OT - Democrat Urges Republicans Delay Waco Hearings

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Sunday September 5 3:21 PM ET

Democrat Urges Republicans Delay Waco Hearings WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Democrat on the Senate Judiciary panel urged Republican chairmen Sunday to postpone planned hearings into an alleged cover-up in the fiery end to the 1993 siege at a religious compound in Texas.

Charles Schumer, Democrat of New York, said he had sent a letter Sunday to the Senate and House Judiciary and House Government Reform panel heads asking for a delay in hearings expected to start soon.

Congress should await the findings of an independent inquiry that will try to find out, among other things, whether the FBI tried to cover up facts about the fatal fire that ended the 51-day standoff near Waco, Texas, he said.

``Until we find that out my worry is that congressional investigations will bring up a lot of heat and not much light,'' he said on the ABC program ``This Week.''

``Each party will play its preordained role,'' Schumer said, adding there would be ``lots of fighting''.

Orrin Hatch, the Utah Republican who heads the Senate Judiciary Committee, appeared to reject Schumer's call during an interview on the CNN program ``Late Edition.''

He said Congress and the Judiciary Committee had an oversight obligation ``and all we're doing now is exercising that by asking for the appropriate documentation.''

At issue, among other things, was the disclosure last month that the FBI's crack hostage rescue team fired at least two potentially flammable devices on April 19, 1993, when about 75 members of the Branch Davidian cult died in a fire. The FBI and Justice Department had persistently denied using any such military tear gas canisters.

``Now, my gosh, if we don't do that who's going to take care of the people out there?'' Hatch said.

``You know, there are millions and millions of people today who believe that the federal government has gotten so big and so unwieldy and so dishonest ... that we've just got to get to the bottom of this and show the American people that there is oversight; that there are expectations of these people in Washington; and we're going to demand it.''

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/19990905/ts/crime_davidians_35.html

-- Lynn Ratcliffe (mcgrew@ntr.net), September 05, 1999

Answers

You could have also said "Democrats urge Republicans to delay the hearings on travelgate, cattlegate, whitewater, monicagate, perjury, waco, ruby ridge, Los Alamos leaks, campaign donations from the chinese...." Just fill in the blank.

-- smfdoc (smfdoc@aol.com), September 05, 1999.

Just another move to lull the populace back to sleep. Bad army men... you guys need to be punished... And Y2K falls off the limited view screen once again.

scratchin' an itch...

The Dog

-- The Dog (Desert Dog@-sand.com), September 05, 1999.


``Now, my gosh, if we don't do that who's going to take care of the people out there?'' Hatch said.

Yeah, right, as if holding an investigation is "taking care of the sheeple......er, people."

-- let (me@off.now), September 06, 1999.


If you have watched the Waco documentary, you know that Chuck Schumer was the biggest asshole present in the original hearings. He has also sponsored the most restrictive gun control laws ever seen in the House. This guy is the biggest Clinton apologist in the House OR Senate, and will stop at nothing to protect his boy. Overall, it is people like him that make me outraged to see what has happened to politics in this country.

-- Arachnid (spider@web.net), September 06, 1999.

I really doubt that the hearings will accomplish very much. Other hearings in recent years have accomplished very little. The best hope for the truth getting out is the civil lawsuit.

-- Dave (dannco@hotmail.com), September 06, 1999.


Civil lawsuits can be settled at anytime the parties agree to. I'm sure that is the Government's "Plan B"; the Texas court order for the Texas Rangers to release the evidence clearly through a monkey wrench into "Plan A", which was to deny-deny-deny while sitting on the evidence.

Any delay at this point would do just that: D-E-L-A-Y. Almost surely into 2000, when everything turns to s**t. As much heat as can be mustered should be, to wake up as many people as possible to the lying scumbag gangsters that we are saddled with. You know, the same ones that are suppressing the truth about Y2K....

-- King of Spain (madrid@aol.com), September 06, 1999.

I just watched the replay of the 1995 congressional hearings and found them very inflammatory.

The nasty truth is already out there (it cam out back in 1995) , postponing the truth is just a diversion to hide from it.

-- otay (spanky@lilrsacles.com), September 07, 1999.


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