NEWS RELEASE
John C. Danforth
Office of Special Counsel
Waco Investigation
200 North Broadway
St. Louis, Missouri 63102
For further information, call Public Affairs Officer Jan Diltz (314) 345-2013
For Immediate Release
NOVEMBER 8, 2000–ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI–Special Counsel John C. Danforth today delivered to Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder his Final Report Concerning the 1993 Confrontation at the Mt. Carmel Complex, Waco, Texas. This Report unequivocally reaffirms the conclusions contained in the Special Counsel's Interim Report of July 21, 2000.
Specifically:
- Government agents did not start the fire at Waco;
- Government agents did not shoot at the Branch Davidians on April 19, 1993;
- Government agents did not improperly use the United States military;
- Government agents did not engage in a massive conspiracy and cover-up. There is no evidence of any wrongdoing on the part of Attorney General Reno, the present and former Director of the FBI, other high officials of the United States, or the individual members of the FBI Hostage Rescue Team who fired three pyrotechnic tear gas rounds on April 19, 1993.
- Responsibility for the tragedy at Waco rests with certain of the Branch Davidians and their leader, David Koresh, who shot and killed four ATF agents, wounded twenty others, shot at FBI agents trying to insert tear gas into the complex, burned down the complex, and shot at least twenty of their own people, including five children.
These conclusions are based on a review of some 2.3 million pages of documents, interviews of over 1000 witnesses, and examination of thousands of pounds of physical evidence. They are supported by the findings of numerous experts retained by the Office of Special Counsel to assist in its investigation. The expert reports are attached as appendices to the Special Counsel's Final Report.
