Davis criticizes Waxman over State Dept. IG probe

Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.), the ranking member on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, criticized panel Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) Wednesday for directing “unwarranted” accusations at State Department Inspector General Howard Krongard.

{mosads}At issue is a letter Waxman sent to Krongard last month claiming that senior department staff attempted to prevent two employees from working with the committee. Davis argues that the chairman simply echoed the accusations of the two department employees “without any apparent inquiry …”

“I believe that such an inquiry would have given you pause about smearing the reputation of a career public servant by sending a letter publicly disclosing allegations that had not been substantiated,” Davis said in a letter to Waxman.

Interviews with the two State Department staffers, Davis said, show that “your public accusations were unwarranted.”

The GOP lawmaker chastised Waxman for not having made an effort to reconsider the charges he levied against Krongard.

“As I have mentioned before, this committee must not become a place where as long as you say what the majority wants to hear, you will not be subjected to even minimal scrutiny,” Davis concluded. “This committee under your leadership must not become the Mike Nifong of congressional investigations,” Davis said, referring to the disgraced prosecutor of three Duke lacrosse team members. 

“I think Tom Davis almost always makes good points but this, unfortunately, isn’t one of them,” Waxman said in response to the letter. “The record doesn’t support his letter and will show very clearly that several employees felt threatened. That’s exactly the kind of conduct the committee should be looking at.”