Rep. Mel Watt (D) apologizes for saying the dimson lied

[babylonsister]

Watt apologizes for comments on Bush
Remarks withdrawn; says he didn't mean to imply president is liar
LISA ZAGAROLI

It turns out that U.S. Rep. Mel Watt did cross the line with his critical remarks about President Bush.

As we reported earlier, the Charlotte Democrat was upset about the White House's refusal to allow former counsel Harriet Miers to testify before a panel of the House Judiciary Committee about the firing of U.S. attorneys. In a rant about Bush, Watt said that the president had "lied" to Congress and the American people about the reasons for going to war.

Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, lodged a complaint with the subcommittee chairwoman, but at the time of the hearing, the chairwoman ruled that Watt's words were harsh but not unparliamentary.

But a later review by the full committee's chairman, Rep. John Conyers, D-Detroit, concluded that Watt's comments were in fact unparliamentary. After the ruling, Watt withdrew his comments.

"Some people have interpreted what I said to be that I said that the president of the United States was a liar," Watt said at a hearing July 17. "I want to make it clear that that is not in the transcript.

"To the extent that people interpreted what I had to say as saying that the President is a liar, I want to make sure I apologize to the president for that because the president is a personal friend of mine. And I don't want anybody left with the impression that I think the president in general terms is a liar."

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http://www.charlotte.com/politics/story/216820.html