Waxman “Coy” About Future Probes

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If the Democrats take one or both houses of Congress, what will they do with their newfound subpoena power?

In a new profile of Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), the ranking member — and would-be future chairman — of the House Government Reform Committee, he plays his cards pretty close to the vest.

From this week’s The New Republic:

When it comes to specific plans, Waxman is more coy than the verbose Dingell. “One of my priorities will be to pursue waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayers’ money,” he explains, citing Hurricane Katrina, homeland security, and Iraq as potential examples. What remains unclear is how intensely Democrats like Waxman intend to pursue the politics of the Iraq war. Hard-core Democrats would surely love nothing more than to see Donald Rumsfeld, Doug Feith, and Paul Wolfowitz sweating under the klieg lights as they explain the basis of their case for war. Waxman seems to shy away from the idea of reliving the fall of 2002 and spring of 2003. “That would have been an appropriate hearing to have,” he says, conspicuously employing the past tense. “I think the manipulation of intelligence with the war was a very serious matter that should have been pursued in open hearings.” Does that mean the moment for such hearings has passed? “I don’t know what the issues will be,” Waxman explains with a smile.

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