Sibel Edmonds finds some friends on Capitol Hill

I’m not sure why Sibel Edmonds’ concerns never gained national attention, but at least she’s starting to make a few powerful friends.

As a quick refresher, Edmonds is a former FBI translator who was fired because she complained about inadequate translation procedures at the agency, which she believes contributed to the government being unprepared on 9/11. Edmonds has repeatedly explained that the attacks could have been prevented, were it not for agency incompetence and foot-dragging.

Sifting through old classified materials in the days after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, FBI translator Sibel Edmonds said, she made an alarming discovery: Intercepts relevant to the terrorist plot, including references to skyscrapers, had been overlooked because they were badly translated into English.

Edmonds, 34, who is fluent in Turkish and Farsi, said she quickly reported the mistake to an FBI superior. Five months later, after flagging what she said were several other security lapses in her division, she was fired.

Edmonds sued and John Ashcroft and the Justice Department responded by doing everything possible to keep her claims hidden from public view, including retroactively classifying everything that has to do with her case, even basic facts that have been posted on websites and discussed openly in meetings with members of Congress.

This week, fortunately, a bi-partisan group of lawmakers is coming to her defense.

A woman fired by the FBI after alleging security lapses in its translator program has gained support from two members of Congress who said Wednesday they will question the Justice Department about her accusations.

After listening to former translator Sibel Edmonds complain about her treatment at the hands of the Justice Department and the FBI, Reps. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., and Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., said their staffs would debrief Edmonds and confront Justice Department officials with the information.

Shays and Maloney have had some success in pushing Congress to pass the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, so maybe they’ll have some success in helping Edmonds.

It’s about time someone did.