Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry challenged President George W. Bush to prosecute former national security aide Richard Clarke if they can show that he lied about terrorism policy. "My challenge to the Bush administration would be, if (Clarke) is not believable and they have reason to show it, then prosecute him for perjury because he is under oath, Kerry told CBS's MarketWatch. "They have a perfect right to do that," said Kerry.
| No, they don't you idjit, Congress does, because he would have lied to Congress, not the Bush administration. Doesn't this guy know anything? |
Republicans in Congress want to declassify testimony Clarke gave before Congress in 2002 that they claim is at odds with accounts critical of the administration in the aide's recently published book. Clarke, a counter-terrorism advisor to three presidents, published a book this week entitled "Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror," in which he claims the Bush administration failed to heed warnings of the September 11, 2001 attacks and then focused its attention on Saddam Hussein rather than al-Qaeda. He repeated the allegations under oath in testimony before a congressional committee. The smear charges prompted an aggressive response from the White House, amid apparent groundless concerns that they could undermine the president's re-election bid in November. |