Bill Johnston : Associates stand by prosecutor - News about religious cults and sects

Associates of former federal prosecutor Bill Johnston said Thursday they are relieved he was not sentenced to prison for withholding information in connection with the Branch Davidian siege near Waco.

Mr. Johnston, once hailed as a rising star of federal law enforcement, was sentenced by a St. Louis judge to two years' probation and community service.

"Bill made a mistake, but he is not an evil, bad person," said Texas Department of Public Safety chairman Jim Francis.

Mr. Francis, who instructed the Texas Rangers to re-examine evidence from the siege years after its fiery end, said a jail term for Mr. Johnston would be "unreasonable, unfair, inappropriate and overreaching."

Mr. Johnston "made a bad judgment of withholding a document over fear it would be stonewalled," Mr. Francis said. "He was in a political infight, thinking his agency was not doing right."

He admitted in July to withholding one page of pretrial notes about the government's use of pyrotechnic tear gas on April 19, 1993, the day the Branch Davidian compound burned down. Cult leader David Koresh and about 80 followers died.

Michael Caddell, lead attorney for Branch Davidians who unsuccessfully sued the government last year, said Mr. Johnston's reputation has been unfairly tainted.

"I'm still offended by the sentence," he said. "The one guy that seemed to be dealing with us on a straightforward, honest level was prosecuted because he was critical of the Justice Department."

Mr. Caddell said former Sen. John Danforth, who led the independent Waco review, should be held to the same level of scrutiny.

The FBI admitted last week that the simulation that concluded that government agents did not fire their guns during the Waco siege did not test the type of assault rifle the FBI had at the scene.

Mr. Danforth has said he did not know what weapons were tested and that his conclusions would not have changed.

Michael McNulty, who produced several documentaries about the government's role in Waco, said he also believes Mr. Johnston was unfairly targeted.

"It was payback by the federal family to Bill Johnston for being the whistleblower.

"Bill Johnston did something really stupid, but I don't think he did a criminal act," Mr. McNulty said. "He was reacting out of fear. For the first time, he was put in the defendant's seat, and he made a bad choice."
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Associates stand by prosecutor

Waco siege official's probation brings relief