WASHINGTON, July 13, 2007
Lawmakers: Bush Withheld Tillman Documents
White House Cites "Executive Branch Confidentiality Interests" In Withholding Info On Friendly Fire Death
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Specialist Pat Tillman marches as he performs the honor of being the guidon bearer during graduation ceremonies Friday morning, Oct. 25, 2002 on Sand Hill at Fort Benning, Ga. (AP/Columbus Ledger Enquirer)
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"Pat's death was clearly the result of fratricide," Kevin Tillman, right, told a Congressional hearing of the death of his brother, Pat Tillman, left, on April 24, 2007. (AP)
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Former U.S. Army Private Jessica Lynch listens to emotional testimony April 24, 2007 given during hearings conducted by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. (Getty Images/Karen Bleier)
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Photo Essay Pat Tillman A look at the former NFL player who died fighting as an Army Ranger in Afghanistan.
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Photo Essay Rescued! Army supply clerk Jessica Lynch becomes an American hero.
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Interactive Military 101 Basic training to learn all about America's fighting force.
The White House and Defense Department have turned over nearly 10,000 pages of papers — mostly press clippings — but the White House cited "executive branch confidentiality interests" in refusing to provide other documents.
House Oversight Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and Tom Davis, R-Va., the committee's top-ranking Republican, said Friday the documents were inadequate. They insisted that the Defense Department turn over the additional material by July 25 and asked that the White House do likewise.
Tillman, a San Jose native, turned down a lucrative contract with the NFL's Arizona Cardinals to join the Army following the Sept. 11 attacks. He was killed April 22, 2004, by friendly fire in Afghanistan.
Although Pentagon investigators determined quickly that he was killed by his own troops, five weeks passed before the circumstances of his death were made public. During that time, the Army claimed he was killed by enemy fire.
Tillman's family and others have said they believe the erroneous information peddled by the Pentagon was part of a deliberate cover-up that may have reached all the way to President Bush and then-Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld. The committee said Friday it had scheduled a second hearing on Tillman's death for Aug. 1, this time to probe what senior Pentagon officials knew and when.
Rumsfeld and Richard Myers, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, were among those the committee invited Friday to appear.
The White House has turned over nearly 1,100 pages of documents and the Defense Department nearly 8,500 pages since the committee requested information from them in April, part of an inquiry into why Tillman's family and the public were misled.
"The document production from the White House sheds virtually no light on these matters," Waxman and Davis wrote to White House counsel Fred Fielding, part of a renewed request for additional papers.
The committee made public a letter last month in which Fielding said the White House was holding back certain papers "because they implicate executive branch confidentiality interests." He added the White House had blacked out portions of "purely internal e-mails between White House personnel."
The White House's argument for withholding some papers is the same one it used last month as it rejected congressional subpoenas for documents in the firings of eight U.S. attorneys. Executive "confidentiality" is a lesser claim than "executive privilege"
more a polite way of declining than a firm refusal — and thus still leaves room for negotiation, congressional staffers involved in the matter said.
Fielding added the White House had blacked out portions of "purely internal e-mails between White House personnel."
Waxman and Davis fired back that "these are not appropriate reasons for withholding the documents from the committee." And they charged that the White House had simply held other papers back.
In particular, they expressed doubt that the two documents they'd received on communications between the White House and Pentagon on Tillman's death were the only ones of their kind. One was simply a packet of newspaper clippings.
"Corporal Tillman's death was a major national story," they wrote. "It is not plausible that there were no communications between the Defense Department and the White House about Corporal Tillman's death."
"The committee was fully aware that certain documents were withheld as our letter to them made clear last month — along with our offer to discuss possible accommodation that meets the committee's interests while respecting separation of powers principles," Blair Jones, a White House spokesman, said Friday evening. "We continue to offer an opportunity for the committee to move forward in a spirit of accommodation, rather than conflict."
Waxman and Davis complained to Defense Secretary Robert Gates of a "failure to provide a complete production to the committee." For instance, the committee received no documentation on how Rumsfeld learned of Tillman's death.
They said the Pentagon had not produced any papers from, among others, the offices of Gen. John Abizaid, then head of Central Command.
A week after Tillman died, a top general sent a memo to Abizaid warning that it was "highly possible" that Tillman was killed by friendly fire. The memo made clear that the information should be conveyed to the president. The White House said there is no indication that Bush received the warning.
Two days later, the president mentioned Tillman in a speech to the White House correspondents dinner, but he made no reference to how Tillman had died.
A White House spokeswoman did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday.
Separately, Waxman asked the Republican National Committee for copies of e-mail communications that involved Tillman and White House officials. That request was an outgrowth of the oversight committee's finding last month that 88 White House officials had e-mail accounts with the RNC, and that the administration may have committed extensive violations of a law requiring that certain records be preserved.
© MMVII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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So bush will not live up to his word but as with everything else he has said he proved to be a liar.
Remember bush stating he listens to military leaders
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Posted by S_Temper at 10:41 AM : Jul 15, 2007
When only Americans are shooting they know right away what happened. bush didn't want to release the truth as it would be bad for his oil war effort.
Posted by mh4cbs1 at 01:55 PM : Jul 15, 2007
Do you know the steps required to impeach?
The House of Representatives must first pass "articles of impeachment" by a simple majority.
