Lying to Congress

In the Clinton years, remember, it wasn't the sex, it was the lying. The House wasn't undergoing a witch hunt, they were protecting the rule of law. So I'm sure those same defenders of the truth will come out en masse to denounce John Bolton, who apparently lied to congress:

WASHINGTON — A former U.S. ambassador to South Korea said Thursday that John R. Bolton, President Bush's choice for U.N. ambassador, might have misled the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about a provocative and controversial 2003 speech on North Korea.

The former ambassador, Thomas Hubbard, also described Bolton yelling and slamming down a telephone on him during a confrontation. It was the latest example of the allegedly confrontational behavior that had helped stall Bolton's nomination.

This is what Bolton said to the committee:

In testimony last week, Bolton implied that Hubbard, former U.S. ambassador to South Korea, had approved of the speech in advance and that he had thanked Bolton for his comments afterward.

"And I can tell you what our ambassador to South Korea, Tom Hubbard, said after the speech," Bolton said under questioning by Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.). "He said: 'Thanks a lot for that speech, John; it will help us a lot out here.' "

This is what Hubbard said to the committee:

Hubbard disputed Bolton's testimony.

But Hubbard, a career diplomat who was Bush's ambassador to South Korea from 2001 to 2004, contradicted Bolton, saying in an interview that he had not expressed gratitude for the speech and that he had disapproved of it.

"I didn't approve personally of the tone of the speech, and had urged him to tone it down," said Hubbard, now retired from the foreign service.

Before the speech, Hubbard said, he had urged Bolton and his staff "to tone it down, on grounds that it would be counterproductive to getting the North Koreans to the negotiating table."

But Bolton "rejected that suggestion," Hubbard said.

He said that Bolton did agree to accept some recommendations on factual errors, and on some phrases that Hubbard "thought would be taken badly or misunderstood by the South Koreans." When he offered thanks, it was for those changes, Hubbard said.

"It's a gross exaggeration to elevate that to praise for the entire speech and approval of it," Hubbard added.

You can almost throw out the charges of mistreating subordinates, of belligerent language, of an inartful tone. The guy lied to Congress. End of story. You don't get promoted for lying to Congress. Unless you're President. Or Vice President. Or Secretary of State. Or Attorney General.

My head hurts now.

p.s. Bolton was also apparently running a secret intelligence operation out of the State Department, intercepting NSA documents and using them to get back at people.

Sweet!