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Sibel Edmonds

FBI translator turned whistleblower who discovered the Bureau had foreknowledge of 9/11, only to be silenced under the most sweeping State Secrets gag order in American history.

FieldDetails
Full NameSibel Deniz Edmonds
Born1970, Iran (to an Iranian Azerbaijani father and Turkish mother)
RoleFBI Whistleblower / Author / Journalist / Activist
PlatformNewsbud (formerly Boiling Frogs Post), books, depositions, congressional testimony
Notable WorksClassified Woman: The Sibel Edmonds Story (2012), The Lone Gladio (2014, novel), Boiling Frogs Post / Newsbud
LanguagesTurkish, Farsi, Azerbaijani, English
StatusAT RISK / GAGGED
EducationBA Criminal Justice & Psychology, George Washington University; MA Public Policy & International Commerce, George Mason University
Awards2006 PEN/Newman's Own First Amendment Award
Key ClaimFBI had specific foreknowledge of 9/11 attacks; a network of Turkish, Israeli, and Pakistani operatives had penetrated the State Department, Pentagon, and Congress to steal nuclear secrets, traffic drugs, and launder money — and FBI investigations into these networks were deliberately suppressed
Evidence RatingSTRONG EVIDENCE

Their Deep State Definition​

Sibel Edmonds describes a deeply embedded network of corruption operating across the FBI, State Department, Pentagon, and CIA that functions through foreign intelligence penetration and the complicity of senior American officials. In her framework, the deep state is not an abstraction — it is a specific, documented set of relationships between Turkish, Israeli, and Pakistani intelligence operatives and high-ranking US government officials who facilitate illegal arms transfers, nuclear proliferation, drug trafficking, and money laundering.

Her most expansive claim is "Gladio B" — that the original NATO stay-behind network Operation Gladio never ended but shifted its theater of operations from Cold War Europe to Central Asia and the Middle East. Under Gladio B, she alleges the CIA and Pentagon maintained operational relationships with jihadist networks, including al-Qaeda figures, using Turkey and Azerbaijan as primary conduits. She claims FBI wiretaps from 1996-2002 documented these relationships in detail, and that the State Secrets gag order exists not to protect national security but to conceal criminal activity by senior officials.

Edmonds frames the 9/11 attacks as a direct consequence of this network: the FBI had specific intelligence about the plot but investigations were blocked by officials who were themselves compromised by the Turkish-Israeli-Pakistani intelligence network.

FBI Career and Discoveries​

Sibel Edmonds was hired by the FBI on September 20, 2001 — nine days after the attacks — as a contract translator working in Turkish, Farsi, and Azerbaijani at the FBI's Washington Field Office. Her job was to retranslate pre-9/11 intelligence material to determine if anything had been missed.

What she found was explosive:

  • Pre-9/11 warnings ignored: Documents showed the FBI had received specific warnings in April and June 2001 from a longtime informant about an imminent attack. The warnings included details about hijackers already in the country, plans to use airplanes as missiles against major buildings, and blueprints of skyscrapers being sent to a Middle Eastern cell.

  • Deliberate mistranslation and sabotage: A colleague, Melek Can Dickerson, was systematically mistranslating or failing to translate wiretap intercepts related to targets of FBI counterintelligence investigations — targets that included the American Turkish Council (ATC) and the Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA). Dickerson and her husband had personal relationships with the subjects of these investigations.

  • Espionage network: FBI wiretaps revealed a network of Turkish, Israeli, and Pakistani intelligence operatives who had penetrated the highest levels of the US government. Senior officials at the State Department and Pentagon were accepting bribes and passing classified information, including nuclear weapons secrets and defense technology.

  • Drug trafficking and money laundering: The same network was involved in heroin trafficking from Afghanistan through Turkey and money laundering operations that intersected with terrorism financing.

  • Congressional corruption: Multiple members of Congress were identified on FBI wiretaps accepting payments from Turkish and Israeli lobbying organizations in exchange for political favors. In her 2009 deposition, Edmonds named former Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL), Dan Burton (R-IN), Bob Livingston (R-LA), Dick Gephardt (D-MO), and Stephen Solarz (D-NY) as individuals captured on FBI surveillance.

Edmonds reported these findings through proper channels — to her supervisors, to the FBI Inspector General, and to congressional offices. She was fired in March 2002 after less than six months of service.

The State Secrets Gag Order​

Attorney General John Ashcroft invoked the State Secrets Privilege to gag Edmonds — not once, but twice. The second invocation was retroactive, extending the gag to cover any conversations or documents Edmonds had already shared with members of Congress.