Next, the Senate tries the accused. In the case of the impeachment of a President, the Chief Justice of the United States presides over the proceedings. Otherwise, the Vice President, in his capacity as President of the Senate, or the President pro tempore of the Senate presides. This may include the impeachment of the Vice President, although legal theories suggest that allowing a person to be the judge in the case where she or he was the defendant wouldn't be permitted. If the Vice President did not preside over an impeachment (of someone other than the President), the duties would fall to the President Pro Tempore.
In order to convict the accused, a two-thirds majority of the senators present is required.
Are there 67 Democratic senators? No
So you see, it is not the spineless Democrats, it is the spineless Republicans.
Posted by S_Temper at 10:41 AM : Jul 15, 2007
I'll go one farther and ask - How does an American soldier get shot three times in the back by his own troops? I still think Bush had him assassinated to popularize his war. I really believe he's that twisted and delusional.
Posted by S_Temper at 10:41 AM : Jul 15, 2007
No one is accusing him of doing...he did do it. There is no dispute from any credible source that Bush and the White House with-held the information about Tillman's death because it was embarrassing and withholding it would also boost recruitment. Bush is that despicable. He really is that evil and insane.
Friendly Fire deaths happen...that's a sad but true reality of war. Many of these embarassing accidents are "whitewashed" and kept quiet.
The Bush Administration has always had a very loose interpretation of the truth (I'm being very nice here) and this is just another case where their "spin" on the story and the reality of the situation contradict each other.
When a high profile and noble man such as Tillman goes into combat and is killed by his own forces, it is only natural that politicians in favor of the war would want to cover that up, so they could hold him up as a "Great Hero" and use his memory as a recruitment tool.
In my mind Tillman IS a hero and it's an absolute shame that his life, along with the lives over 3600 other Heroes have been wasted in Iraq.
As far as Bush goes, if you want to talk about "high crimes and misdemeanors", try 3600 counts of negligent homicide and 25,000 counts of reckless endangerment.
I realize that the liberal media and most US Democrats hate President Bush, but making a vulgar, baseless claim like that is despicable!
Posted by S_Temper at 10:41 AM : Jul 15, 2007
Posted by S_Temper at 10:41 AM : Jul 15, 2007
For heaven sakes, we kid about the liberal media, but every Republican on earth does that."
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%u201C[T]he larger fallacy of the %u2018liberal media%u2019 argument is the idea that reporters and mid-level editors set the editorial agenda at their news organizations. In reality, most journalists have about as much say over what is presented by newspapers and TV news programs as factory workers and foremen have over what a factory manufactures...
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His mother has the right and Privilege to know what happened to her son and why his death was mis represented, she has every right and Bush should comply with her wishes instead of dismissing her right to know. Do you understand he is using the power of his office against Pat%u2019s mother and family and hiding behind a claim of privilege, what could he be afraid of it the truth were known? If he did nothing wrong then release the records, Pat is dead and his family has suffered enough.
LIED us into needless WAR - the highest of the high crimes and misdemeanors.
We are LESS Safe
Fake color-coded terror alerts to help his re-election.
Saddam told the truth about WMDs and let UN inspectors in. BUSH LIED.
3,600 dead US troops - hundreds of thousands of dead Iraqis
$600 BILLION WASTED on WAR
Huge Tax Cuts for the already Filthy Rich (who pay a LOWER rate of tax than middle income wage earners!!!)
Massive National Dept
Massive Trade Deficit
Illegal Wiretaps of US citizens, including data mining YOUR email.
Secret Pris ions, shredding the Geneva Convention, shredding our Own Constitution.
Name ONE THING Bush and Cheney have done for hard working average citizens. JUST ONE!
Impeach these lying murderous thugs! Then JAIL.
Posted by SharnCedar at 10:42 AM : Jul 15, 2007
McCain and Pelosi had nothing to do with the lying and deceit and cover up involving Tillman. It was YOUR right wing conservative administration and pentagon. If the truth came out it would be bad publicity for bush and his oil war.
How could they even think that the truth wouldn't come out? Maybe it is a lack of a brain that the administration you have moron.
Posted by S_Tempe
According to the article, it was more than 5 weeks before even the family was told that it was friendly fire that killed Pat. According to earlier articles on other sites, news was sent to headquarters IMMEDIATELY that friendly fire had caused the kill. As CiC, Bush was, no doubt, made aware of this, as it was a big factor that could be used for recruiting purposes. And, yes, the information could be kept secret for more than a day. Information frequently is. Some soldiers aren't even allowed to tell family where they are.
That Bush disgraces him and his family, that the snivelling cowards Cheney and Rove and McCain and Pelosi are dancing on his grave, disgracing him, laughing at his death and coldly using him and the other patriots while they party with the super-rich in their private planes doesn't make hime less of a hero. Nothing they can do can diminish or disgrace that man or the other American heroes. Words don't mean much, but thank you, Pat. Let's be worthy of you, and one thing we can do is to start the process and have the courage as a people to clean out the garbage in Washington, and only accept the leadership of honest, brave and decent men like you were, let's do that.
Oh yeah, if you think the GOP, RNC and the many sycophants surrounding Bush sorta stink too, that's because he is making them hold all of their ****** too. This executive privilege for National Security reasons appears to be just one huge load of ******.
I very much hope that his family campaigns to have all evidence be made public - even those held by the WH.
Posted by RandalDS
Please God, don't send them to Hell, Detroit has enough misery already...
Posted by brianbwb at 04:40 AM : Jul 15, 2007
They have already been to hell and sent back to do the devil's work. False witness. Worship of craven images. War under the banner of Jesus. etc.
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