Originally issued as a CGS press release on May 5, 2005.
Senator Biden Remains Committed to a Full Investigation
Washington, DC – In a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Minority Member Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE) urged for the rejection of Chairman Richard Lugar’s (R-IN) request to curtail investigations into the nomination of John Bolton. Citizens for Global Solutions applauds Senator Biden’s commitment to a full investigation based upon all relevant and useful information. However, we are troubled by Senator Lugar’s eagerness to expedite the investigations into John Bolton’s past.
Don Kraus, Executive Vice President at Citizens for Global Solutions said: “The nomination of John Bolton for U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations has been contentious, in part, because every day brings to light new instances of mistreatment of subordinates, misuse of intelligence and the undertaking foreign policy decisions without clearance from his superiors. In deliberating this controversial nomination, the Senators must be thorough and patient, and should not have their committee rights violated for the sake of a speedy confirmation.”
In his letter to Secretary of State Rice, Senator Lugar wrote, “I recognize that some document requests may not be able to be accommodated in the time allowed.” He then identified only four of the nine requests as being urgent to the Committee vote. Senator Biden was quick to respond, writing to Secretary Rice, “The documents in question go directly to an issue that the committee has been pursuing….Mr. Bolton sought to exaggerate the conclusions that could reasonably be drawn from available intelligence.”
The documents under question include various speeches, testimonies and memos John Bolton made while working for the State Department. The State Department has had ample time to respond with the relevant information. Some of the requests date back to early April. The SFR Committee had agreed unanimously to vote on Mr. Bolton’s nomination on May 12, provided that Senators had access to all available information by May 6. Citizens for Global Solutions maintains that Mr. Bolton’s conduct in office illustrates a broad pattern of abuse of government authority that would greatly undermine U.S. interests at the UN.
As Mr. Kraus noted: “The more we learn about Mr. Bolton, the more it becomes clear that he uses government offices as his own bully pulpit to espouse his personal agenda. It is the responsibility of the Committee to fully investigate allegations against John Bolton, so as to ensure that a loose cannon does not become one of our country’s most important diplomats. Principle must prevail over partisanship”
