I believe one Trent Lott got through a resolution clearing Admiral Kimmel of the liability of Pearl Harbor, right? But I had always thought Kimmel was a scapegoat.
I disagree. Kimmel had specific intelligence, not as far as I know of the intended date for the attack, but of the general planning for a Sunday morning sunrise attack on Pearl Harbor using multiple aircraft carriers, and that information should have led to higher readiness as war so clearly approached. Kimmel was not a scapegoat. Beyond that, the Navy tradition that the commanding officer is responsible when things go wrong is a good one. Kimmel was in command, he set the standards for in-port readiness, and his fleet failed spectacularly.
A non-binding resolution exonerating Kimmel and Short and requesting that the president advance them to the ranks they’d lost passed the Senate but not the House. No president has acted on it.