by Rayelan Allan Russbacher
29 December 2000
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Ashcroft stood between Gunther Russbacher and the men who wanted him dead.
"In my opinion, that took more courage than most politicians have. A man with courage and morals is hard to find these days."
WHEN GEORGE BUSH WANTED RUSSBACHER SILENCED, MISSOURI GOVERNOR, JOHN ASHCROFT INTERVENED AND KEPT HIM ALIVE
Last week George W. Bush told us that he wants Senator John Ashcroft as our next Attorney General. In February of 1992, when Gunther was sentenced to 21 years in a Missouri prison, John Ashcroft was Governor of Missouri. Gunther had become "infamous" ten months earlier as the "October Surprise" pilot. At that time, Gunther was in Federal Prison in California for misuse of a government airplane. An attempt was made to kill Gunther. He called his friend, Rodney Stich, author of Defrauding America. Gunther spent a half hour telling Rodney the reasons that the Bush Administration wanted him dead. Gunther told Rodney not to release this information unless Gunther was killed.
Rodney felt it was better to release it immediately. He called his friend Harry Martin, the Publisher of the Napa Sentinel. Harry listened to the tape Rodney had made of the conversation and wrote an article based on the information Gunther gave. The article ran in the next edition of the Napa Sentinel. The next week, it was picked up by the Spotlight Newspaper in Washington DC. A day later, Harry Martin was the guest on worldwide Short Wave radio. In less than a week, Gunther's name was known by people around the world.
Immediately after Gunther's story of George Bush's involvement in the October Surprise was published, two things happened that I still find amazing.
The first thing that happened was William Webster, the Director of the CIA suddenly resigned. There has never been a good reason given for his rapid departure. Gunther had introduced me to Webster over lunch on Offutt Air Force Base. Webster was in the room directly next to ours. He and Gunther pounded on the walls and played practical jokes on each other while we were there. Gunther and Webster were friends. (This was shown to me one other time, in the visiting room of the Missouri prison where Webster and I both waited to see Gunther. Gunther, William Webster and John Ashcroft were/are all from Missouri.)
The second thing that happened was congress convened not one but TWO committees to investigate the allegations that the Reagan Campaign made a deal with Iran to win the 1980 election. These were the October Surprise hearings. Investigators had tried since 1985 to get Congress to look into this deal. Until Gunther Russbacher told his story, no one in Congress paid attention to the October Surprise. It was put in the class of "conspiracies" .
I have often wondered what power Gunther had that other CIA whistle blowers, like Richard Breneke and Oswald LeWinter didn't have. Why did congress act so rapidly once Gunther Russbacher stepped forward and told his story? Was it because they knew Gunther's God Father was Kurt Waldheim, the current President of Austria? Did they fear Austria would release evidence that would be damaging to the United States?
Did Gunther have powerful friends in the CIA like William Webster who coerced congress into opening these hearings? As much as I would like to believe one or the other of these reasons, I sadly have to admit that the Democratic Congress convened the hearings into the October Surprise in order to defeat George Bush in the 1992 elections.
President Bush had just won the Persian Gulf War. The economy was good and it looked like he would sail into the White House in 1992. If the Democrats hoped to win the White House in the 1992 election, they had to do something to give George Bush a black eye. At the time, I had NO idea that Gunther and I were being used to bring down George Bush!
I also had no idea that one day my phone would ring and it would be Ross Perot on the other end. He wanted to know about Gunther. He talked with me for several hours and then told me to give Gunther his numbers and have him call him either at home or at work. Gunther talked with Perot and the two of them agreed that Perot would send two lawyers to Missouri to talk with Gunther.
Ross Perot was one of the first people to contact us after Gunther had been sentenced to 21 years in prison. I now realize that he was planning on running for President, and wanted to know what Gunther knew about George Bush. At the time, I knew Ross Perot only by reputation. Perot had funded missions in South East Asia to look for POWs. Gunther had been a POW for 18 months in our undeclared war with Laos. Shortly after Perot talked with Gunther, the world would know that he was planning to form a third party and run for President.
On the day that Perot's men were scheduled to visit Gunther, Gunther had a heart attack and was taken to the Columbia Unirversity Hospital. I will never forget that day. My telephone rang. It was Ross Perot. In his twangy Texarkana accent, he told me, "Miz Russbacher, your husband is in the hospital. He is alive. He had a heart attack. Can you get to San Francisco and catch a plane to St Louis?"
I could barely think. Mr. Perot told me he had made a reservation for me on a flight out of San Francisco. He said his personal assistant, Bob Peck would be in St. Louis to meet me. Then he gave me his private telephone number in case something went wrong and I needed to reach him.