The consequences were sweeping:

  • Her wrongful termination lawsuit (Edmonds v. Department of Justice) was dismissed because the court ruled the FBI would need to disclose privileged information to defend itself
  • CBS's 60 Minutes, which had investigated her claims and found them credible, was prevented from rebroadcasting its segment on her case
  • The 9/11 Commission's references to her testimony were classified
  • Her unclassified testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee was retroactively classified
  • The ACLU called her "the most gagged person in the history of the United States of America"

The Department of Justice Inspector General Glenn Fine released a summary audit report confirming that "many of her allegations were supported, that the FBI did not take them seriously enough, and that her allegations were, in fact, the most significant factor in the FBI's decision to terminate her services."

The "Gladio B" Claims​

Edmonds's most far-reaching allegations concern what she calls "Operation Gladio B" — a continuation of the Cold War-era NATO stay-behind network that shifted from using fascist paramilitaries in Europe to using Islamist militants in Central Asia and the Caucasus.

Key claims include:

  • CIA-al-Qaeda operational contacts: Ayman al-Zawahiri, then Osama bin Laden's deputy, held meetings with US military and intelligence officials at the US embassy in Baku, Azerbaijan, between 1997 and 2001
  • Turkey and Azerbaijan as conduits: These countries functioned as the primary channels for US covert operations using Islamist proxies in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Balkans
  • FBI documentation: FBI files from 1996-2002 contained audio and written evidence of these covert-terrorist operations, tying them directly to named individuals in the State Department, CIA, and Pentagon
  • Media suppression: The Sunday Times (London) investigated her Gladio B claims, and two anonymous journalists reported that senior Pentagon and MI6 sources confirmed her account — but the story was killed under pressure from what the journalists described as "interest groups" associated with the US State Department

Edmonds has stated that the Gladio B framework helps explain not only 9/11 but subsequent developments including the rise of ISIS.

Key Quotes​

"You put me on air live, or unedited. If I'm given the time, I will give the American people the exact reason of what I've been gagged from saying because of the States Secrets Privilege, and why it is that I'm the most gagged person in the history of the United States." — Sibel Edmonds, offer to major television networks, 2007

"Certain officials in this country are engaged in treason against the United States and its interests and its national security." — Sibel Edmonds, Democracy Now!, August 2005

"If this were written up as a novel, no one would believe it." — Sibel Edmonds, on the scope of corruption she uncovered at the FBI

"The most significant development... was the Inspector General's report that confirmed my case and my allegations. Yet, almost nobody reported on it." — Sibel Edmonds, on the DOJ IG report vindicating her claims

The 2009 Ohio Deposition​

On August 8, 2009, Edmonds gave a five-hour sworn deposition before the Ohio Elections Commission in the case of Schmidt v. Krikorian. Despite efforts by both the Department of Justice and the FBI to prevent her testimony, she was allowed to testify freely for the first time.

Under oath, she detailed:

  • Turkish government infiltration of the US State Department and Congress
  • An intelligence network run jointly by Turkish and Israeli operatives that paid senior American officials to steal nuclear weapons secrets
  • Specific members of Congress who appeared on FBI surveillance accepting payments
  • A sitting female Democratic congresswoman who had been "hooked" by Turkish agents into a compromising situation that was videotaped for potential blackmail

The National Whistleblower Center released the full video and transcript of the deposition.

Founding of the National Security Whistleblowers Coalition​

In August 2004, Edmonds founded the National Security Whistleblowers Coalition (NSWBC), an organization dedicated to assisting national security whistleblowers through advocacy, legal support, and legislative reform. The NSWBC brought together dozens of whistleblowers from across intelligence and law enforcement agencies, creating a support network for individuals who had been retaliated against for exposing wrongdoing within the national security apparatus.

Boiling Frogs Post and Newsbud​

In October 2009, Edmonds launched the Boiling Frogs Post, an independent media platform providing investigative journalism on topics largely censored by mainstream outlets. The site featured articles, editorials, interviews, and podcast episodes focused on national security, civil liberties, and government accountability.

In 2016, Edmonds expanded Boiling Frogs Post into Newsbud, a viewer-supported independent news outlet funded through Kickstarter donations. As editor-in-chief, Edmonds built Newsbud into a broader platform with multiple contributors covering geopolitics, covert operations, and whistleblower issues.

