Special counsel clears U.S. government, blames Davidians in Waco siege

Former Sen. John Danforth uses a map to explain details released Friday in a report about the federal raid on the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas

July 21, 2000
Web posted at: 2:46 p.m. EDT (1846 GMT)

In this story: The report's conclusions Agent, lawyers accused of hiding tear gas info RELATED STORIES, SITES

From staff and wire reports

ST. LOUIS -- An independent counsel investigating the role of federal agents during the Branch Davidian siege cleared the government of wrongdoing in the 1993 disaster near Waco, Texas.

In a preliminary report to the U.S. Justice Department, however, former Sen. John Danforth did fault some federal employees for concealing information.

In the report's most dramatic finding, Danforth said that Davidian leader David Koresh and several other group members were entirely responsible for the incident that claimed more than 80 lives.

RESOURCES Read the full report (PDF)     PERSPECTIVE Two views of Waco from a former FBI investigator and a Branch Davidian survivor   MESSAGE BOARD Waco investigation

"The tragedy at Waco rests with certain Branch Davidians and their leader David Koresh who shot and killed four (government) agents, wounded 20 others, shot at FBI agents trying to insert tear gas into the complex, burned down the complex, and shot at least 20 of their own people, including five children," Danforth's report said.

Koresh and the others died in the raid, which came at the end of a 51-day siege. The standoff began on February 28, 1993, when agents from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms tried to serve Koresh a warrant. A gunfight erupted, killing four of the agents and six of the cult members.

The report's conclusions

Last September, when Danforth accepted the role of independent special counsel, he said he would attempt to answer four "dark questions":

• Did FBI agents fire guns at the Davidians? (Conclusion: No)
• Did the FBI start the fire? (Conclusion: No)
• Did the military's involvement in the standoff violate federal law? (Conclusion: No)
• Was there a cover-up? (Conclusion: No)

Danforth said the preliminary findings contain 95 percent of the conclusions reached by himself and his team of investigators. "I give you these conclusions with 100 percent certainty," Danforth said at a news conference in St. Louis.

The report said there is no evidence of wrongdoing on the part of Attorney General Janet Reno, the present or former directors of the FBI or other top U.S. officials or members of the hostage rescue team, who fired pyrotechnic tear gas at the compound.

Agent, lawyers accused of hiding tear gas info

"Responsibility for the tragedy at Waco rests with certain of the Branch Davidians and their leader, David Koresh," Danforth said.

"However," he continued, "the investigation revealed that a few government lawyers and an FBI agent did conceal from the public, Congress and the courts that an FBI agent fired three pyrotechnic tear gas rounds."

Danforth said the tear gas was "fired at a construction area about 75 feet from the living quarters of the Branch Davidian complex four hours before the fire and ... did not cause the fire."

"Although the government did nothing evil on April 19, 1993, the failure of some of its employees to fully and openly disclose to the American people the use of pyrotechnic devices undermined public confidence in government and caused real damage to our country," Danforth said.

He issued the report one week after a Texas jury found in a damage suit that federal agents were not to blame for the deaths in the siege and fire.

Reno named Danforth, a former Republican senator from Missouri, as an outside investigator under pressure from members of Congress who claimed there had been a government cover-up.

CNN National Correspondent Tony Clark contributed to this report

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Government lawyers say tapes show Davidians set fire
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Federal Bureau of Investigation
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms
United States Attorney's Office, Central District of California
Branch Davidian
Federal Tort Claims Act -- Defined & Explained

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