FBI sought death row interview with Timothy McVeigh

(Washington-AP) -- Officials say senior FBI agents wanted to interview Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh as McVeigh's execution drew near in 2001.<br><br>Speaking only if their names are not used,

Wednesday, March 3rd 2004, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

(Washington-AP) -- Officials say senior FBI agents wanted to interview Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh as McVeigh's execution drew near in 2001.

Speaking only if their names are not used, the officials told The Associated Press the plan fell apart when the government couldn't resolve who would attend the interview or how it would be conducted.

The agents wanted to fill in gaps about where McVeigh was on certain dates before the bombing, including where he spent the night before the bombing.

The interview debate is described by several current and former officials who say it shows the government didn't know everything it wanted about McVeigh before he was put to death. They say the potential interview was the subject of a high-level meeting in Oklahoma City in March 2001.

McVeigh was executed in June of that year.

The officials say the debate was documented in numerous FBI e-mails and they're not certain whether those e-mails should have been turned over to lawyers in the state murder trial of Terry Nichols that's under way in McAlester.