G
Guest
Guest
Senate plurality leader Tom Daschle was caught fibbing Sunday morning about whether or not he knew of the so-called shadow government doomsday plan reactivated by the Bush administration in the wake of the 9-11 attacks.
The diminutive Democrat first complained to "Fox News Sunday" that he and his congressional colleagues had been kept totally in the dark about secret installations housing unidentified U.S. officials who have been designated to insure government continuity in the event of a devastating domestic attack.
"None of us knew about the secret government. Not knowing things as basic as that is a pretty profound illustration of the chasm that exists sometimes [between Congress and the Bush administration] with information," Daschle told FNS's Tony Snow.
But a moment later Daschle was forced to admit that he actually visited one of the installations he claimed to know nothing about.
SNOW: The so-called secret government - you've actually been to the site [since] Sept. 11, right?
DASCHLE: Well, I don't know if that's the site. I mean ...
SNOW: I'm told it is. So now you know. (end of excerpt)
In fact, as noted here yesterday, the Bush doomsday contingency plan has been public knowledge for the last four months, having been reported in October by the Cleveland Plain Dealer and U.S. News & World Report.
Bush's "secret" shadow government was also the subject of congressional hearings, the testimony from which has long been available on the Office of Management and Budget's Web site.
Apparently the Senate plurality leader was so focused on his 2004 presidential ambitions he missed the news.
The diminutive Democrat first complained to "Fox News Sunday" that he and his congressional colleagues had been kept totally in the dark about secret installations housing unidentified U.S. officials who have been designated to insure government continuity in the event of a devastating domestic attack.
"None of us knew about the secret government. Not knowing things as basic as that is a pretty profound illustration of the chasm that exists sometimes [between Congress and the Bush administration] with information," Daschle told FNS's Tony Snow.
But a moment later Daschle was forced to admit that he actually visited one of the installations he claimed to know nothing about.
SNOW: The so-called secret government - you've actually been to the site [since] Sept. 11, right?
DASCHLE: Well, I don't know if that's the site. I mean ...
SNOW: I'm told it is. So now you know. (end of excerpt)
In fact, as noted here yesterday, the Bush doomsday contingency plan has been public knowledge for the last four months, having been reported in October by the Cleveland Plain Dealer and U.S. News & World Report.
Bush's "secret" shadow government was also the subject of congressional hearings, the testimony from which has long been available on the Office of Management and Budget's Web site.
Apparently the Senate plurality leader was so focused on his 2004 presidential ambitions he missed the news.
