The Dems On the Commission

Link:

Today Bush announced the names of seven of the nine commissioners charged with investigating US intelligence on Iraq, and to no one's surprise, he appointed a right-wing partisan, former federal appellate judge Laurence Silberman, as co-chairman.

Silberman has never shied away from using his position to benefit his extreme right-wing agenda. According to Blinded by the Right author David Brock, Silberman and his wife helped Brock - then a conservative journalist - smear Anita Hill during Clarence Thomas's confirmation hearings.

Silberman and his wife were also crucial players in the right-wing Clinton impeachment witch hunt. Brock credited the Silbermans with convincing Ken Starr to file a friend-of-the-court brief in the Paula Jones case.

Perhaps most disturbing, Silberman was a decisive vote in the decision to overturn the conviction of Iran-Contra impresario Oliver North, despite Silberman's own connection to the case He was appointed to the court by Ronald Reagan and worked for Reagan's 1980 election campaign.

Silberman is hardly the kind of independent, unbiased person this commission needs in order to get the truth to the American people. He should resign and clear the way for someone more appropriate.