I was met in St. Louis by Bob Peck. We drove directly to the Hospital in Columbia, which is about a two hour drive from St. Louis. When we arrived at the hospital, we were told that Gunther had discharged himself and went back to the hospital. I wouldn't know for weeks that the reason he did this was he feared he was going to be murdered in the hospital.
Peck and I drove to the prison where we were given an opportunity to see that Gunther was still alive.
After Peck and I left, Gunther was attacked by prison guards and beaten. I had barely gotten home to California when I found out. It was a weekend. Another prisoner called me and told me what had happened. Gunther was beaten with night sticks and thrown in the hole. The solitary confinement cell was black metal box that was filthy, cold and filled with cock roaches. Gunther had just had a heart attack, which he thinks was induced. He had just gotten out of the hospital hours before the beating, and now he was in the "hole", with his leg in a cast from the bones that were broken during the beating.
I hung up the phone. I was no numb I couldn't even think. Who could I call? Who could tell me what to do? It was a weekend. I knew I couldn't reach anyone. Suddenly, an idea popped into my mind. Gunther was an Austrian. He told me that his God-father was Kurt Waldheim. Waldheim was President of Austria at the time. Gunther had Christmas cards and birthday cards that Waldheim had sent him. I never doubted that Waldheim and he were close.
But how could I reach Kurt Waldheim?
I called an AT&T operator and asked to be connected to an international operator. She connected me with an Austrian information operator who spoke English. I said to the Austrian Operator, in a voice wracked with desparation, "Please help me. President Bush is trying to kill my husband. My husband is President Waldheim's Godson. I need to speak with President Waldheim."
The operator put me on hold for what seemed like an eternity. I was certain she was going to come back and tell me that she couldn't give me the number. Instead, she connected me with President Waldheim's personal secretary, who sat at a desk outside the President's bedroom. I later found out that the man sits there to take emergency calls that come in the middle of the night.
I told the secretary who I was and what had just happened. He told me that President Waldheim had just gone to bed. It was 9 PM in Austria. He gave me his telephone number and told me to call him back in 15 minutes.
As I waited, I prayed that President Waldheim would help and not turn his back on us as so many had done. The fifteen minutes ticked by so slowly I thought my clock had stopped. Finally, I dialed the number. The secretary answered. He told me that President Waldheim had already called the Consul General in Chicago. I was given his home telephone number and told to call the Consul General at home. I thanked the secretary and quickly dialed the number he had given me. The Consul General's wife answered. She told me that her husband had just left the house for his office. It hadn't even been ten minutes since Waldheim called him. She gave me the telephone number and told me to call in about 20 minutes.
I spoke with the Consul General who told me that he would be in the Governor's office on Monday morning.
After the Consul General met with Governor Ashcroft, Gunther was transferred to a prison that was just two blocks away from the Governor's Mansion. While John Ashcroft was Governor of Missouri, Gunther was well taken care of. The attempts on our lives did not start again until several days before the election of 1992, when Gunther and I were implicated in a plot to assassinate George Bush.
After finding out the FBI put a "shoot on site" order out on me, I drove directly to the Missouri Capital, double parked my car, grabbed my black briefcase and ran up the stairs to Governor Ashcroft's office. I sat down in a chair in front of his secretary's desk. I was clutching my black briefcase as I breathlessly said, "I am Mrs. Gunther Russbacher"
The Secretary bolted out of her chair as if she had been launched by a rocket. Several minutes later three men came into the office. They looked apprehensive or frightened. They stared at my black briefcase as if they believed I had a bomb or an Uzi in it.
One of the men told me that the Secret Service was waiting at the Police Station to interrogate me. I told him that a rogue FBI agent had a hit order out on me and I wasn't leaving this office until I had a police escort. After a few phone calls, I was told the police were down stairs and would take me to the police station. Several days earlier, someone had made an anonymous call to the FBI and told them I was in Missouri to kill George Bush, and I had guns with me. The police raided the house where I was staying and had confiscated the two guns. After the Secret Service debriefed me, the police GAVE me back my guns!! Maybe they knew I was going to need them!
I felt I needed to "get out of Dodge", so I drove from Jefferson City, the Capital of Missouri, down to the Lake of the Ozarks. I stayed in a small cabin at a lakeside resort. It was cold and snowing. No matter how high I turned up the heat, I couldn't get warm.
That night, as I had the guns apart cleaning them, several men tried to break down my door. Gunther's men were guarding me. They had been from the time Gunther and I married. I heard a fight taking place on the front porch. I heard one gun shot. I looked out the side window and saw a man being dragged to a van and thrown in it.
