9/11 Widow, who is suing the president, speaks in Maine
Ellen Mariani spoke at four locations in Maine during the week of April 26.

Suzanne and Charlie Hedrick at the anti-war demonstration in Augusta, April 10

Ellen Mariani spoke at four locations in Maine during the week of April 26. Mariani is a Derry, NH housewife who was widowed on September 11, 2001. Never a political activist, she is now suing the President and members of his Cabinet for the wrongful death of her husband. She has retained Atty. Philip Berg of Pennsylvania.

The heart of the complaint is the plaintiff's intention to "hold defendants accountable for allowing the Œ911' attacks against her nation to occur and to profit personally and politically from an illegal war on international terror."

The complaint is filed in the form of a RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations)Act, alleging (as just one example) that Defendant Dick Cheney currently holds 433,333 Halliburton stock options valued currently at over $26,674,990.

Ms. Mariani and Mr. Berg note that Halliburton has outperformed the Standard & Poor's Index by nearly 40 percent over the last year, and maintain that the performance has been largely on the strength of hundreds of millions of dollars in unbid Department of Defense contracts for work in Iraq and Afghanistan. The bottom line is that Defendant Cheney has personally netted millions from the invasions that were allegedly in response to "911." The best selling book "The New Pearl Harbor," written by Claremont Theologian David R. Griffin, gives fascinating food for thought in reply to many of the questions left unaddressed by our leaders and the media.

Ellen Mariani's Open Letter to the President of the United States, November 27, 2003

Mr. Bush, This "open letter" is coming from my heart. I want you to know that I am neither a Republican nor a Democrat and that this is not an attempt to "bash the government." You, Mr. Bush, should be held responsible and liable for any and all acts that were committed to aid in any "cover up" of the tragic events of September 11, 2001. As President you have a duty to protect the American people. On September 11th you did not instruct your staff to issue a nationwide emergency warning/alert to advise us of the attack on America. We had to receive the news of the attacks via the news networks. In the months leading up to the attacks you were repeatedly advised of a possible attack on American soil. During your daily intelligence briefings you were given information that had been uncovered that the very real possibility existed that certain undesirable elements would use commercial aircraft to destroy certain "target" buildings. You never warned the American people of this possible threat. Whom were you protecting? When you took no responsibility to protect the general public from the possibility of attack, you were certainly not upholding the oath you took when you assumed office to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America. On the morning of the attack, you and members of your staff were fully aware of the unfolding events, yet you chose to continue on to the Emma E. Booker Elementary School for a scheduled "photo op." While our nation was under attack you did not appear to blink an eye or shed a tear. You continued on as if everything was "business as usual." In the days following the attacks all air traffic was grounded and Americans, including myself, were stranded wherever they had been when the flight ban was imposed. I was stranded at Midway Airport in Chicago, unable to continue on to California for my daughter's wedding. Imagine my surprise when I later found out that during this "no fly" period a number of people were flown out of the country on a 747 with Arabic lettering on the fuselage. None of these people was interviewed or questioned by any local, state or federal agencies. Why were they allowed to leave and who exactly was on that flight? We know for a fact that some of the people on the flight were members of the royal family of Saudi Arabia and members of the Bin Laden family. Were these people allowed to leave because of the long-standing relationships that your family has with both families? It is my belief that you intentionally allowed 9/11 to happen to gather public support for a "war on terrorism." These wars, in Afghanistan and Iraq, have not accomplished what you stated were your goals. Why have you not captured Osama Bin Laden? Where are Saddam's weapons of mass destruction? All that has happened is a bill that is passed for 87 billion dollars to rebuild what you ordered blown to bits. As an American who lost a loved one in the "war on terror" I do pray for and support our troops who were sent to Afghanistan and Iraq by you. These troops have and will continue to die for your lies. It appears that associates of your family may stand to prosper from the rebuilding of Afghanistan and Iraq.

Mr. Bush, the time has come for you to stop controlling us. Stop blocking the release of certain evidence and documents that were discovered by the 9/11 Investigation Commission if you have nothing to hide. Your reason for not releasing this material is that it is a matter of "national security." In fact, I believe that it is your personal credibility/security that you are concerned with. You do not want the public to know the full extent of your responsibility and involvement. After 9/11, the Patriot Act and Homeland Security Act were passed. Both of these allow the government to tap our telephones, search our homes, and seize whatever they want. They can do this without a judge's review or a warrant. I feel that this is in direct conflict with our rights as stated in the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

We the families of 9/11 victims need to have answers to the following questions: 1. Why were 29 pages of the 9/11 committee report censored at your request? 2. Where are the "black boxes" from Flight 11 and Flight 175? 3. Where are the "voice recorders" from Flight 11 and Flight 175? 4. Why can't we gain access to the complete air traffic control records for Flight 11 and Flight 175? 5. Where are the airport surveillance tapes that show the passengers boarding the doomed flights? 6. When will complete passenger lists for all of the flights be released? 7. Why did your brother Jeb (the Governor of Florida) go to the offices of the Hoffman Aviation School and order that flight records and files be removed? These files were then put on a C130 government cargo plane and flown out of the country. Where were they taken and who ordered it done? We have waited over two years for our lost loved ones' "remains" to be identified and for their remains to be placed in a landfill at Fresh Kill. We want our heroes brought back and given a public and proud resting place where we all can pay our respects and honor them. In the court of public opinion Mr. Bush, your lies are being uncovered each day. My husband, all of the other victims and their families and our nation as a whole, have been victimized by your failed leadership prior to and after 9/11! I will prove this in a court of law!

 

---

Back to Peace Talk Index, Summer, 2004