Biden asks whether Bolton
lied
The Columbia Daily Tribune.
Biden asks whether Bolton testified
July 28, 2005
WASHINGTON (AP) - A Democratic opponent of John Bolton asked
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice yesterday whether the nominee
for U.N. ambassador had testified to a grand jury about the leak
of a CIA operative's identity.
Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee say they
want to determine whether Bolton was truthful when he wrote on a
questionnaire for his confirmation hearing that he has not been
interviewed in any recent investigations.
In a letter to Rice, Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., referenced an
MSNBC report from last Thursday that said Bolton was among
Department of State undersecretaries who "gave testimony" about a
classified memo that has become an important piece of evidence in
the leak investigation.
Biden asked Rice to tell the committee "whether Mr. Bolton
did, in fact, appear before the grand jury or whether he has been
interviewed or otherwise asked to provide information by the
special prosecutor or his staff in connection with this
matter."
Several Bush administration officials have been interviewed by
Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald in his quest to determine
who leaked the covert identity of Valerie Plame to reporters and
whether any laws were broken.
Plame is the wife of former U.S. Ambassador Joseph Wilson, a
critic of President George W. Bush's Iraq policy.
A message left with the state department was not immediately
returned yesterday.
Part of the questionnaire Bolton filled out in March asked
whether he was "interviewed or asked to supply any information in
connection with any administrative (including an inspector
general), congressional or grand jury investigation within the
past five years."
"He indicated in his form that he had not," said Sen. Barbara
Boxer, D-Calif.
She said it is unclear whether Bolton lied on his
questionnaire because senators do not know whether he testified
before or after he signed the document - or at all.
The latest Democratic request to the administration for
information about Bolton comes just two days before lawmakers are
scheduled to leave Washington for a monthlong break.
With the Senate out of session, Bush could sidestep Congress
and install Bolton in the U.N. post on a temporary basis.
Democrats have blocked Bolton's nomination for months.
They have demanded that the administration turn over certain
information about Bolton before they allow his nomination to
proceed.
Republicans have twice attempted - and failed - to break the
Democratic filibuster. There has been no sign of a breakthrough
since the second attempt in June.
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