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Cookie To Be Chewed At House Hearing Wednesday
It's official: embattled State Department Inspector General Howard "Cookie" Krongard will finally testify before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Wednesday.
Krongard, for the uninitiated, is the IG voted most likely to... not investigate waste, fraud and abuse. In September, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), the oversight committee chairman, accused him of scuttling investigations into corruption in State activities and contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Matters got worse when Krongard's subordinates told Waxman that his aides threatened retaliation against them for going public. Condoleezza Rice promised that Krongard would answer the charges. The FBI got involved. It's a whole to-do.
Come Wednesday at 10 a.m., Krongard will get a chance to explain himself. As of last week, the hearing focused primarily on the whistleblower-protection question. Aides to the committee said last week that there were no preconditions to Krongard's testimony, and lo and behold, the title of the current hearing is now the broad-brush "Assessing the State Department Inspector General."
Can't wait for Wednesday? Check out the Mighty Justin Rood's newest piece on the State Department's allergy to accountability in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Comments (9)
dbarree wrote on November 12, 2007 12:50 PM:"Matters got worse when Krongard's subordinates told Waxman that his aides threatened retaliation against them for going public."
Would these aides be known as "Kronies"?
Mojotron3000 wrote on November 12, 2007 1:23 PM:nope- Cookie's Monsters.
The Cookie Crumbles wrote on November 12, 2007 2:30 PM:From Wikipedia:
AB “Buzzy” Krongard resigned from the CIA shortly after the arrival of DCI Porter Goss in September 2004. While at the CIA, he was the connection between Erik Prince of Blackwater Security Consulting and the CIA. Through his influence, Blackwater was able to receive its first black contract."
His brother got Blackwater their CIA contract. I wonder how the Krongard brothers might have benefited from that very, very lucrative contract in the years since.
moondancer wrote on November 12, 2007 2:49 PM:Excuse my cynicism, but if you get anything besides I cant recall or thats under a on-going investigation. I'll wash Dick Cheneys car dressed in a jockstrap.
Bush's Lap Dogs wrote on November 12, 2007 6:23 PM:The link under "Bush's Lap Dogs" gives a nice review of the loyalty oaths IGs were required to give to the President, over their duty to investigate. Would encourage a quick skim of this article as you review the problems with the IGs in this US government: They're been corrupted by the President.
Another basis for the Congress to impeach; and for the public to demand Speaker Pelosi be removed as Speaker -- clearing the way for impeachment.
How long did Pelosi know that the IGs had been compromised?
Al in Austex wrote on November 12, 2007 8:11 PM:This whole RICO Edifice known as Bush 43 is poised to implode. The implosion has already started - All progressive take heart - And Moondancer I pray that you will look ok wearing that jockstrap as you wash the Cheneymobile .. because this will all be coming to a real good end for our side & our Constitution as the election nears. Keep a particular eye on the moderate Republicans ie Senator GrasselLY & Sen Voinnovich ..
Dennis wrote on November 12, 2007 8:33 PM:What good will this do? Is there incompetence? Yes. Is there corruption? Yes.
But the BIGGER ISSUES, of the behavior(s) of the White House leading up to the attack on Iraq, of who authorized the torture of captives, the where, when, why of all of that, the telecom spying on Americans prior to 9/11 and since, and who authorized that and why, will fade into the sunset like so many other war crimes committed in the name of the American people by those in the White House and/others.
None of this, under the new leadership of the Department of Justice, will ever see a courtroom.
The Republican party certainly isn't going to initiate any investigations and the Democratic party is going to do its part by saying we need to forget all of that and move forward, it will take too much time, energy and cost to pursue these matters.
In fact, that was what the Democratic vote to affirm Judge Mukasey was all about, anyway.
We thus will have our own war criminals running free.
We are continually more and more like the old Soviet Russia - guilty until proven innocent.
You don't have to be a blind conservative not to see it, just an ignorant one to deny it.
Michael Jones wrote on November 12, 2007 10:37 PM:A "Truman Comision" should be attached to any new funding for the war.
linda wrote on November 13, 2007 10:30 AM:holy moly -- when charles grassley is described as 'moderate'....
but he has been a surprise for this native and former iowan. esp with his support for schip.