Via the Daily Beast:
The four-star Air Force general who oversees Air Force Space Command walked into a highly secured room on Capitol Hill a week ago to give a classified briefing to lawmakers and staff, and dropped a surprise. Pressed by members, Gen. William Shelton said the White House tried to pressure him to change his testimony to make it more favorable to a company tied to a large Democratic donor.That Democratic donor is Falcone.
According to officials familiar with the situation, Shelton’s prepared testimony was leaked in advance to the company. And the White House asked the general to alter the testimony to add two points: that the general supported the White House policy to add more broadband for commercial use; and that the Pentagon would try to resolve the questions around LightSquared with testing in just 90 days. Shelton chafed at the intervention, which seemed to soften the Pentagon’s position and might be viewed as helping the company as it tries to get the project launched, officials said.Again, if Shelton is telling the truth (based on this administration's track record, why shouldn't Shelton be believed?), giving LightSquared its way would significantly damage the one thing our Commander-in-Chief is supposed to protect the most - national security.
“There was an attempt to influence the text of the testimony and to engage LightSquared in the process in order to bias his testimony,” Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) said in an interview. “The only people who were involved in the process in preparation for the hearing included the Department of Defense, the White House, and the Office Management and Budget.”
Shelton finally gave his testimony Thursday, and made clear the Pentagon's concern about LightSquared's project.Want further evidence of Shelton's credibility in this matter? How about the White House's reaction to his charges?
The general told Turner's committee that preliminary tests of a new LightSquared proposal to use only a portion of the band that it was licensed originally in 2004 would cause significant disruptions to GPS.
He said the GPS spectrum was supposed to originally be a “quiet neighborhood,” meaning that lower strength signals could exist near the GPS spectrum. Speaking of the LightSquared plan, he said, “If you put a rock band in the middle of that quiet neighborhood, that’s a different circumstance.”
The White House confirmed Wednesday that its Office of Management and Budget suggested changes to the general’s testimony but insisted such reviews are routine and not influenced by politics. And it said Shelton was permitted to give the testimony he wants, without any pressure.The administration could not deny it altered Shelton's testimony. The only thing left to ascertain is how they wanted it altered and why. It's already known that Falcone is a huge Democratic donor.
This is a MUST READ.
2 comments:
When will the General "retire" ?
Where does the ultimate authority lay in this country? "The People" is, on the surface, an accurate answer. The reality of the fact is that the law is such that the majority of the people may band together and not necessarily have their way. It is also true that any one person or group of people may not have their way depending on laws.
The enforcement of such laws is left to the President, and the President is also Commander-in-Chief, sovereign over all military. It seems that the Executive branch is therefore far too powerful as it is difficult to keep accountable.
Is it even illegal to order a soldier to lie? Even if it is can it be brought before congress as sufficient grounds for impeachment? Then let it be done because our only recourse to the abusive power of the Executive branch is 1) impeachment or 2) move enforcement of law away from the executive branch. Or is there another way?
The Obama administration is terrible, but another administration could easily do worse if the problem itself is not solved. The branch itself has grown over-powerful and simultaneously unaccountable.
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