Key Arguments & Evidence She Cites​

  • DOJ Inspector General report: Confirmed that many of her allegations were supported and that the FBI retaliated against her for whistleblowing
  • FBI wiretap recordings: Edmonds personally translated wiretaps capturing conversations about espionage, bribery, and nuclear proliferation involving senior US officials
  • CBS 60 Minutes investigation: Found her claims credible before being blocked from further reporting
  • 2009 sworn deposition: Five hours of detailed, under-oath testimony naming specific officials and operations
  • Senate Judiciary Committee testimony: Both classified and unclassified sessions corroborated her account before being retroactively classified
  • Bipartisan congressional support: Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) both publicly stated that her claims had merit and deserved investigation
  • Original Operation Gladio: The historical reality of NATO stay-behind networks is well documented, providing a factual foundation for her Gladio B extension

Where She's Said It​

  • CBS 60 Minutes, late 2002 — first major network coverage of her case
  • Senate Judiciary Committee, classified and unclassified testimony, 2002-2003
  • Democracy Now!, August 2005 — "treason" interview
  • The American Conservative, "Who's Afraid of Sibel Edmonds?" by Philip Giraldi, November 2009
  • Ohio Elections Commission deposition, August 8, 2009 — first uncensored sworn testimony
  • Brad Blog, ongoing coverage 2007-2009
  • Kill The Messenger (documentary, 2006)
  • Boiling Frogs Post / Newsbud, 2009-present — ongoing reporting
  • Classified Woman: The Sibel Edmonds Story (memoir, 2012)
  • The Lone Gladio (novel, 2014) — fictionalized account of Gladio B operations

Current Situation​

Edmonds remains under the State Secrets gag order. While she has found ways to speak around the gag — through her 2009 deposition, her memoir, and her media platforms — the formal legal prohibition on disclosing classified details of what she discovered at the FBI has never been lifted.

Her career was destroyed by her whistleblowing. After being fired by the FBI in March 2002, she was blacklisted from government employment. Her lawsuit was dismissed on State Secrets grounds. Her congressional testimony was retroactively classified. Major media outlets that initially investigated her claims were pressured to drop the story.

Despite this, no government official or agency has ever publicly disputed the substance of her allegations. The DOJ Inspector General confirmed the core of her claims. Congressional allies acknowledged the merit of her case. The government's response has been entirely suppressive — gag orders, classification, and legal dismissals — rather than substantive rebuttal.

Why This Person Is at Risk​

Sibel Edmonds possesses direct knowledge, obtained through translated FBI wiretaps, of:

  • Nuclear proliferation: Theft and sale of US nuclear weapons secrets to foreign governments by senior American officials
  • Espionage: Active penetration of the FBI, State Department, and Congress by Turkish and Israeli intelligence
  • Congressional corruption: Specific members of Congress accepting bribes from foreign intelligence-linked organizations
  • 9/11 foreknowledge: FBI intelligence warnings about the attacks that were deliberately suppressed
  • Gladio B: CIA/Pentagon operational use of jihadist networks that directly connects to the origins of 9/11

The State Secrets gag order — applied twice, including retroactively — represents an extraordinary legal measure that has never been fully explained by the government. The scope of the gag suggests that the information Edmonds possesses implicates individuals and operations at the highest levels of government.

The Counterargument​

  • The State Department and FBI have never publicly rebutted her specific allegations, instead relying on classification and legal mechanisms to suppress them
  • Some critics argue her Gladio B claims extend beyond what can be verified from FBI wiretaps alone
  • Government defenders argue the State Secrets Privilege was invoked to protect legitimate intelligence sources and methods, not to conceal wrongdoing
  • Some skeptics note that her claims have grown in scope over time, from specific FBI translation issues to a grand unified theory of deep state operations
  • Her shift to independent media and the breadth of topics covered by Newsbud have led some to question whether she has moved from whistleblowing to advocacy
  • Coleen Rowley — Fellow FBI whistleblower who independently documented how FBI headquarters blocked Minneapolis field office investigations into Zacarias Moussaoui before 9/11, corroborating Edmonds's claims about deliberate intelligence suppression
  • Susan Lindauer — CIA asset who claims to have delivered advance warnings about 9/11 to US government officials and was arrested and charged under the Patriot Act, another case of a woman silenced after reporting pre-9/11 intelligence
  • Philip Zelikow — Executive Director of the 9/11 Commission, which classified Edmonds's testimony and excluded her findings from the final report despite her cooperation with the investigation

Other Coverage Worth Reading​

  • David Ray Griffin: Theologian built the most methodical case that official 9/11 story is riddled with provable falsehoods.
  • William Rodriguez: Last man pulled alive from the North Tower says he heard explosions in the basement before the plane hit.
  • Bob Graham: Senate Intelligence Committee chair fought for decades to declassify the 28 pages on Saudi government involvement.
  • Christopher Bollyn: Investigative journalist who traced 9/11 connections to Israeli intelligence and was physically attacked and prosecuted.

Sources​

This information was compiled by Claude AI research.