House Oversight Committee subpoenas Rice

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Wednesday ramped up its investigation of the Bush administration, subpoenaing the testimony of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Republican National Committee Chairman Mike Duncan as well as e-mails White House officials composed on RNC accounts.

The committee voted 21-10 to subpoena Rice as part of its investigation of the administration’s assertion that Iraq sought to purchase uranium in Africa — a claim that was used to justify going to war in Iraq.

In his opening statement, Chairman Harry Waxman (D-Calif.) said he prefers to issue subpoenas as a “last resort,” adding that he felt he had “hit a brick wall” with Rice.

{mosads}“For four years, I have been trying to get information from Condoleezza Rice on a variety of issues, including the reference to uranium and Niger in the president’s 2003 State of the Union speech,” Waxman said.

“In the last seven weeks, I have sent four letters to Secretary Rice and received three responses from her staff,” he said. “My request is simple: I would like Secretary Rice to suggest a date that would be convenient for her to testify before our committee.”

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) quickly denounced the committee’s actions Wednesday. “This partisan show trial is a waste of time and taxpayer dollars,” he said.

“Democrats have revealed how beholden they are to left-wing activist groups while stealing the secretary’s time away from critical diplomatic missions,” he said.

Boehner added that the Democrats’ attempts “to embarrass the Bush administration” had “only embarrassed themselves.”

The Oversight Committee also passed issuing subpoenas to Duncan and for the e-mails White House officials composed on RNC e-mail accounts with regard to the firing of eight U.S. Attorneys.

Waxman expressed his frustration with the RNC’s lack of cooperation in his opening statement.

“This morning, the RNC sent a last-minute letter before our meeting, but provided no additional information beyond a partial list of some of the White House officials who held RNC e-mail accounts,” he said. “We still don’t have the full list of the 50 to 60 White House officials who held these accounts.”