Did Cookie Try To Convince Buzzy Not To Join Blackwater’s Advisory Board?

In the middle of a story in the Baltimore Sun about the sibling tension between State Department inspector general Cookie Krongard and his brother Buzzy, there’s this revelation: apparently, in the phone conversation where Buzzy told Cookie he was going over to Blackwater, Cookie tried to talk his brother out of it.

Buzzy Krongard was watching that testimony at home in Lutherville and said he was “flabbergasted” by his brother’s remarks. The pair had talked about three weeks earlier, Buzzy Krongard said. “I told him I was going on the advisory board, and he then said, ‘I don’t think that’s a very good idea,’ and I said that was for me to figure out.”

Cookie Krongard, as we reported yesterday, is not saying another word about the incident. But Buzzy’s latest revelation — which he did not mention to me when TPMm broke the story — suggests even more trouble for Cookie. If true, then Cookie clearly acknowledged that the appointment of his brother to Blackwater’s advisory board would create a conflict of interest for him as the State Department inspector general.

It’s possible that Buzzy is lying. The two brothers do not get along. But according to Buzzy, he tried to call his brother right after Cookie testified that Buzzy had not mentioned his Blackwater ties. That call led Cookie to reverse himself. A relatively simple explanation is that Buzzy thought his brother had thrown him under the bus and was trying to correct the record.

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), who presented Cookie with direct evidence of his brother’s position on the Blackwater advisory board, wants to cut through the brother-against-brother conflict. He’s even using the C-word — “criminal.” (What did you think I meant?)

“There’s a credibility issue as to who’s being honest here,” Cummings said. He said he found the animosity between the brothers not only unusual but hard to understand.

“The committee members are everyday people. They understand there can be disputes between relatives,” Cummings said. “But I think when it comes to a point where one sibling – and I’m talking about people over 60 now, these aren’t 13-year-olds – putting another in a position where they could be harmed from a reputation standpoint, even perhaps from a criminal standpoint … I think it’s hard for most people to relate to that.”

The committee is now seeking to interview Buzzy Krongard and determine who’s telling the truth.