Graham: His 9-11 'Outrage' The Florida senator says reported FBI and CIA failures inspired his White House run
What prompted Florida Sen. Bob Graham to join the Democratic presidential sweepstakes last week? The 66-year-old Graham - who recently had heart surgery - has toyed with the idea of running for years, but says he always lacked "fire in the belly."
WHAT GAVE IT to him this time, he tells NEWSWEEK, was his experience last year overseeing a joint House-Senate inquiry into the events of 9-11. Graham says he became "outraged" by the intelligence and law-enforcement failures discovered by the inquiry - most of which, he charges, are still being suppressed by the Bush administration. The inquiry's 400-page report can't be publicly released because the administration won't declassify key portions. Graham says the report documents far more miscues by the FBI and CIA than have been publicly revealed, as well as still unpursued leads pointing to "facilitation" of the hijackers by a "sovereign nation." (Sources say the country is Saudi Arabia.) "There's been a cover-up of this," Graham said.
- Michael Isikoff