Paul Wolf Watch: The Third Installment

Goofy COINTELPRO Conspiracy Theorist Paul Wolf,
the hypocritical Washington "Civil-Rights" Lawyer Who Disparages the Elderly

"As for my role in the secret program to "provoke" selfless heroes, I had heard of COINTELPRO in conjunction with FBI operations of the 1960s but was not involved with it, and certainly never used it against AIM [The American Indian Movement]. Of course this is not what the AIM defenders want to hear. They do not want the truth. They look only for a confirmation of their staunchly held theory that COINTELPRO was a central part (or any part) of the FBI's efforts to disrupt AIM's illegal activities. In virtually every pro-AIM publication the term appears as a historical fact and a convenient excuse for AIM's worse acts of violence. It is also the chief justification given for the execution of Anna Mae by the Movement leaders, some of whom abandoned the 'FBI did it' theory for the 'FBI made us do it' line."---Joseph and John Trimbach, American Indian Mafia p. 28

"Wolf’s report [to the U.N. about COINTELPRO---see here] also proved to be the perfect vehicle from which Bruce Ellison could construct plausible alibis for the murder of Anna Mae Aquash. That’s right, the same Bruce Ellison who, for over 30 years, has been in the business of blaming the FBI for the crime, while skillfully diverting attention away from his own alleged involvement in the murder—nice work if you can get it. Do you suppose the U.N.’s High Commissioner, Mary Robinson, to whom the report was presented, had a clue about any of this?"---Joseph Trimbach, "Wolf in Sheep's Clothing"

The retired FBI agent Joseph H. Timbach has penned a response to the defensive rantings of lawyer-blogger Paul Wolf, who has made a career of writing goofy conspiracy theories about an FBI program called COINTELPRO. Scroll down to read Mr. Trimbach's article "Wolf in Sheep's Clothing." [Readers can find my previous posts about Paul Wolf by scrolling down here.]

Mr. Trimbach's article begins:

Note: This article is in response to a recent blog posting by Washington civil rights attorney, Paul Wolf.

Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

“Anna Mae Aquash was executed by a single gunshot to the back of her head on orders from the American Indian Movement because they believed her to be an informant for the F.B.I.”

That statement by the Supreme Court of British Columbia in June of last year points to a renewed interest in solving this 33-year old murder case. The alleged trigger-man, John Graham, was the subject of the Canadian Court’s order which sent him in chains to South Dakota [See story here]. He will stand trial later this year. Another person implicated, American Indian Movement (AIM) attorney Bruce Ellison, was labeled a possible co-conspirator in a 2004 trial that found AIM member Arlo Looking Cloud guilty of aiding and abetting the murder.

Bringing the perpetrators to justice and telling the true story of the American Indian Movement’s crimes against the people of Pine Ridge is good news for Indian Country. But not everyone is happy that the truth is finally seeing the light of day. Particularly bothered are the self-anointed “historians” of the AIM legacy, usually found wearing a trench coat of conspiracy theories and half-truths. They do not like their version of Pine Ridge history challenged by anyone, even by people who were there.

A good example was recently provided by Washington-based attorney Paul Wolf. In 2001, Wolf oversaw a report presented to the U.N. Human Rights Commission about civil rights violations against AIM and other dissident groups [See here]. Central to Wolf’s argument are alleged abuses of COINTELPRO, the FBI’s counter-intelligence program originally designed to disrupt the Communist Party’s infiltration of America. While there were some abuses of COINTELPRO, Wolf’s presentation has proven to be a distinctly unreliable source of information for telling us about it. After reading my book, American Indian Mafia, you’ll see that all of Wolf’s assertions regarding the American Indian Movement, for example, are either distortions or outright lies. Also telling, Wolf’s report overlooks the fact that FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover formally terminated all COINTELPRO operations on April 28, 1971, well before AIM violence attracted the attention of federal investigators.

Not surprisingly, Wolf blogged that my book should be ignored, mostly because I’m old and cranky. You gotta love that, a civil-rights lawyer in favor of age discrimination...

...[W]hile it’s true I’m getting up there in years, I’m still young enough to spot an impostor trying to save his own legacy. The problem with Wolf’s report, as he surely knows, is that it is mostly propaganda designed to advance a political agenda. Its credibility is not helped by virtue of its co-authors, among them John Conyers, Cynthia McKinney, and Sheila Jackson Lee, all members of the Congressional Black Caucus. These politicians were evidently enticed into endorsing Wolf’s political nonsense based on assumed government abuses against the Black Panthers, a holdover group of extremists from the violent 1960s. Again, while there may have been some truth to the allegations, it is impossible to tell from this highly falsified report...

Wolf’s report also proved to be the perfect vehicle from which Bruce Ellison could construct plausible alibis for the murder of Anna Mae Aquash. That’s right, the same Bruce Ellison who, for over 30 years, has been in the business of blaming the FBI for the crime, while skillfully diverting attention away from his own alleged involvement in the murder—nice work if you can get it. Do you suppose the U.N.’s High Commissioner, Mary Robinson, to whom the report was presented, had a clue about any of this?...[See a post about Bruce Ellison here.]

Wolf did not get very far before another blogger [perhaps here!] pointed out that he failed to note numerous references to COINTELPRO in my book. No wonder. Referencing the inconvenient truths in American Indian Mafia would have exposed his report for the fraud that it is. Wolf and his ilk cannot afford to analyze my book on its merits; that would require far too much honesty and integrity. I am proud to say that, so far, Native Americans who are not fooled by the usual AIM smoke and mirrors are among my strongest supporters. They know the truth and they see through Wolf’s sheepish attempts to run from it. Your turn, old man. [Scroll down to see full text]