Rebuffed by Rice, Hadley, House panel tracks down witnesses for Iraq probe

[babylonsister]

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/rebuffed-by-rice-hadley-house-panel-tracks-down-witnesses-for-iraq-probe-2007-06-19.html

Rebuffed by Rice, Hadley, House panel tracks down witnesses for Iraq probe
By Helen Fessenden
June 19, 2007

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee’s probe into prewar intelligence has again postponed a hearing, scheduled for today, with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who refuses to testify publicly despite a panel subpoena.

The panel has also had no luck in securing a closed-door deposition of National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley. As Rice’s deputy at the National Security Council during President Bush’s first term, Hadley was central in the controversy over the flawed claim in Bush’s 2003 State of the Union address that Iraq was trying to buy uranium from Africa.

The panel has taken a closed-door deposition from George Tenet, former head of the CIA, who was also scheduled to testify today, and other former officials, including his former deputy, John McLaughlin. But the impasse with Rice and Hadley suggests that the administration will not budge in prohibiting senior officials to testify.

Barring a congressional vote invoking contempt, the committee effectively has no other formal tool to compel Rice to testify.

One Democrat on the panel, Carolyn Maloney (N.Y.), believes the probe should go beyond its focus on senior aides and instead find out why the forged documents behind the uranium claim were not debunked until shortly before the war, and how they came into existence in late 2001 in the first place.

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[malaise]

1. Well it's time to

infuggingvoke contempt. Nail fried Rice Dems.

[Demeter]

2. Second That!

[rodeodance]

3. drats. these so called leaders think and act like they are above us-immune

from scrutiny. And they will be unless waxman can pin them down!

[rodeodance]

4. If Bush had any ethics he himself would testify. But we know he has none!

[NewJeffCT]

5. and why would they not vote for contempt?

It's pretty obvious Rice & Hadley regard Congress with contempt - so, why not cite them for it?

[babylonsister]

6. I wish I knew; that's the next logical step. The Dems are just going to

cave on this? :grr:

[madrchsod]

7. the committee won`t force the issue

they should but they won`t