Congressional Democrats Fail to Get Information on Role of Justice Dept. in "Ardmore Rebellion"

Laredo, TX, Morning News ^ | 07-10-03 | AP

[Theodore R.]

Democrats fail to get info on role in Texas rebellion

BY SUZANNE GAMBOA Associated Press Writer

Congressional Republicans turned back a Democratic effort Wednesday to compel the Justice Department to release information about its involvement in a Texas redistricting dispute.

Democrats want to know whether federal agencies helped chase down 53 Texas Democratic legislators who left the state for four days in May in an effort to kill a Republican-sponsored congressional redistricting bill.

Republicans didn't outright reject the information request sponsored by Rep. Gene Green, D-Texas. Instead, the House Judiciary Committee voted 19-15 on party lines to approve the measure "adversely," meaning its passage came with the Republicans' clear disapproval and has little chance of being debated by the full House.

Rep. James Sensenbrenner, committee chairman, said compelling the Justice Department to release the information would interfere with the agency's ongoing inquiry, launched June 4.

"What this resolution does, it brings Texas' mess to Washington. Let Texas resolve their own problems," said Sensenbrenner, R-Wis.

Democrats raised comparisons with the Whitewater investigation and other inquiries that the committee endorsed during the Clinton administration. They said that by refusing to conduct its own investigation, the committee was shirking its oversight responsibility.

"If the majority decides to take this action today, whether you feel it is true or not, it will look like you are involved in cover-up," said Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif.

The Justice Department's inspector general is investigating the involvement of the FBI, U.S. Marshals and federal prosecutors in the hunt for the missing lawmakers. The Transportation Department has probed the role of the Federal Aviation Administration, and the Homeland Security Department investigated the efforts of its employees to track the plane of a state representative.

The Homeland Security investigation found that agency employees had spent 40 minutes tracking the plane, but said "there was every indication that the employee rendering assistance to (the Texas Department of Public Safety) on the telephone believed he was searching for a missing aircraft."

Had the committee failed to vote on Green's resolution, Democrats could have tried to force its consideration on the House floor. Green has filed similar resolutions for the Transportation and Homeland Security departments.

The House Transportation Committee is scheduled to take up its resolution Tuesday.

House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, has been the driving force behind legislation that would realign Texas' congressional districts so that several would become more Republican, increasing the party's seats in Congress.

07/10/03

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[Theodore R.]

Rep. Gene Green, D-Texas

This is one of the lesser-know but more emphatic liberals of the entire TX delegation. He is a "true believer" in the JFK-LBJ-HHH-EMK-JC-BC "dream."

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