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House Oversight Committee to consider Rice subpoena |
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By Susan Crabtree
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Posted: 04/20/07 03:07 PM [ET] |
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The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform will consider next week whether to issue subpoenas to get access to documents and testimony from the Bush administration, including the testimony of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. With the scheduling of the panel hearing, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) is upping the ante in his fight with the administration for access to information. Waxman announced Friday that his panel will hold a business meeting next Wednesday to consider whether to issue four subpoenas for testimony and documents. According to the committee’s press release, the subpoenas are aimed at obtaining: - Rice’s testimony regarding the fabricated claim that Iraq sought uranium from Niger and other pre-war intelligence issues; - the testimony of former White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card regarding the leak of Valerie Plame Wilson’s covert identity and White House security procedures; - Republican National Committee (RNC) documents related to possible violations of the Presidential Records Act and the Hatch Act by White House officials; - and contacts between the White House and MZM, a federal contractor implicated in bribery charges. Waxman’s most recent letters requesting the documents were sent to Card, RNC Chairman Mike Duncan and White House Counsel Fred Fielding on April 20. He also sent a letter to Rice on April 17. |
