What Did Attorney General Eric Holder Know and When Did He Know It? 1996

December 23, 1996
3801 Connecticut Avenue, NW #136
Washington, DC 20008-4530

Eric H. Holder, Jr.
U.S. Attorney for D.C.
Washington, DC 20001

RE: Weapons Possession - Intent to Inflict Grievous Bodily Harm/Possible Intent to Commit Murder - D.C. Corporation Counsel Affirmation - Possible Concealment of State and/or Federal Weapons Law Violations - Unlawful False Statements

Dear Mr. Holder:

This letter will constitute the formal reaffirmation of the following statement previously forwarded to the Office of U.S. Attorney: "Statement of Gary Freedman to the Office of U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Regarding Intent to Commit Crime of Violence as Determined by the Law Firm of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld," dated April 24, 1995.

This reaffirmation is offered in the wake of the express affirmation by the D.C. Office of Corporation Counsel that an Akin Gump coworker's statement, made in about August 1989, that I might be armed and homicidal 1/ was not evidence of a hostile, offensive, or intimidating work environment, and that these specific fears (namely, that I might acquire firearms and possess the intent to inflict grievous bodily harm or commit murder) were relevant to the employer's decision to terminate my employment. See Brief of Respondent in Opposition to Petition for Review of no Probable Cause Determination by Department of Human Rights at 6, Freedman v. D.C. Department of Human Rights, D.C. Superior Court no. MPA 95-14 (final order issued June 10, 1996). The express affirmation by the D.C. Office of Corporation Counsel that an Akin Gump coworker had genuine fears that I might be armed and homicidal conflicts with the statement dated April 24, 1995 that I made to the D.C. Office of U.S. Attorney under penalty of criminal sanctions that I have never possessed, or had the intent to acquire, firearms and have never engaged in violent threats.

I understand that my violation of D.C. Code 22-2514 (providing for criminal sanctions for making false statements) may subject me to possible criminal investigation and prosecution. I welcome such an investigation.

Akin Gump is managed at its highest level by a three-member Executive Committee that includes as members Robert S. Strauss (a close friend and personal confidant of U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert E. Rubin) and Vernon E. Jordan, Jr. (a close friend and personal confidant of President Clinton). Any criminal investigation by the Office of U.S. Attorney that were to reveal that I had in fact made violent threats during my employment (consistent with the express affirmation by the D.C. Office of Corporation Counsel that a coworker's concern about my potential for homicide
was genuine) would necessarily raise questions as to why Akin Gump managers failed to learn of such threats and/or disclose the threats to law enforcement officials.

I know that a decision by the Office of U.S. Attorney not to institute a criminal investigation is never influenced by political considerations.

Sincerely,

Gary Freedman

cc: Howard M. Shapiro, FBI General Counsel, ext. 4-6829

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1/ The referenced statement, made by Stacey Schaar, is memorialized at page 38 (record on appeal at 276) of Complainant's Reply to Respondent's Response to Interrogatories and Document Request, a notarized pleading that I filed on January 5, 1993 in D.C. Department of Human Rights investigation no. 92-087-P(CN), Freedman v. Akin, Gump, Hauer & Feld. According to the pleading Stacey Schaar stated: "We're all afraid of you. We're all afraid you're going to buy a gun, bring it in, and shoot everybody."