Hearing on Tillman Fratricide: Holmes Norton’s Questions
The Oversight Committee holds a hearing, “The Tillman Fratricide: What the Leadership of the Defense Department Knew.” The hearing is part of an ongoing investigation and follows a previous hearing held in April. Witnesses will include former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Former Commander of U.S. Central Command Gen. John P. Abizaid (Retired), Former Chair of Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Richard B. Myers (Retired), Former Commander of U.S. Special Operations Command Gen. Bryan Douglas Brown (Retired). Gen. Kensinger has been served with a subpoena, but has not been able to be located over the past several days and will not appear. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton questions Secretary Rumsfeld on apparent gaps in his preparation to testify.
Video Transcript
thank you mister eisner i'd want to be
clear for thatthe family askedthis committeeto investigate the circumstances of
corporate almondsand that kevin tillman himself indicatedthat this hearing was no reflection upon
the braveryall ofthis if you are on the no implicationshould be left that our continuing
investigation had is anything but anattempt to do with his familyonce done ardent secretary outrun selfi've got you you have indicated i think
quite eloquentlythat it's your responsibility onslaught
in the military to tell the truth and iwant to make sure thisalso involves uncovering the truthparticularly in a delegation to the name
of person elsewhereabout the weather you select deniability
and reconstructingwhat you were told and women in
responding to the inspector general inparticularyour lawyer bomand preparing a response to the defense
to put d_o_d_ in inspector generaluh... said that usda junior staff member
in your officeto help determineuh... when you learned that corporal
tillman to deathuh... was a possible fratricide himthe contact the the staff of our
committee then contacted that staffmember and he told us thatof placing a few phone callsdown the person who have been meeting
with you in a meeting with you on maytwentiethtwo thousand fouruh... during which he said corporal
tillman skates was mentionednap this person claimed that however
that he was not the sourceof the information and cannot remember
who wasthis does not sound likethe most thorough attempt to reconstructwhat you knew or what actions you tookduring our own investigation the
committee staff talk with lieutenantgeneralthat he was your senior military
assistance at the time in two thousandfourhe told us that he worked closely with
youon a daily basis sometimes corpin touch with you many times a day but
he saysthat your office never contacted him to
askfor hisrecollection or documentsno i'm asking why did you not consult
thisare close assistantof your ownone general craddock before responding
to the attorney generalconcerning what you knew and when you
knew itmy recollection of this is forclose to thatit was the i believe the last series of
days i was in the departmentthere were a great many things going onthe inspector general astsome questionsand mycivilianassistantmister rendell as i recall uh...i said figure out if there's any way we
can know when i was told cuz i don'trememberwhether and yet that senior military
system might have been one way you mighthave knownheat he of course was go onhe was a remarkable try to keep them
from being consultednothing to say that i'm i'm going to
answer questionsthen check with some people and one of
the individuals who said what you saidhe said they way that he was in a room
when i was toldand uh... it was honor after he got back
from iraq and that was this colonelbushes has been mentioned previouslybutwe were we were not asked what we
recalls and recollected we were notaskedto undertake an investigation and go
back and consulta series of peopleand find out the answer that was the job
of the inspector general lucky i thinkhe said attorney general i think you
missed by three o'clock in the effortand that was his job to do try to
fashion all of that and he did any anyproduced a report and he said he felt
that i won't hurt my responses workmethe was a pleasure he was trying to find
out something very specificwhat you knew and when you do it in his
job was that the question you want tofind outthe best of your ability what you would
like you when you knew it in here wasyour senior military assistant one
person we would expect that you canconsult when he was not consulted in a
masking while i was not consulted byguess is there any number of people who
were not consulted and i guess theanswer that question iswith one would have to ask the inspector
general or ask mister rendellnot asking you because you don't get
sultan sirno they asked me what i recall and i've
told them what i recallat and and simply noting that he didn't
didn't consult eight union member ofyour office but not the man who would
have been most likely to developthe man who reported to you several
times a day we didn't get salt is wellwith themister listed if we don't know director
of communications and during this periodhad been in touch with the white house
if you feel important to consult withhim before respondingtightening up instead of the junior
member of my office i consulted with thesenior civilian assistant who's your
principal assistantdefense along with your senior military
assistancemister rangel was that individualis the one who then talk to people to
find out and one of the people we talkedto was was colonel bootybut mister to read also was no longer in
the departmentthere are any number of people one could
have what we could havegoing to take my wrist was no longer in
the department and and uh...and the there must bethirty twenty thirty people who were in
the wrong people meeting were on thevery well have been informedbut buti was asked what i recall and i gave a
very direct honest answer for thatmake is that correct understand it that
the point we are making is when theinspector general in trying to find outsomething thatexperience they're very difficult for
you yourself out of your ownconsciousness to have to remember to
have consulted with those most likely tohave helped you remember buddha seem to
be appropriate and uncovering the truththank youthank you mr
The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform holds a hearing entitled "Misleading Information from the Battlefield." The hearing focuses on the death of Army Ranger Specialist Patrick Tillman in Afghanistan and the capture and rescue of Army Private Jessica Lynch in Iraq. The Committee examines why inaccurate accounts of these two incidents were disseminated, the sources and motivations for the accounts, and whether the appropriate Administration officials have been held accountable. Rep. Elijah Cummings questions Specialist Patrick Tillman's brother Kevin Tillman about communications inside the White House related to his brother.
