Chandra Levy, tax cuts, warnings: Headlines before 9/11

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(The Center Square) – The killing of Chandra Levy, President George W. Bush’s tax cut legislation, and aviation warnings dominated news coverage in the weeks and months before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

On May 5, 2001, Chandra Levy’s parents reported her missing after she was not answering phone calls and was last seen on May 1. Levy, 24 and a California native, had completed an internship with the Federal Bureau of Prisons in Washington, D.C., weeks before she was reported missing.

Levy’s disappearance set off a massive investigation across the Metropolitan Police Department in the nation’s capital. The investigation was moved to the Special Investigations Division of the Metropolitan Police Department and large-scale searches were conducted across the city.

The special investigations division searched more than 240 abandoned buildings across the nation’s capital and extensively searched Rock Creek and Dupont parks.

The FBI was involved in the early stages of the investigation. In July 2001, the FBI shifted the case into its Major Crimes Squad, which specialized in long-term investigations.

Investigators probed Levy’s relationship with former Rep. Gary Condit, D-Calif., who eventually confirmed an affair with the missing intern. Condit was never charged in connection with Levy’s disappearance.

As media attention swirled around Levy’s disappearance, D.C. residents criticized the amount of resources used as part of the investigation. D.C. police union official Sgt. G.G. Neil echoed criticisms of the extensive police resources used to aid in the investigation of Levy’s disappearance.

The mounting criticism swirled around the investigation. The FBI eventually dropped a $24 million plan to search landfills throughout the nation’s capital for answers in the case.

One year later, on May 22, 2002, Levy’s skull was discovered in Rock Creek Park. Ingmar Guandique was charged with robbing and killing Levy. However, the charges were later dropped against Guandique after he passed a lie detector test and maintained his innocence.

Another suspect has yet to be identified in the killing of Chandra Levy.

The summer of 2001 in the nation’s capital also was significant as President Bush signed his first major piece of legislation while in office, which included significant tax cuts.

The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 was signed into law on June 7, 2001. The legislation was seen as a big victory for Republicans after a tumultuous election cycle where the U.S. Supreme Court intervened to determine a winner between Bush and Democratic candidate Al Gore.

Americans earning more than $68,000 per year saw a lower tax rate. Additionally Americans earning less than $17,000 per year fit into a new 10% tax bracket rather than the previous 15% they were facing.

The legislation reduced income taxes for individuals earning between $68,000 and $137,000 per year from 28% to 25%. Americans earning between $137,000 and $209,000 saw more relief as well, with rates coming down from 31% to 28%.

“President Bush’s tax relief put more money in families’ pockets and encouraged more businesses to grow and invest,” the White House wrote.

The legislation also set forth a plan to double the child tax credit to $1,000 by 2010 and increase education tax benefits. In January, the Congressional Budget Office initially estimated the government would have a surplus of $281 billion but later revised this figure to $153 billion in August partly because of the tax law and a weaker economy.

“The projected surpluses would allow all public debt that is available for redemption to be retired by 2010,” the CBO wrote in August 2001. “Those estimates should be viewed cautiously, however, because future economic developments, technical estimating errors, and future legislative action could produce substantial deviations.”

The Bush administration estimated the tax cut legislation saved $1.7 trillion for American households through 2008.

Also during the summer of 2001, authorities reported numerous aviation-related incidents, including those involving the Sept. 11 hijackers. On June 22, 2001, the Federal Aviation Administration issued an information announcement to private aircraft carriers.

“Although we have no specific information that this threat is directed at civil aviation, the potential for terrorist operations, such as airline hijacking to free terrorists incarcerated in the U.S. remains a concern,” the FAA said.

On July 2, 2001, the FAA issued an internal communications memo that reported a terrorist convicted in a plot to disrupt the celebrations of the new year in 2000 intended to use explosives in an airport terminal.

Bush ultimately convened a meeting of the nation’s top counterterrorism officials and determined to suspend nonessential travel due to concerns over terrorist threats in Paris, Turkey and Rome.

Throughout August 2001, U.S. government officials were on high alert over a potential terrorist attack in the United States. On. Aug. 6, the CIA prepared a security brief for Bush titled “Bin Laden Determined to Strike in US.” The report details a string of behavior consistent with plans for a hijacking incident.

Federal authorities arrested Zacarias Moussaoui in Minnesota on suspicion he was involved in plotting the terrorist attack. He was attending a flight school in Minnesota when he was arrested and was later charged in connection to the eventual attack despite denying his knowledge or involvement in planning.

From Aug. 27 to Aug. 31, hijackers involved in the attacks purchased plane tickets for Sept. 11 from Boston and Washington, D.C. On Aug. 27, brothers Nawaf al-Hamzi and Salem al-Hamzi purchased flight tickets for American Airlines flight 77, the plane that would crash into the Pentagon.

On Aug. 28, Mohamed Atta purchased flight tickets for himself aboard American Airlines flight 11, the plane that crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center. On Aug. 29, Banihammad and Hamza al-Ghamdi purchased tickets for United Airlines flight 175, the plane that crashed into the south tower of the World Trade Center.

Also on Aug. 29, Ahmed Alhaznawi booked a flight on United Airlines 93, the plane that crashed into an open field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

In a stark warning ahead of the attacks, military commander of the Afghan Northern Alliance Ahmad Shah Massoud was killed by a suicide bomber on Sept. 9. Massoud was a vocal opponent of the Taliban and warned western nations in the months leading up to his death about a potential terrorist attack. 

In April 2001, Massoud traveled to Europe to warn leaders about the potential of an al-Qaeda attack in the west. Months later, he was killed by suicide bombers posing as TV journalists. 

Overall, 19 individuals affiliated with Al-Qaeda were involved in the execution of events on Sept. 11. All 19 individuals died in the attack.

Following the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, the news cycle dramatically shifted and the global response to tragedy followed. Countries came to the aid of the United States as it sought justice against those who plotted the attacks and citizens around the world vowed to never forget the events of that fateful day.