Fort Hood: Lieberman and Collins Issue Subpoenas To Attorney General, Defense Secretary

Apr. 17, 2010 — -- Sen. Joseph Lieberman and Sen. Susan Collins today issued subpoenas to Attorney General Eric Holder and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, demanding information on what the government knew about accused Fort Hood shooter Maj. Nidal Hasan prior to the Nov. 5 incident.

In a letter accompanying the subpoenas, Lieberman, I.-Conn., and Collins, R.-Me., the chairman and ranking minority member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, said they had been forced to issue the subpoenas by a lack of cooperation from the Obama administration.

"We have repeatedly sought your departments' cooperation for more than five months," said the letter. "Our efforts have been met with delay, the production of little that was not already publicly available, and shifting reasons for why the departments are withholding the documents and witnesses that we have requested."

During a conference call with reporters, Lieberman said he wanted to learn what information the government had about Hasan's contacts with radical Muslim cleric Anwar Awlaki. "What were the signals, what was done to stop them," said Lieberman, "and why wasn't an investigation done then?"

"We think our request is quite reasonable," said Lieberman, ""Our goal is to look back and see what these two federal agencies could have done to stop this man from committing a massacre of 13 Americans."

The subpoenas demand information on contacts between Hasan and Awlaki in the months before the shooting spree. "Given the warning signs about Major Nidal Malik Hasan's extremist radicalism," asked the letter, "why was he not stopped before he took thirteen American lives?"

CLICK HERE TO READ THE LETTER

The subpoenas command Holder and Gates to appear before the committee on April 27 at 10:00 a.m., and to bring specified materials with them.

Holder is asked to provide the names of individuals on the Joint Terrorism Task Force in San Diego and Washington or the National Joint Terrorism Task Force who might have been familiar with emails between Nidal Hasan and Awlaki prior to the shooting.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE HOLDER SUBPOENA

Gates is ordered to produce Hasan's official personnel file and any performance evaluations. He is also commanded to provide the names of defense department intelligence and criminal investigation employees who had knowledge of Maj. Hasan prior to the shootings, or who may have worked with the Joint Terrorism Task Forces in D.C. and San Diego "during the period of time in which information linked to Major Hasan came to those entities."

CLICK HERE TO READ THE GATES SUBPOENA