WASHINGTON – Governmental Affairs Committee Ranking Member Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., has sent the following letter to White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card:
June 8, 2003
Andrew H. Card Jr. Chief of Staff The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. Card:
Thank you for your phone call Tuesday in response to my letter of May 27. In that call, you informed me that House Majority Leader Tom DeLay had spoken with both President Bush and White House adviser Karl Rove about the Texas redistricting dispute. I understood you to say that neither had contacted any federal agencies about the missing legislators as a result of their conversations with the Majority Leader. You further told me that you had asked others at the White House about this matter and found no inappropriate action had been taken. You also told me that you did not intend to respond to my letter in writing. I do not believe that is the appropriate way to proceed. In a matter of this significance, where questions have been raised about whether scarce homeland security resources were misused for political purposes, the public should not be forced to rely on private reassurances. I must therefore again respectfully seek answers in writing to the following questions: Was any White House officer or employee contacted by anyone seeking information about or federal assistance in Texas’ search for Democratic legislators? Did any White House officer or employee do anything in response to any such contact that occurred? Please include all contacts and actions, even those you do not believe to be inappropriate. For all contacts that occurred, please provide a list of the contacts, who participated in them, when they occurred, the nature of the discussions and what, if any, action was taken as a result of them. If any White House official or employee contacted other federal agencies or employees on this issue, please provide the same information about those contacts. Again, I appreciate your phone call and the information you provided. I hope you will go the next step and provide a written response to my request. Sincerely, Joseph I. Lieberman Ranking Member