Lieberman Has No Plans To Investigate Blackwater, Corrupt Iraq Contractors

Joe Lieberman (I-CT), who chairs the Senate committee responsible for government oversight, says he has no plans to investigate Blackwater and other Iraq war contractors accused of potentially criminal wrongdoing. Roll Call reports (sub req'd):

Though Lieberman said he gets "angry when I hear about fraud or corruption in the spending of American dollars," he said he in part chooses what to have hearings on by "watching who else is doing what," noting that [House oversight chairman Henry] Waxman has held several hearings on Iraq oversight, as have the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees.

"You've got to set your own priorities, and it was clear to me that other committees were going to pick this up," said Lieberman.

Roll Call notes that on the day Iraq revoked Blackwater's license after the shooting of 17 civilians, Waxman immediately announced hearings on private security contractors. Lieberman "announced two firefighting grants for the towns of Bolton and Willington in his home state."

Lieberman has held only one hearing all year on "reconstruction challenges in both Iraq and Afghanistan," compared to eight hearings on Iraq and contracting abuses in the House.

Comments

[dora rice]

That Lieberman is on the Israelis side is obvious. He always was. Another clue how americans think for voting for him for all these years. Stupid.

[Rianna]

Do you think that for one minute, Liebermann, who looks after Israeli interests in the US, cares that Blackwater kills innocent Iraqi civilians?

[dora rice]

we have to recruit more and more jail birds for the army. Most jail birds are psychos. Otherwise they would fit into society in the first place. I guess most consider psychos in the army a step up from Blackwater's experienced retired police officers, special forces, seals, police chiefs. It's just another idiotic way how americans think these days. The US can't be helped anymore.

[poopdeck]

I do not blame Lieberman for his incompetence but the leadership of the Democratic Party which should have stripped him of this chairmanship a long time ago.

[Kendo Nagasaki]

He deliberately helped take down Kerry in the Presidential debates. Not that this was very difficult.

[visionar7]

jOE lIEBERMAN i REALLY HATE THIS GUY ALL HE CARES ABOUT IS iSRAEL...AND HE LIKES WAR, most likely has an interest in some of those war profiteering companies...like Feinstein most likely does isn't her husband a defense contractor...a bit of a conflict of interest I would say.....I hope they vote the guy out next time...along with some other spineless democrats

[otispfudpucker]

All corporate whores and pimps and also Joe Stands for the United states of Israel.
To hell with all of them....

[ajax2]

Lieberman has no plans to serve our nation or constitution.

[JohnJames]

Big surprise. Lieberman's ultimate loyalty is to Israel. Surprised that the relatively educated voters of Connecticut didn't see that before the last election.

[otispfudpucker]

They know it because Conn is loaded with Jews just like Joe...

[Rand]

SOME Jews voted for the SOB, some voted for Lamont. He won because the GOP, which is noverwhelmingly non-Jewish, voted for him


But thanks for sharing your bigotry with us!

[xona]

One of the main reasons that HITLER was able to create such a climate of hate towards the German Jews was due to the fact that he used Lieberman type Jews as examples. Lieberman is pure human scum.

[blackjack]

Harry REID has a lot in keeping LIE-berman in a leader ship positition, all Reid has to do was say you cannot be in that posttion and gave it to a real DEMOCRAT and that would have been the end of it except LIE-berman going and crying to his buddies and you know who they are. As for getting re-elected H. Clinton had alot to do with that remember the BIG FUND RASER that they had for LIE-berman and Guess who was there with a big hand HIS sock-puppet H.CLINTON.

[thromulese]

The dems are afraid of pissing off this little worm. They are afraid that he will start voting with the republiCONs, which he is doing anyway.

Lie-berman (lie-berman for lie-berman party-Israel) is a bush tool and enabler.
Just the sound of his whiney pompous voice makes my skin crawl.

But he and bush do make a sweet couple. And that well publicized kiss really brought America to that Brownback mountain moment.

Now I have to go take a bath in bleach.

[claytongrayum]

Just think, Liberman was almost V.P. Thats scary! I love Al Gore but what the heck, Liberman should be kicked out of the Democratic party... with a few others. Ok, a lot. Pelosi, Reid and the rest who fear Bush.

or better yet, I just won't vote Democrat in 2008. I refuse to give my vote to these enablers.

[thromulese]

Yes. Smart move. You show your disgust by helping to give the election to a republiCON.

Though the dems do need a spine, they are all much better people than the torture and war loving idiots on the right.

[BigBagel]

What country does he want us to invade today? People who make prosthetic limbs are going to be getting a lot of work.

[RGKahn]

I keep calling my Senators, Lautenberg and Menedes, and also Sen Leahey and Senato Fiengold and Dr Dean at the DNC. One of the items on my list is a question of why joe lieberman is 1) still a Democrat ,- answere is caucus's with the Democrats. I reply that yes he does but that he votes with the republicans sll the time.2) I also want to know why he has a sub-committee, Government Oversight, which has either never met or met just once since the Democrats took over Congress. He had promised to investigate Katrina on the election campaign in '06 and then promptly announced that there was no there there and that no hearing would be held. He is now saying that the is no there there with Blackwater in Iraq etc. and that there is no there there with contractor fraud and waste in the State Department and DOD etc. There is no fraud to hold hearings about. He has proclaimed that there is no there there in regard to Government Oversight, if there had been, joe lieberman and his committee, would have investigated and since he held no hearings no cimes were committed.
His own party, CT for Lieberman has turned against him.

[syllepsis]

"His own party, CT for Lieberman has turned against him."
Somehow that says it all.

[Rand]

If he's thrown out of the caucus, the GOP controls the Senate, including making committee appointments

The test will be after the Democratic Party has a clear majority. I suspect that Lieberman will be shown the door

[VOTER]

Lieberman-Blackwater THE PERFECT MIX OF BLOOD AND MONEY

Crooks ban together and friends don't investigate

friends.

[MikeDu]

Lieberman's entirely off the rails. This isn't even liberal/conservative anymore. Even conservatives ought to be frightened of this lunatic. The man's operating on nothing less than sheer spite.

[DMcD]

String him up !!!!!!!