Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice sat before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on Thursday morning and took a beating.
Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., a committee member, was early on the list of members to toss in a question. He asked if the evidence suggested that Iraq Prime Minister
Nuri Kamal al-Maliki was protecting corruption in Iraq, did the American taxpayers have a right to know.
Yes, Rice said, before cautioning against responding to uncorroborated evidence.
Welch interrupted Rice several times.
Would she ask President Bush to repudiate the prime minister’s grant of immunity on corruption?
Rice started to say that corruption prevades many countries throughout the world, not just Iraq and that there are boards within Iraq, aside from the prime minister, to investigate corruption.
Welch told her she hadn’t answered the question. "Will you ask the president to repudiate that blanket grant of immunity?"
The U.S. will not support a policy that prevents investigation and bringing to justice of corruption, she said.
It sounds like the president will tolerate secrecy, Welch said.
Rep. Dan Burton, a Republican from Indiana who followed Welch, then apologized to Rice for the prosecutorial treatment she’d been given and complained to committee Chairman Henry Waxman that Welch had gone over his time alotment by 2 minutes.
- Terri Hallenbeck
