The Oklahoma City Bombing
Paul Craig Roberts
Among the many violent events–Ruby Ridge, Waco, 9/11, for example–that never received a real investigation is the Oklahoma City Bombing. On April 19, 1995, the Murrah Federal Building was blown up resulting in many deaths, injuries, and damage to nearby buildings. The foul deed was blamed on Timothy McVeigh and a fertilizer bomb in a truck parked on the street in front of the building. McVeigh’s reason was a bit vague. It was blamed on anti-government ideology and revenge for the federal massacre of innocents at Waco and Ruby Ridge.
When government investigations result in coverups or agenda-serving narratives, independent investigators, and journalists in bygone days when we had them, investigate. Many have had a go in books and articles at what has become known as the “Oklahoma City Bombing,” and none that I know of have found the official story believable.
A year ago, that is 30 years after the fatal event, Margaret Roberts published a book: Blowback: The Untold Story of the FBI and the Oklahoma City Bombing, an indication that researchers remain unhappy with the official story. You can read a review of the book here: https://cdm.press/analysis/2025/08/18/the-oklahoma-city-bombing-a-lesson-in-government-lawlessness/
All of this is old hat to me because I chronicled the “untold story” years ago in my columns. I did get the attention of the Department of Justice (sic). My assistant informed me that a honcho from the Department of Justice had called with the message that I was to lay off the Trentadue matter. I didn’t, and nothing happened. Perhaps it was too close in time to my positions as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury and editor at the Wall Street Journal for the DOJ to turn me into some kind of domestic terrorist. I still had friends in the House and Senate.
I don’t remember precisely what got me involved in the story. Perhaps it was the event itself. Perhaps it was the report by my neighbor, Air Force General Benton K. Partin, a US Air Force explosive expert. His report, which he delivered to the US Congress, contained “conclusive proof that the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, was not caused solely by the truck bomb. Evidence shows that the massive destruction was primarily the result of four demolition charges placed at critical structural points at the third floor level.” Here is a copy of General Partin’s letter accompanying the report he sent to US Senator Trent Lott. http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/RANCHO/POLITICS/OK/PARTIN/ok8.htm
Here is a copy of General Partin’s report: https://ia601605.us.archive.org/9/items/BombDamageAnalysisOfAlfredP.MurrahFederalBuilding/GenParton_okcBombingReport.pdf
In other words the building itself blew up from the inside out, not from the outside in.
Perhaps it was former US Marine sniper and Oklahoma policeman Craig Roberts. We became aware of each other as a result of readers confusing us, sending him comments on my articles, and me comments on his books. Craig Roberts was assigned to the case at the request of the FBI. He told me that the police found unexploded bombs in the building’s ruins, that a real investigation was prevented, and that a black police officer who persisted “committed suicide” by shooting himself in the back of the head three times. Roberts wrote a couple of books about the bombing and his involvement in the investigation, which I reported. It was in the last days of paper journalism and I doubt the articles are online. I probably have copies, but unless lady luck presented herself it would take days of going through 30+ boxes of my articles to find the articles.
On the 22nd anniversary of the Oklahoma City Bombing I penned a remembrance of the event, the purpose of which remains a mystery. https://paulcraigroberts.org/oklahoma-city-bombing-22-years/
I do know what kept me on the case. It was Jesse Trentadue, a respected lawyer in Salt Lake City, Utah. Initially, McVeigh was suspected of having an accomplice. Jesse’s brother, Kenneth, fit the description. Kenneth was picked up on a minor parole violation, and while in federal custody was tortured to death in an effort to extract information about the bombing about which he knew nothing. The state coroner refused to accept the prison’s claim that Kenneth committed suicide. Blood was splattered all over the cell. The federal prison wanted to cremate the body, but Jesse insisted on the return of his brother’s body for burial. When the body arrived, it was covered in heavy makeup to hide innumerable wounds that could not have been self-inflicted. It was my coverage of Kenneth Trentadue’s murder that got the DOJ’s attention.
At the time US Senator Orrin Hatch (R, Utah) was Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. As a former member of Senator Hatch’s staff, I encouraged Orrin to give Trentadue a hand. My case was that if the Justice Department disrespects law by covering up a crime, disrespect for law will spread throughout society. Orrin did ask some questions but got nowhere.
For reasons unknown, the DOJ instead of admitting that Kenneth had died under interrogation and settling with the family has stonewalled Jesse for 30 years, thus stupidly keeping the issue alive. I covered it for many years until the pressure of other events–9/11 for example–pushed the story into the background. Margaret Roberts has revived it, or a part of it. Her work, as did the prior work, shows that we cannot trust official explanations or government institutions.