 FBI agents searching the former home of convicted Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols found explosive materials, including blasting caps, that appear to date before the deadly 1995 attack, agency officials said Friday.
| That was...ummm... (carry the four, divide by the square root of 17...) ten years ago... |
FBI Agent Gary Johnson said the discovery was prompted by a recent tip and that preliminary information unearthed with the explosives at the Kansas home indicated the material had been there a long time. "The information so far indicates the items have been there since prior to the Oklahoma City bombing," Johnson said in an interview from Oklahoma City.
| Surely you're not saying they didn't take the house apart with a fine tooth comb as he was awaiting trial? |
The discovery could prove an embarrassment to the FBI and other federal authorities who had searched the Nichols' property in Herington, Kansas, extensively during the original investigation a decade ago.
| I'd say "embarrassment" is a pretty weak term. Let's start with "humiliation" for now, and see if we can't find something stronger than that... |
Nichols, who is serving multiple life prison sentences, hasn't lived there for years.
| I guess the new inhabitants aren't smokers... |
Johnson said the FBI was still searching the property and trying to determine whether the explosive materials might be connected to the bombing. He said FBI officials received recent information that led to the search but that the source and origins of the information were still being investigated.
| "Hello? FBI? This is Joe Homeowner. Hey, lookee here, we just bought the old Nichols house, and the basement's full of dynamite. You want to send somebody over to dispose of it?" |
FBI agents went to the property Thursday night, bureau spokesman Jeff Lanza said in Kansas. After finding something in the house near downtown Herington, agents backed out and decided to wait for a bomb squad, he said. FBI officials said the subsequent search uncovered various explosive components, including blasting caps.
| Somebody want to give J.Edgar Hoover a hand? I just heard him turn over in his grave. |
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