Waxman to DOD: Turn Over Iraq CronymasterJames O’Beirne, get ready to meet Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA).
As part of Waxman’s ongoing hearings into cronyism at the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee today demanded that Defense Secretary Bob Gates provide the committee with pertinent information relating to O’Beirne. O’Beirne, as readers of Rajiv Chandrasekaran’s Imperial Life in the Emerald City know, was the Defense Department official who screened potential candidates for CPA jobs on such mission-critical qualifications such as whether or not they voted for George W. Bush or agreed with Roe v. Wade. Apparently, Waxman’s earlier requests to interview O’Beirne were “mislaid,” according to Defense Department officials.
In a letter to Gates (PDF), the chairman hopes to avoid “compulsory measures” to learn more about O’Beirne. Gates has until next Tuesday to turn over documents; the staff of Waxman’s committee wants to interview O’Beirne by March 2.