George Bush lost the election. Mel Carnahan was elected Governor of Missouri. Gunther and I thought our troubles were over. We thought the attempts on our lives would end. Little did we know, they had just begun! In December there were more attempts to kill me. Gunther arranged for me to go to Austria where President Waldheim put me in protective custody until Gunther told me it was safe to come home.
From the time John Ashcroft intervened in February of 1992 until late October of 1992, no one tried to kill Gunther or me. The moment Mel Carnahan, a Democrat, was elected Governor, our troubles began began again. God only knows how either of us survived that last year of Gunther's incarceration in Missouri. Last year, Mel Carnahan ran against John Ashcroft for Ashcroft's Senate seat. Carnahan was killed in a plane crash. The new governor told voters that if Carnahan was elected, he would appoint Carnahan's widow as the replacement Senator. The major media wants you to believe that this is how Mel Carnahan, a dead man, won the election. No one wants to investigate the voting irregularities in Missouri which I feel are the real reason Mel Carnahan won the election.
John Ashcroft stopped campaigning against Carnahan once Carnahan was killed. Ashcroft also refused to challenge the election results even though I am sure he knew they were fraudulent.
One of the things I was told about Ashcroft, at the time Gunther was a prisoner in Missouri, was he is a real Christian. He is a man who has a moral compass and he follows it no matter what it costs him. Because he followed his own ethics and moral code after Mel Carnahan was killed, it cost him the election.
One thing I would really like to ask John Ashcroft is why he protected Gunther? By doing this, he went against President Bush. If John Ashcroft thwarted attempts by the Bush Administration to kill Gunther, why did George W. Bush nominate him for Attorney General? Something doesn't make sense and I doubt very seriously if any of us will ever know the truth.
I am sure there could have been many reasons that Governor Ashcroft chose to tell his prison authorities to do whatever it took to keep Gunther Russbacher alive. It could have been that the supporters of Gunther Russbacher were flooding his office with thousands of letters, faxes and phone calls. It could have been that the men who ran the large covert CIA operations that are run out of Missouri, told Ashcroft that Gunther was their money man, and if he were killed, Missouri would suffer economically. Or, President Waldheim could have offered Missouri a lucrative trade agreement with Austria.
There could have been any number of reasons that a Republican Governor, who was running for the Senate, would go against a Republican President, but none of the ones I have listed above seem powerful enough for Ashcroft to stand between President Bush and the man who was accusing him of treason! I would like to think that Governor Ashcroft intervened and saved Gunther's life because of his deep religious beliefs.
A few people, who know John Ashcroft, and also know what he did for Gunther, believe that he did the only thing his religious beliefs would allow him to do. One woman told me that John Ashcroft is like the good sheriff in an old west town that is run by crooks. She told me this six years ago. If she was right, I wonder what six years in the Washington District of Criminals has done to him. He is still the Sheriff with the White Hat, or has he sold his soul for power?
I don't have an answer. I don't know John Ashcroft. I only know that he kept Gunther alive. He stood between Gunther and the men in the Bush Administration who wanted Gunther dead. In my opinion, that took more courage than most politicians have. A man with courage and morals is hard to find these days.
I think John Ashcroft is going to be a breath of fresh air in the Department of Justice. After eight years of Janet Reno we need a man who has both courage and morals.
What I can't understand is how John Ashcroft ended up as George W. Bush's nominee for Attorny General. Didn't G.W. know what Ashcroft did to help Gunther? Or is something else going on behind the scenes that no one but the shadow men will ever really understand?
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ADDENDUM
January 14, 2001
Last week President Elect George W. Bush left his designated nominee for Secretary of Labor, Linda Chavez, hanging in the wind. Why did he do this? Neither he nor his advisors are stupid people, (contrary to what the press wants you to believe).
Did the Bush Administration do this to set a precedent? Did they do it to embolden the special interest groups that are now currently attacking John Ashcroft?
If I am right in what I think... and it is only a hunch. But if I am right, then John Ashcroft is not completely trusted by the Bush Family. I believe George W. was coerced into picking John Ashcroft by members of Faction Two. I believe William Webster was/is a member of Faction Two. For all I know, John Ashcroft is also a member of Faction Two.
After the Governor of Montana withdrew himself from the running for the Attorney General, the two main candidates were Frank Keating, Governor of Oklahoma, who used his influence as Governor and former FBI agent to cover up the bombing of the Murrah Building.
The other candidate was ex Senator John Danforth, who covered up the Waco tragedy.
Then suddenly, out of no where, George W. picks John Ashcroft. If I am right, George W. will do NOTHING to help John Ashcroft win confirmation by the Senate. In my opinion, John Ashcroft is the best qualified man in history for the job of Attorney General.
