After: How America Confronted The Sept. 12 Era
From His Sweeping New Book On How America Responded To September 11, Steven Brill Follows Attorney General John Ashcroft Through The Creation Of The Controversial Usa Patriot Act
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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2001
When he got the news of the second plane hitting, Attorney General John Ashcroft was in a small government Cessna jet on his way to Milwaukee, where he was going to participate in the President's child literacy program by reading to a group of schoolchildren.
Ashcroft immediately ordered the plane to turn around, only to be told that there wasn't enough fuel to get back to Washington. After refueling in Milwaukee, he had still more trouble making it back to the center of action. The Federal Aviation Administration insisted that his plane be diverted to Richmond, because of an order it had issued to ground everything that wasn't a military plane. "It was a real negotiation," Ashcroft recalls.
When he'd arrived at the White House late that afternoon, President Bush had taken Ashcroft aside and said, "John, make sure this can't happen again."
The FBI's job now was to protect, not gather evidence that would stand up in court for prosecutions. Ashcroft was determined to force that fundamental shift, even if it meant he'd be de facto head of the FBI.
For Ashcroft, the sudden challenge was an elixir of sorts. Associates would soon notice his new focus, the new bounce in his step. Using one of his many sports analogies, he would explain it this way: "Some people don't like to get the ball at the foul line in the last second of the game. I do. I like to get that ball."
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