Government documents never introduced at Timothy McVeigh’s trial say the FBI believed that he tried to recruit help before the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing and that white supremacist bank robbers may have become involved, reports the Associated Press. The retired FBI chief of the investigation, Dan Defenbaugh, said he was unaware of some evidence obtained by the Associated Press and that the investigation should be reopened to determine whether the robbery gang was linked to McVeigh.
The evidence includes documents showing that Aryan Republican Army bank robbers possessed explosive blasting caps similar to those McVeigh stole and included a driver’s license with the name of a central player who was robbed in the Oklahoma City plot. “If the evidence is still there, then it should be checked out,” said Defenbaugh. “If I were still in the bureau, the investigation would be reopened.”
The bombing killed more than 160 people and McVeigh was put to death in 2001. His co-defendant, Terry Nichols, will stand trial in Oklahoma next week on state charges. McVeigh’s ex-lawyer said the evidence obtained by the AP shows what he has argued: that the conspiracy may have involved more people than McVeigh and Nichols. “I think these pieces close the circle, and they clearly show the bombing conspiracy consisted probably of 10 conspirators,” attorney Stephen Jones said. “They (government officials) simply turned their backs on a group of people for which there is credible evidence suggesting they were involved in the murder of 160 people.”
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