Washington over the next few weeks, Dayton said, "I wouldn't advise them to come to Capitol Hill. I would not bring my two sons to the capitol between now and the election." Dayton issued a written statement that complained of inaction by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn. "On three occasions, I have spoken personally with the majority leader and asked him to convene a meeting of all Senators to discuss this situation. I am dismayed, and perplexed, by his unwillingness to meet with us further about the information, which he initially brought to our attention. In the absence of that further discussion, I have made my own decision about my office, as is my responsibility," Dayton said. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/10/12/...ain648878.shtml Now, many on the right have felt that Dayton is a wee bit insane --- does this act prove them right? -=Mike Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
2GOLD 0 Report post Posted October 13, 2004 Well, I'm sure he's being fitted for a tinfoil hat right about now. Does that make him crazy? No comment. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Salacious Crumb Report post Posted October 13, 2004 I want to know what he thought Bill Frist was going to do about it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkktookmybabyaway 0 Report post Posted October 13, 2004 What's he got to worry about -- he's a Democrat... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest MikeSC Report post Posted October 13, 2004 What's he got to worry about -- he's a Democrat... Maybe he's Jewish... -=Mike Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Styles 0 Report post Posted October 13, 2004 What's he got to worry about -- he's a Democrat... Maybe he's Jewish... -=Mike Dayton? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
snuffbox 0 Report post Posted October 13, 2004 He saw something that scared him...he wants to make sure everybody is safe. His offices will still be open, elsewhere in DC and in Minnesota. The Capitol gets closed down fairly regularly. The Patriot Act gives the federal govt and law enforcement variously bizarre rights to find 'terrorists'. We have attacked Iraq for incredibly vague reasons... A Senator closes down his Capitol office....I fail to see the insanity. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
snuffbox 0 Report post Posted October 13, 2004 What's he got to worry about -- he's a Democrat... Well, since he clearly IS a terrorist/evildoer...perhaps he was worried he might attack himself. He is, after all, insane!.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest MikeSC Report post Posted October 13, 2004 What's he got to worry about -- he's a Democrat... Maybe he's Jewish... -=Mike Dayton? Ya never know. Them Muslim terrorists HATE Jews, so maybe that's why he thinks they hate him specifically. He saw something that scared him...he wants to make sure everybody is safe. His offices will still be open, elsewhere in DC and in Minnesota. The Capitol gets closed down fairly regularly. The Patriot Act gives the federal govt and law enforcement variously bizarre rights to find 'terrorists'. We have attacked Iraq for incredibly vague reasons... A Senator closes down his Capitol office....I fail to see the insanity. Um, his complaints about Delay and his comment that he wouldn't bring his kids to the Capitol does sound, A LOT, like the rantings of a blithering psycho. -=Mike Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Salacious Crumb Report post Posted October 13, 2004 I still want to know what he thought Bill Frist was going to do about this. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
snuffbox 0 Report post Posted October 13, 2004 Maybe he had a line on some WMDs coming towards his officespace... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest MikeSC Report post Posted October 13, 2004 Maybe he had a line on some WMDs coming towards his officespace... Well, the UN said that nuclear materials were smuggled out of Iraq. I guess we now know where they were heading. -=Mike Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
snuffbox 0 Report post Posted October 13, 2004 I still want to know what he thought Bill Frist was going to do about this. "On three occasions, I have spoken personally with the majority leader and asked him to convene a meeting of all Senators to discuss this situation. I am dismayed, and perplexed, by his unwillingness to meet with us further about the information, which he initially brought to our attention. In the absence of that further discussion, I have made my own decision about my office, as is my responsibility," Dayton said. Now, Im not certain, but I *think* he may have wanted Frist to convene a meeting of Senators to discuss the situation. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Salacious Crumb Report post Posted October 13, 2004 Well duh. It just sounds like he thinks the problem is going to magically disappear if they have a meeting. Maybe he just watched one of those Godzilla movies on tv and got really freaked out. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest MikeSC Report post Posted October 13, 2004 I still want to know what he thought Bill Frist was going to do about this. "On three occasions, I have spoken personally with the majority leader and asked him to convene a meeting of all Senators to discuss this situation. I am dismayed, and perplexed, by his unwillingness to meet with us further about the information, which he initially brought to our attention. In the absence of that further discussion, I have made my own decision about my office, as is my responsibility," Dayton said. Now, Im not certain, but I *think* he may have wanted Frist to convene a meeting of Senators to discuss the situation. He doesn't really explain the info that no homeland security expert seems to have. -=Mike Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
snuffbox 0 Report post Posted October 13, 2004 Well duh. It just sounds like he thinks the problem is going to magically disappear if they have a meeting. Maybe he just watched one of those Godzilla movies on tv and got really freaked out. I dont think he felt Frist was going to magically solve anything... He probably wanted to discuss whatever his problem here is with the other Senators...and he probably thought, for some strange reason, that the Majority Leader might be able to convene such a meeting. Maybe Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
snuffbox 0 Report post Posted October 13, 2004 I have no idea what info Dayton has either... But I dont think moving his offices and asking for a meeting is really 'insane'... Its not like our homeland security dept had the best knowledge on Iraq either. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Salacious Crumb Report post Posted October 13, 2004 Still, I doubt someone's going to be quick to give you there time if they don't know what the hell you're talking about. It does make the guy seem nutty when no one else appears to have heard of this. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
snuffbox 0 Report post Posted October 13, 2004 Maybe he had a line on some WMDs coming towards his officespace... Well, the UN said that nuclear materials were smuggled out of Iraq. I guess we now know where they were heading. -=Mike Oh, we dont know...but Ill bet Senator Dayton knows. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rob E Dangerously 0 Report post Posted October 13, 2004 Dayton better keep his female relatives away from John McCain! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
2GOLD 0 Report post Posted October 13, 2004 Dayton better keep his female relatives away from John McCain! Let a playa play dammit! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rob E Dangerously 0 Report post Posted October 13, 2004 meanwhile on Drudge WASH TIMES: U.S. security officials are investigating a recent intelligence report that a group of 25 Chechen terrorists illegally entered the United States from Mexico over summer... Members of the group, said to be wearing backpacks, secretly traveled to northern Mexico and crossed into a mountainous part of Arizona, Gertz to report in Page One Splash, newsroom sources tell DRUDGE... PAPER: CHECHEN TERRORISTS 'ENTERED USA FROM MEXICO' maybe Dayton was getting out of down before the "Chechen Terrorists" got there Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
snuffbox 0 Report post Posted October 13, 2004 With Kerry apparently harnassing the ability to raise the dead and cure everything...maybe Dayton was trying to avoid a scourge of Zombies... In any case, Im sure it was a Left Wing Conspiracy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