John Ashcroft was Attorney General in Missouri. He was Governor of Missouri. He was a United States Senator. Janet Reno was a prosecutor in Florida. She has never been an elected official. Robert Kennedy had never even practiced law. He had never been elected to anything, and he was 36 years old when his brother made him the Attorney General!
I believe John Ashcroft is the best possible choice for Attorney General that George W. Bush could have made. I believe that he will follow the LAW, no matter WHOSE neck is on the chopping block. I believe THIS is the reason that George W. has now been advised, probably by family members and former Reagan/Bush officials, that he should let Ashcroft to "hang in the wind", just like he did with Linda Chavez.
If John Ashcroft is defeated in his nomination, then a man like James Baker would probably step in. This would insure that NONE of the scandals of Bush the Elder's Administration would ever see the light of day! I am certain that everyone in the circle of Bush friends and family would be very relieved if this happened.
For the good of the country, I hope John Ashcroft becomes Attorney General.
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The following is the letter I wrote to Governor Ashcroft shortly after Gunther was convicted and sentenced to 21 years in prison. I wrote an even stronger letter after Gunther was beaten and thrown in the dark, filthy and roach infested "hole". I can't find a copy of the other letter. When I find it, I will add it. It is a classic piece of pathos in which I compare Ashcroft to Pontius Pilate.
Sometimes I get embarrassed when I read the letters I wrote to government officials in those days. But the letters did their job. They got attention and they kept Gunther alive. Wherever he is and whatever he is doing, I hope he remembers all the people who gave of their time and money to make sure he stayed alive.
The sad thing that I now realize, is the CIA always wins. Even though it appeared as if Gunther won his battle and was freed from prison, this was only an illusion. Gunther's health was purposely destroyed shortly before he was released from custody in Missouri. He was forced to undergo a quintuple bypass that was intended to kill him. Just as Gunther and I were about to be reunited in Austria, Gunther disappeared. When he reappeared, he had no memory of being married to me or EVER having married me. When he married another woman, I demanded a divorce. Before he would sign the divorce papers I sent him, HE demanded to see our marriage license. I faxed him a copy. But he did not believe it was real. He had Rodney Stich call the Reno Marriage records to make sure I was telling the truth. Only then did he sign the divorce papers.
As I said, when you fight the CIA, even if it looks like you have won, I assure you, you have lost. This is why the appointment of John Ashcroft as Attorney General is such a mystery to me.
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Letter from Rayelan Allan Russbacher to Missouri Governor John Ashcroft
February 17, 1992
The Honorable John Ashcroft Governor, State of Missouri
Missouri State Capitol
Box 720
Jefferson City, Mo 65102
Dear Governor Ashcroft,
I am asking for your help to insure that my husband, Gunther Russbacher, stays alive while be is incarcerated in your state prison system. It would be to your advantage to intercede in this matter. George Bush has dumped his biggest problem in your lap. My husband is the October Surprise pilot. If anything happens to him while be is in your state prison system, you will be the one blamed, not the president.
Do you love George Bush enough to allow him to destroy your career? Because if you allow Gunther Russbacher to die or to be rendered incompetent while he is incarcerated in Missouri, I assure you, Congress and the media will see to it that you are never given another position of responsibility. You are being used by the President. He has nothing to lose by this arrangement. You have everything to lose.
The House of Representatives has just authorized a special investigation into the October Surprise scandal. There is no time limit, there is no dollar limit to this investigation. The truth will eventually come out. If the October Surprise pilot dies in Missouri prison while you are Governor, then I pity your grandchildren when they read the history book accounts of your participation in the coverup.
My husband is a deep cover Navy Intelligence officer, who has been attached to the CIA for the last twenty years. Because he is deeply connected to the October Surprise scandal, not just as the pilot but in other negotiations, a full scale discrediting campaign has been launched against him by the Department of Justice. The FBI has been the instrument which carried out the campaign. In Missouri. It was the prosecutor in the County of St. Charles who ultimately was used to convict him.
Since my husband can implicate the president in treason, the president would like him dead or discredited. At the moment Gunther is in Fulton Reception and Diagnostic Center being evaluated medically and psychologically. I can only wonder what type of treatment he is undergoing. As you know, prisoners are not allowed any contact with the outside world for the first thirty days.
I know you are a Republican, but I pray you are an American first. This president has sold out the Republican party and the United States of American. Look into the charges made against George Bush by my husband. Look into the way my husband has been set up. Review his case and you will begin to understand the truth of what I am saying.
If you love this country, if you are an American first, you will not let this pass without your personal attention. If you let Gunther Russbacher die while he is incarcerated in your prison system you run the risk of taking the fall for George Bush in the history books. George Bush will not always be president, but you will always be blamed for the death of the October Surprise pilot. God forbid, that it comes to this.
Sincerely,
Rayelan Allan Russbacher