Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) Commissioner Hou You-yi (
Li told a press conference earlier in the day that he had obtained a CIA document saying President Chen Shui-bian (
Li said he had obtained the CIA document through unofficial channels and that the document says Chen hired two snipers to carry out the shooting on March 19. The purpose was to kill or wound Vice President Annette Lu (
"One sniper, named Chen, is dead. The other sniper, named Lee, has gone abroad," he said.
The lawmaker showed the document, entitled Formal Report, to reporters and said he was going to mail it to Lu.
He called on Lu to speak out on "the truth" and stop assisting Chen.
Tainan Prosecutor Wang San-jung (
Hou urged Li to provide the information to the CIB, saying that the police hold no prerequisites or assumptions of any kind regarding the case and that his bureau would welcome any information that could lead to solving the case.
A "March 19 Shooting Truth Investigation Special Committee" was formed last October under a statute passed by the Legislative Yuan, but the committee got nowhere because it encountered heavy criticism and the Council of Grand Justices ruled the committee unconstitutional and the administration refused to cooperate with it.
In response to Li's claims, the Presidential Office yesterday said it would not respond to Li's charge until it had seen the so-called CIA document.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Lai Ching-te (
Lai also questioned the timing of Li's revelation of the document. The High Court is scheduled to deliver its verdict on June 17 on the lawsuit filed by the pan-blue alliance to void the presidency of President Chen Shui-bian (
Earlier this year the CIB announced it had traced the would-be assassin, Chen Yi-hsiung (
A US official in Taipei declined to comment on the alleged CIA report.
Additional reporting by Huang Tai-lin and Ko Shu-ling
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