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September 8, 2008 12:30:53 AM CDT

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State Dept. Stonewalls Blackwater Investigation

Posted Sep 26, 07 10:54 AM CDT in World,  Politics,  US 

(Newser) – Documents revealed yesterday show that the State Department ordered Blackwater USA, the private security firm accused of shooting Iraqi civilians last week, not to disclose information about its Iraq operations without White House approval. The State Department order has interfered with a congressional probe into Blackwater, angering the reps investigating the security firm, the Los Angeles Times reports.

In a letter to Condoleeza Rice, House panel chair Henry Waxman called the blockage of information "extraordinary," and argued that "Congress has the constitutional prerogative to examine the impacts of corruption." Waxman's letter seemed to soften the State Department, which called the situation a "misunderstanding" and agreed yesterday to allow Blackwater to turn over unclassified documents.

Source Los Angeles Times

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Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-SD, right, references quote about Blackwater on a chart at the Senate Democratic Policy Committee hearing entitled "Abuses in Private Security and Reconstruction Contracting in Iraq   (Associated Press)
A private contractor gestures to their colleagues flying over in a helicopter as they secure the scene of a roadside bomb attack in Baghdad, Iraq in this Tuesday, July 5, 2005 file photo. A top aide to...   (Associated Press)
An armored sport-utility vehicle manned by private security contractors passes through central Baghdad, Iraq, on Sunday, Sept. 23, 2007. The killing of at least 11 civilians allegedly involving Blackwater...   (Associated Press)
Hussam Hassan, left, and his brother, Ahmed Hassan, right, inspect their father's car in a car park in Mahmoudiya, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) south of Baghdad, Iraq on Thursday, Sept. 20, 2007, destroyed...   (Associated Press)
Hassan Jabir, 37, recovers from gunshot wounds in a hospital in Baghdad, Iraq on Thursday, Sept. 20, 2007. Jabir, a lawyer, says he was in his car in the Mansour neighborhood when guards in a U.S. State...   (Associated Press)
House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., delivers his opening remarks during the committee's hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, July 19,2007,...   (Associated Press)
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Iraq  • Condoleezza Rice  • White House  • State Department  • Blackwater  • Henry Waxman  • private security firm


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