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September 23, 2005
"Yes you did, no I didn't, yes you did, no I didn't"
Specter: Pentagon drops hearing objectionA Senate committee said Friday that the Pentagon has dropped its refusal to let five people with knowledge of a highly classified intelligence program testify about it publicly, but a Pentagon spokesman said it remained opposed to such testimony in an open hearing.
In a news release, Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the five will testify at an open hearing Oct. 5.
Asked about Specter's announcement, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said, "Our position with respect to this has not changed. Our concerns have not changed." He said the Pentagon has not agreed to permit the five to testify in public, although discussions with the committee were continuing.
Whitman said the Pentagon has provided a great deal of information about the intelligence program, called "Able Danger," to the Intelligence and Armed Services committees, and will continue to do so.
Specter spokesman William Reynolds said in response to Whitman's remarks that the Pentagon had given its assent Friday to the witnesses appearing. The agreed arrangement did not explicitly state whether the hearing would be open or closed, Reynolds said, but the committee plans to follow it usual practice of hearing testimony in public.
Talk about a standoff. It sounds like Specter has never had closed hearings and doesn't intend to have any, so what happens October 5th?
Posted by Mike at September 23, 2005 11:31 PM
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