Lieberman pushes Ft. Hood inquiry

By MEREDITH SHINER | 11/18/09 1:17 PM EST

(photo) Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) is holding a hearing to look into what went wrong before the Fort Hood shootings.
Photo: AP

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) said the Senate can't sit back for the Obama administration to investigate the shootings at Ft. Hood, so he’s pushing ahead with a Homeland Security Committee hearing to look into what went wrong before the massacre.

There’s been some tension between members of Congress who want a thorough investigation into the Ft. Hood shootings, but the Obama administration has been hesitant about letting key government officials testify before congressional panels. Lieberman is holding a hearing Thursday on the issue.

"We want to know what the federal government knew and what it did concerning Maj. [Nidal Malik] Hasan and whether action should have been taken based on information available to federal employees," Lieberman said. "We also will investigate how this incident affects our understanding of and defenses against the threat posed by violent Islamic extremism and homegrown terrorism."

Both Lieberman and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) met with FBI Director Robert Mueller and Army Secretary John McHugh to make sure that the Senate's investigation does not interfere with the criminal case against Hasan.

Though Lieberman said Mueller had "understandable concerns" about approaching witnesses who might be relevant to the criminal investigation, he assured Mueller that the Senate's interests lie more with government officials and breakdowns in communication leading up to the killings.

"We must confront a troubling question: was this was once again a failure to connect the dots? Were there inexcusable deaths and communications failures and failures to act on compelling evidence that might have allowed us to prevent the attack at Fort Hood?" Collins said.

Lieberman added he is scheduled to meet with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Attorney General Eric Holder Wednesday afternoon in preparation for Thursday's 10 a.m. hearing.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1109/29677.html