Threat to Blair as Democrats pledge inquiry on Iraq

[cal04]

By Andrew Buncombe in Washington and Raymond Whitaker and Francis Elliott in London


Tony Blair, who narrowly defeated a recent parliamentary attempt to call an inquiry into the Iraq war, is facing a new threat from Washington, where victorious Democrats are expected to call British witnesses as they launch congressional investigations into the war.

"Now we are the majority party and we can hold hearings," said a senior member of the staff of John Conyers, who in January will become chair of the House Judiciary Committee. "We can hold any number of hearings."

Democratic Senators are also expected to seek hearings aimed at throwing light on how Downing Street and the White House co-ordinated efforts to claim that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction. All the claims that led to war, from allegations that Saddam was reconstituting a nuclear weapons programme to his alleged links with al-Qa'ida, could come under examination. Unlike their counterparts in Britain, congressional committees have the crucial power to subpoena witnesses and documents.

Mr Conyers's staff have long been investigating how false information was presented by the Bush administration to persuade the public of the "significant and growing" threat posed by Saddam. Their inquiries were partly triggered by the leaking of the Downing Street memos, which revealed the belief of the British government that Mr Bush had decided on war as early as the spring of 2002.

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article1963416.ece

[Ice4Clark]

1. Just imagine, Conyers having a hearing upstairs

in any room he chooses and not in the cellar.........I can't wait! I still remember watching all those folks crammed downstairs, out of the light of day.

[Gloria]

2. A TWOFER!! Very efficient....LOL!

[TheBaldyMan]

3. Awwwwwwwwww Hawwww Ha ha ha ha hah

:rofl: next stop the Hague and a war crimes court Tony :rofl:

[blm]

4. Finally - Downing Street Memos - what Dem politician is going to pretend they

never heard of them NOW?

[Caretha]

5. I can hardly wait!

Blair ain't the only one that needs to worry. Just think of all the leg work that's already been done. I'll bet my milk money that Conyers knows exactly which way to proceed and in what order he plans to do it in.

Mr Conyers's staff have long been investigating how false information was presented by the Bush administration to persuade the public of the "significant and growing" threat posed by Saddam.

Let's also remember which corrupt repug Conyers will be replacing.....Jim Sensenbrenner - does everyone remember this piece of arrogant crap he pulled in 2005? I do.

wikipedia snip

On June 17, 2005, Sensenbrenner, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, abruptly ended a meeting where Republicans and Democrats were supposed to be debating the renewal of the PATRIOT Act and walked out in response to Democratic members raising issues regarding human rights violations at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay and the ongoing Iraq war. He ordered the court reporter to halt transcriptions of the proceedings, C-SPAN cameras covering the meeting be shut off, and that discussion on the issue be halted. Sensenbrenner defended his actions by claiming that the Democrats and witnesses had repeatedly violated House Rules in discussing issues he believed to be unrelated to the subject of the meeting. His abrupt walkout was contrary to House parliamentary procedure, which is to adjourn either on motion or without objection. Afterward, the microphones were turned off by Majority Judiciary Counsel
Robert Tracci.

Lots more on this scumbag here: Sensenbrenner