The hearing followed a tussle between the committee chairman, Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.), and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice over Waxman's request for documents and testimony from State Department officials regarding Iraqi corruption.
Waxman last week accused Rice of interfering with the committee's work after she sought to place broad areas of inquiry off limits.
In an e-mail to the committee shortly before scheduled interviews with department officials last week, the State Department warned that certain "redlines" should not be crossed in questioning about Iraqi corruption. It said the restricted areas included: "broad statements/assessments which judge or characterize the quality of Iraqi governance or the ability/determination of the Iraqi government to deal with corruption, including allegations that investigations were thwarted/stifled for political reasons; [and] statements/allegations concerning actions by specific individuals, such as the Prime Minister or other [Government of Iraq] officials, or regarding investigations of such officials."
Yeah, don't ask the hard and pressing questions that will lead to real results and less corruption.
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