The Bush Administration is still covering up its pre-9/11 bungling, now by giving $5 million to a man who testified against Zacarias Moussaoui, the so-called "20th hijacker," while ignoring two flight instructors who reported his suspicious behavior in time to have exposed the terrorist plot if their warnings had been followed up.
The choice of Mark Prevost by the State Department's Rewards for Justice program has drawn criticism from two senators who sponsored a 2005 resolution commending the "bravery" and "heroism" of Tim Nelson and Hugh Sims for alerting the FBI a month before the attacks.
Sen. Norm Coleman is demanding an explanation, but the government's motives seem clear enough. Rewarding Sims and Nelson would be a reminder that FBI Washington headquarters blocked Minneapolis agents from obtaining a warrant to search Moussaoui's possessions, which contained clues that might have led to other hijackers.
In the bizarre Bush Homeland Security universe, you get $5 million for going to court and making the Administration look good, but nothing for taking steps that could have averted a disaster.
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