Secretary of State Rice may face subpoena threat Wednesday

Michael Roston Published: Monday April 16, 2007

Depending on the State Department's response to a request for information prior to a Wednesday meeting, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice could face a subpoena from the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, RAW STORY has learned. The move could compel Rice to testify on the intelligence used to justify the invasion of Iraq, and other issues.

"On the 18th, we may hold a business meeting, but that is contingent on whether or not we receive requested information from her,"an Oversight Committee staff member told RAW STORY.

The committee staff member added, "If we do not get the information from the State Department prior to Wednesday, the business meeting may take up the question of issuing a subpoena."

Secretary of State Rice had been asked to testify before the committee on Wednesday, but her office had informed Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), the committee's chair, that she was not available.

On April 9, Rep. Waxman sent a letter to Rice saying that the State Department's response to a request for information from his committee had been 'insufficient.'

Waxman said that the State Department's Office of Legislative Affairs' response to his earlier request for the Secretary to testify "does not answer many of the Committee's questions, nor does it provide most of the information and documents the Committee requested."

The Committee had sought Rice's testimony on President Bush's claims that Iraq attempted to procure uranium from Niger and other subjects.

The State Department's spokesman, Sean McCormack, said in an April 12 press briefing that they were trying to respond sufficiently to the committee's request.

"I know there is a second letter from Chairman Waxman and we're in the process of formulating a lengthy reply that we would hope answers all of his questions," he said. "There are several questions in here that might require a little bit of type space in order to answer it. But -- so we want to be responsive."