U.S. Refutes Oklahoma Juror’s Allegations : Bombing: Prosecutors deny federal panelist’s contention that the government failed to follow up on key leads in the blast case.

Arguing that the indictment against defendant Timothy J. McVeigh should not be dismissed, prosecutors in the Oklahoma City bombing case contended Monday that a member of the federal grand jury was wrong when he maintained that the government did not thoroughly investigate the case.

The government, in a legal brief filed in U.S. District Court in Oklahoma City, was responding to allegations by McVeigh’s lawyers that the grand jury process was tainted because one of the jurors--a Blanchard, Okla., horse breeder--has publicly stated that a number of key leads in the bombing were never followed up by investigators.

Hoppy Heidelberg, the grand juror, recently gave an interview to a conservative news magazine in which he alleged that grand jurors were never allowed to review such issues as the possible existence of a John Doe No. 2 and facts about an alleged Arkansas gun robbery. Both issues conceivably could have implicated additional suspects other than McVeigh and co-defendant Terry L. Nichols.

But federal prosecutors insisted Monday that Heidelberg is mistaken about the government’s case. They pointed out that his interview with Media Bypass, an Indiana publication that caters to right-wing militant groups, is full of errors and that he is alone among the 23 grand jurors in his criticism of the government.

Moreover, the government sought to discredit him by suggesting that many of his statements were inflammatory and indicative of “the view of a man” who believes in conspiracies that do not exist.

The government attached a full transcript of Heidelberg’s interview with the magazine, and stated that defense attorneys misstated and ignored many of the grand juror’s comments about the case. Prosecutors highlighted those areas that attacked his credibility.

For instance, Heidelberg at one point suggested that a man named Roscoe White was the “real assassin” of President John F. Kennedy and that “there’s a lot more evidence against McVeigh than there was against” Lee Harvey Oswald.

Prosecutors also noted that in the end, Heidelberg joined the other grand jurors in voting to indict McVeigh and Nichols and that he “repeatedly emphasized that McVeigh and Nichols were properly indicted based on evidence that they were responsible for the bombing.”

The government also denied that it did not call the proper witnesses before the grand jury this summer and refuted Heidelberg’s assertions that some witnesses, such as McVeigh’s sister, Jennifer, and Nichols’ son, Josh, were harassed or mistreated.

The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was destroyed on April 19, killing 169 people and injuring 600 others. It has been called the worst domestic act of terrorism in the United States. The government earlier this month announced that it will seek the death penalty against McVeigh and Nichols.

*

Last week, Chief U.S. District Judge David Russell dismissed Heidelberg from the grand jury and threatened to hold him in contempt of court if he violates secrecy rules any further. But Heidelberg continues to speak out about the case, even though he could face up to six months in prison and a $1,000 fine.

The judge took the action after Heidelberg wrote him a letter outlining a dozen points he said warrant further investigation by another grand jury.

Those points, citing witnesses and evidence gleaned from news stories and sources, include more review of the John Doe No. 2 character reportedly spotted with McVeigh in the days before the bombing and theories that there may have been two blasts, rather than one, that destroyed the Murrah building.