Intelligence Committee Shielding White House From Full Investigation
The following is a press release from June 26, 2003, by Kucinich's office in Congress.
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Kucinich: Intelligence Committee Shielding White House From Full Investigation
The Intelligence Committee is shielding the White House from a full investigation into the role the Vice President played in the lead-up to the war in Iraq, Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich (D-OH) said today.
Today, the Intelligence Committee's leadership caused the House to defeat the Kucinich amendment, which would have required an investigation into the role the Vice President may have played in misleading policy makers and the country about the true nature of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.
In debate over the amendment last night in the House, Chairman of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Porter Goss said that he would not even ask the Vice President to supply any details which could reveal whether undue pressure was put on CIA analysts to produce intelligence that supported the Administration's claims about an Iraqi nuclear program and other weapons of mass destruction. Nevertheless, some members still agreed for the intelligence committee to retain its jurisdiction.
"There are many unanswered questions about the erroneous assertions made by this Administration in the lead up to the war in Iraq," stated Kucinich. "My amendment sought information about the role the Vice President may have played in causing the CIA to disseminate unreliable, raw, previously undisseminated, untrue information about Iraq's alleged threat to the U.S. This information must not be classified or protected by executive privilege. Now is the time for Congress to exercise its Constitutional oversight responsibility.
"Unfortunately, today, led by the Intelligence Committee, the House voted to shield the White House from a full, fair and public investigation. It is now clear, that an Independent Commission is needed."
Kucinich's amendment would have directed the Inspector General of the Central Intelligence Agency to conduct an audit of all telephone and electronic communications between the CIA and the Office of the Vice President that relate to weapons of mass destruction obtained or developed by Iraq preceding Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The amendment was in response to a June 5, 2003, article in the Washington Post, which reported that the Vice-President made multiple visits to the CIA in which some analysts felt were reported to have felt pressured to make their assessments on Iraq fit with Bush Administration policy objectives.
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