[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 12]
[House]
[Pages 17008-17009]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                               JOE WILSON

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gohmert) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, in the last few weeks, once again, there 
has been no shortage of a man named Mr. Joe Wilson on television. Who 
is Mr. Joe Wilson? Why would he want to use false claims to attack this 
Bush administration?
  Mr. Joe Wilson endorsed Senator John Kerry in October of 2003. 
According to media sources, Mr. Joe Wilson contributed $2,000 to the 
Kerry campaign in the same year. The Boston Globe has reported that Mr. 
Wilson spoke to the Kerry campaign at least once a week during the 
campaign.

                              {time}  2215

  Well, he himself has even said that he advised the Kerry campaign on 
foreign policy. So now this Kerry supporter and adviser is on 
television pointing fingers at the administration he despises.
  Now, during my tenure as a judge, credibility of witnesses could 
usually be judged by seeking to learn if the witness had a bias. 
Obviously this witness has quite a bias. It has also been reported that 
he and his wife supported Albert Gore for President against George W. 
Bush in 2000. The motive for bias seems to deepen.
  The press has reported Mr. Joe Wilson was, in fact, the last U.S. 
diplomat to meet with Saddam Hussein in 1991. He was also the envoy 
sent to Africa to investigate reports that the Iraqi President had 
tried to buy nuclear material there. Was it possible he hated President 
Bush so much that it got in the way of his ability to assess the facts 
and actions and motives of his old acquaintance, Mr. Saddam Hussein?
  Perhaps his intentions were loyal to the security of the United 
States in 1991, but if that is the case, while serving as an official 
envoy to Niger, as he claims, it appears he brazenly spoke out publicly 
against our own administration.
  The Senate Intelligence Committee found that Mr. Wilson's report, 
``rather than debunking intelligence about purported uranium sales to 
Iraq, actually bolstered the case for most intelligence analysis.'' So 
now it appears that, like his favorite former presidential candidate, 
Mr. Wilson is flip-flopping.
  The typically softspoken Senator Pat Roberts, chair of the Senate 
Select Committee on Intelligence, was harsh in his condemnation. ``Time 
and again Joe Wilson told anyone who would listen that the President 
had

[[Page 17009]]

lied to the American people, that the Vice President had lied and that 
he had debunked the claim that Iraq was seeking uranium from Africa. 
Not only did he not debunk the claim he actually give some intelligence 
analysts even more reason to believe that it may be true.'' Roberts 
went on to say that it was important for the Intelligence Committee to 
declare that much of what Wilson said had no basis in fact.
  Contrary to what he has said publicly, Mr. Wilson's wife, a CIA 
employee, did recommend him to serve as envoy in 2002.
  It appears obvious that neither Mr. Wilson nor his wife had conducted 
themselves properly in the best interest of this country. Why would a 
former ambassador privately report inaccurate facts about Iraqi 
officials potential dealings with business men in Niger? Why would his 
wife float his name to serve as envoy on this trip if they wanted to 
stay out of the public eye?
  I have come to know people after they retired from being covert 
agents of the government. It seems that the best covert agents are the 
kind of people who go into a room, and when you look around that room, 
you do not notice them. They blend in. They keep their names off lists 
so they do not make contributions, especially to political figures. 
They keep a low profile. They certainly avoid having their picture put 
in popular magazines. It really appears that the Wilsons' disdain for 
this administration will likely go down as one of the greats in 
history. But they have been so blinded to something we would call the 
truth.
  Some of our colleagues across the aisle and Senate Democrats down the 
hall have embraced this man on little credibility in efforts to harm 
this administration that is determined to protect us from evil men with 
evil motivations desiring to destroy our way of life. Their rhetoric is 
based on two news stories--both of which appear to exonerate Rove.
  The facts are simple:
  Joe Wilson said the Vice President sent him to Niger and that his 
report was shown to the Vice President.
  The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence confirmed that Rove was 
right and Wilson was wrong: The Vice President didn't send Wilson 
anywhere.
  Karl Rove then discouraged a reporter from writing a false story that 
was based on a false premise promulgated by a lying or blindly 
prejudiced Mr. Joe Wilson.
  The main questions now on the matter should be what else has Joe 
Wilson lied about and why is anyone putting him on television?
  Perhaps if recommending a blindly prejudiced man to go to Niger to do 
critical research for our country is any indication as to Mr. Wilson's 
wife's judgment, then maybe it is a good thing she has not been trying 
to be covert for several years.

                          ____________________