Michael Moore discusses 'The Tillman Story' with (L-R) Actor Josh Brolin, former soldier Russell Baer, producer John Battsek and director Amir Bar-Lev following a special screening at AMC Loews Lincoln Square 13 on August 11, 2010 in New York City.
'The Tillman Story' opens Friday, August 20th in New York and Los Angeles. Don't miss it: http://www.tillmanstory.com/
Pat's Run in San Jose, April 25th 2009. A benefit for Pat Tillman, former NFL Arizona Cardinals. Who died in Afghanistan.The foundation goal & mission is to carry forward Pat's Legacy by inspiring people to make positive changes in themselves and in the world around them. Over 6000 joggers & runners participated in the events.National Anthem by Thia Megia volunteer
Become an affiliate of ours at
The Hoover Dam Bypass Bridge's 1,060 foot twin-rib concrete arch is connecting! Here's what it looks like on August 1st, 2009.
The Colorado River Bridge is the central portion of the Hoover Dam Bypass Project. When completed in 2010, the Hoover dam bypass bridge will span Black Canyon (about 1,600 feet south of the Hoover Dam), connecting the Arizona and Nevada Approach highways nearly 900-feet above the Colorado River.
Alternate version of the Pat Tillman tribute I made shortly after his death. Visit Pat's Page on my website for more videos and info about Pat. CHRISVALENTINES.COM
Pat Tillman was a professional football player with the Arizona Cardinals.
In response to the September 11, 2001 incident, he passed up a $3.6 million contract and joined the Army. His sacrifice became made him a symbol of patriotism and a poster child for Army recruiters.
Pat Tillman came to his senses and turned against the wars. Through friends and family, he made contact with anti-war icon Noam Chomsky.
Perhaps Tillman was ready to make a public statement of opposition to the wars, which would have been a public relations catastrophe for the Army. We will never know. Perhaps the Army knew he was going to go public with a statement of opposition. We will never know.
Pat Tillman took three bullets through the head on April 22, 2004. He was shot at close range by his own men while on paatrol in Afghanistan.
A massive coverup followed, in which the public was told that Tillman had been killed by hostile fire. He was awarded the Silver star. The conspiracy to deceive Tillman's grieving family and the public went to the highest levels of the Army, and centered on one Lt. General Stanley McChrystal.
Eventually, the fraud was exposed, and a half-hearted congressional investigation followed.
Pat Tillman is still dead. His mother, Mary Tillman, still grieves. Lt. General Stanley McChrystal was promoted to supreme commander of the Afghan theater.
The Oversight Committee holds a hearing, "The Tillman Fratricide: What the Leadership of the Defense Department Knew." The hearing is part of an ongoing investigation and follows a previous hearing held in April. Witnesses will include former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Former Commander of U.S. Central Command Gen. John P. Abizaid (Retired), Former Chair of Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Richard B. Myers (Retired), Former Commander of U.S. Special Operations Command Gen. Bryan Douglas Brown (Retired). Gen. Kensinger has been served with a subpoena, but has not been able to be located over the past several days and will not appear. Chairman Waxman gives opening remarks.
The mother of former NFL player Pat Tillman said the military let him down when it misreported his death. Katie Couric says the military let us all down. (CBSNews.com)
This video is intended for the sole purpose of my own creativity and does not reflect the opinion of any of the artists or voices used in the video. The song is Mr. President from The Grouch and Eligh. The voices are various newscasters and reporters.
Marie Tillman and Darnell Dockett invite you to help our veterans and their families continue their education and return to work.
Text TILLMAN to 50555 to make a $10 donation to the Tillman Military Scholars program today.
$10 will be added to your phone bill/deducted from your personal account. Message and Data rates may apply. Reply STOP to 50555 to stop. Full terms: mGive.org/t
On HBO's Inside the NFL, Peter King interviewed Denver QB Jake Plummer about the horrific treatment the Tillman family have received over Pat's death. There have been four investigations into what really happened to him and now a fifth one is getting close to being completed. How reprehensible has this been for the Tillman family? Pat is killed and they were repeatedly lied to. The family is not speaking out, but Plummer is. Good for him. Somebody has to.
For more on this, see:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/09/25/MNGD7ETMNM1.DTL
Kevin Tillman joined the Army with his brother Pat in 2002, and they served together in Iraq and Afghanistan. Pat was killed in Afghanistan on April 22, 2004. Kevin, who was discharged in 2005, has written a powerful, must-read document.
See: http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/200601019_after_pats_birthday/
Tillman Military Scholars Richard Garcia, Melissa Stroh, Aaron and Bonnie Contreras. Highlights from the 6th annual Pat's Run held Saturday, April 17, 2010 at ASU's Sun Devil Stadium.
Feature and coverage courtesy of Fox Sports Arizona.
