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April 21, 2010
Obama Administration Subpoenaed in Fort Hood Probe
Obama administration subpoenaed in Fort Hood probe ( Obama covering up terrorism committed against the United States by one of his muslim brothers ~ Wild Thing )
Reuters
Two U.S. lawmakers subpoenaed the Obama administration on Monday for information sought in a congressional probe of last year's shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, that left 13 soldiers dead and an Army psychiatrist charged with murder.
Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman, an independent, and Susan Collins, the panel's top Republican, took the action after the departments of Justice and Defense failed to provide the materials by Monday's deadline.
The two senators have been trying for months to obtain documents and be provided access to witnesses that they say are critical to their investigation of the shooting spree at Fort Hood in November that ended with 13 soldiers killed and dozens wounded.
In a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, who heads the Justice Department, and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Lieberman and Collins wrote:
"It is impossible for us to avoid reaching the conclusion that the departments simply do not want to cooperate with our investigation."
"It is with great disappointment and reluctance that we have directed service of subpoenas to you which demand disclosure of the requested information by Monday, April 26, 2010," they added.
The Justice and Defense departments sent a letter last week to Lieberman and Collins saying that turning over the information could compromise the case against Hasan.
On Monday, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters, "We will obviously be reviewing it (the subpoenas) and determining the department's next steps."
"We will continue to cooperate with the committee in every way with that caveat, that single caveat, that whatever we provide does not impact on our ability to prosecute," Whitman said.
If the two departments stand firm and refuse to provide the requested information, they could end up facing a contempt of Congress citation and a court fight.
This could all provide an unwanted distraction for a White House already under election-year pressure on a number of fronts, including pressure to cut unemployment.
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Pentagon dismisses Lieberman's Fort Hood subpoena threat
The Pentagon signaled on Saturday it would continue limiting lawmakers' access to details unearthed during the military's investigation of the shooting at Fort Hood.
Even after Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) threatened to subpoena the Pentagon on Friday in an attempt to obtain that information, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the secrecy is necessary to allow the military's inquiry to continue uninhibited.
"We have no interest in hiding anything, but what's most important is this prosecution," Gates told reporters.
However, Gates' latest retort has hardly satisfied Lieberman, who initially gave the White House until Monday to release most of its information about suspect Maj. Nidal Hissan.
In a statement first published in Saturday's Wall Street Journal, Lieberman described the White House's approach as "baseless." He later noted the details that he and his Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee have sought for more than five months "clearly has no bearing on the prosecution."
Consequently, the standoff between the White House and Lieberman's committee over the Fort Hood attack seems poised to become President Barack Obama's first legal battle with Congress.
According to Ranking Member Susan Collins (R-Maine), who lambasted the Pentagon on Friday, the Obama administration has praised lawmakers for investigating the shooting deaths of 13 soldiers, while denying her committee unfettered access to the military's information. That prompted the threat of subpoena, she told reporters.
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Wild Thing's comment......
They need to be slapped with alot of subpeonas in my opinion.
This could all provide an unwanted distraction for a White House already under election-year pressure on a number of fronts, including pressure to cut unemployment."
It's amazing how they always try to make excuses for Bozo!! He's busy flying around, campaigning, fund raising & playing golf.
Just like Bill and Hillary Clinton....Obama and his White House has made stonewalling an art form, the Justice Department in particular.
Then there is also how Holder's DOJ handled the Black Panther case in Philadelphia.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates didn't back down when asked about the threat of a subpoena last week. Since the White House did not respond by Lieberman's deadline, the latter has issued subpoenas along with a new deadline:
In a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, who heads the Justice Department, and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Lieberman and Collins wrote: "It is impossible for us to avoid reaching the conclusion that the departments simply do not want to cooperate with our investigation."
"It is with great disappointment and reluctance that we have directed service of subpoenas to you which demand disclosure of the requested information by Monday, April 26, 2010," they added.
Yes, it takes a degree of fortitude to issue a subpoena but this is still the blustering phase. Lieberman is trying to do the right thing here but with this administration, a subpoena is increasingly looking like just another piece of paper to ignore.
This shooting occurred November 5th, and I don’t care what condition the shooter ended up in because the government is just dragging its heels over protecting this Islamofascist! It’s nearly 6 months yet where’s the justice. Where’s the justice for the people who were murdered in cold blood, for the dozens wounded and for the honor of the U.S. Military and dependents! This is a travesty, and that Bozo in the White House is nothing but Nero fiddling while the country burns.
Posted by Wild Thing at April 21, 2010 01:50 AM
Comments
I didn't think the DOD could tell congress to go screw itself when they requested information for an official investigation.
Posted by: BobF at April 21, 2010 12:11 PM
They can if they want to be out of money by the end of this year. WoW lieberman is showing more guts, is it possible that he want an honest answer from a Democratic president.
Posted by: Avitar at April 21, 2010 12:50 PM
High profile posturing on the part of Collins and Lieberman will not raise their esteem in my view, they know this will go no whwere yet are banking on the public to see them as going after the Obama Admin. Where have they both been the past 10 years or more? Inside the pockets of the Democrats, that's where. Gates is Barack's handmaiden by doing the bidding of the islamists.
Posted by: Jack at April 21, 2010 02:03 PM
