White House pressured Air Force general testimony

[dario73]

Did White House pressure Air Force general to favour internet firm backed by Democrat donor?

General William Shelton claims he was pressured

LightSquared's majority owner is Democratic donor
By Mark Duell

Last updated at 12:57 PM on 16th September 2011

A four-star Air Force general claims he was pressured by the White House into changing a political briefing to favour a Democratic-backed firm.
Air Force Space Commander General William Shelton was speaking about a wireless project by Virginia satellite broadband company LightSquared.
The Pentagon believes it could interfere with GPS - but the firm’s majority owner happens to be Democratic donor Philip Falcone’s hedge fund.

Rep. Mike Turner, chairman of a House subcommittee that oversees the GPS issues, claimed there was an attempt to ‘bias' the general's testimony.

The White House allegedly asked General Shelton to firstly change his testimony to say he supported policy for more commercial broadband.

Officials told the Daily Beast it also asked him to say the Pentagon wanted to resolve questions on LightSquared with testing in only 90 days.
But General Shelton was angry at the intervention - which could be seen as trying to help the company launch the project, officials claimed.

LightSquared CEO Sanjiv Ahuja denied to the Daily Beast that his company was using politics to have an influence on regulation.

He said their broadband plans have been delayed for a year and they have put $100million towards finding a solution to the GPS issue.
The problem is tens of thousands of ground stations for a wireless network could drown out the GPS signal, reported the Daily Beast.

'If you put a rock band in the middle of that quiet neighbourhood, that’s a different circumstance.’ General Shelton told Rep. Turner’s committee.

The White House confirmed it had suggested changes to the testimony but insisted this was routine and not influenced by politics.
Mr Ahuja has given just over $30,000 to both the Democratic and Republican parties in the last two years, reported the Daily Beast.
Mr Falcone and his wife put more than $60,000 in 2009 towards the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2038053/Did-White-House-pressure-Air-Force-general-help-Democrat-donors-firm-GPS-worries.html

[Soul Crusher]

Obama can be bought for relatively little money. 

Disgraceful.   Shame on you who still support this wretched admn.

[dario73]

General Reported He Was Pressured on Testimony About White House-Backed Project, Sources Say
By Justin Fishel

Published September 16, 2011

FoxNews.com

AP


Gen. William Shelton, head of the Air Force Space Command, told House members in a classified briefing earlier this month that he was pressured to change prepared congressional testimony in a way that would favor a large company funded by Philip Falcone, a major Democratic donor, congressional sources told Fox News.

Republicans have raised questions about whether project pursued by the company, LightSquared, is being unduly expedited by the Obama administration, which has pushed for national wireless network upgrades.

The Virginia-based satellite and broadband communications company has plans to build a nationwide, next-generation, 4G phone network that many, including Shelton, think would seriously hinder the effectiveness of high-precision GPS receiver systems, a product used most commonly by the United States military.

A source familiar with the technology told Fox News that the LightSquared spectrum would be 5 billion times stronger than the military's GPS system, rendering the military's system almost useless.

“Imagine trying to have a telephone conversation while your neighbors are hosting a rock concert,” the source told Fox News. “That’s the situation the military is facing.”

Shelton, in testimony Thursday before a House Armed Services subcommittee, refused to suggest that interference problems could be mitigated, as he allegedly was being pressured to say.

Military training that relies on precision GPS, such as dropping ordnance, potentially could cease to exist in the United States. Many farmers who also rely on the systems would also be affected. It's estimated this system is used by as many as 1 million people.

A House Armed Services Committee staff member confirmed to Fox News that when asked whether he was pressured to change public testimony he had prepared to for the hearing Thursday, Gen. Shelton said he was "being asked to say things he didn't agree with."

It's unclear who exactly pressured Shelton, but it's possible the culprits are in White House, Department of Defense or the Office of Management and Budget, which each approve military testimony prepared for Congress. The House staff member also told Fox News a copy of Shelton’s prepared testimony was leaked to LightSquared.

The Pentagon did not respond to Fox News' requests Thursday evening to comment for this story, though a spokeswoman for Shelton told the Washington Post that there was no improper influence on the general's testimony. The Post also reported that the White House denied trying to influence Shelton's testimony.

The company also defended its work.

“We understand that some in the telecom sector fear the challenges for their business model that LightSquared presents. It’s also ludicrous to suggest LightSquared’s success depends on political connections. This is a private company that has never taken one dollar in taxpayer money,” chief executive Sanjiv Ahuja said in a statement quoted by the Post.

At the House subcommittee hearing Thursday, which focused on strategic forces and sustaining GPS for national security, Republican Chairman Michael Turner lashed out at the Obama administration for its acceptance of LightSquared proposals. He took aim at FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, a longtime basketball buddy of President Obama, for not showing up at the hearing and for granting a waiver to LightSquared on Jan. 26.
"I trust Chairman Genachowski is doing something very important this morning if he couldn't be here to discuss the significant harm to national security that may result from the FCC's action,” Turner said.



http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/09/15/general-reportedly-said-was-pressured-to-change-testimony-on-white-house-backed/

[Soul Crusher]

New Day, a New White House Scandal: First Solyndra, Now LightSquared
Townhall.com ^ | September 17, 2011 | Bob Beauprez
Posted on September 17, 2011 8:01:31 AM EDT by Kaslin

It must feel like SSDD at the White House – same stuff, different day.  While the stink from the Solyndra political corruption scandal continues to grow, a new one involving a 4-star Air Force General and military intelligence erupted yesterday from Capitol Hill.

According to reports published by The Daily Beast, General William Shelton, Commander of the Air Force Space Command Center at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, said the "White House tried to pressure him to change his testimony to make it more favorable to a company tied to a large Democratic donor. "

The company is LightSquared, a Virginia wireless broadband provider seeking approval for a coast-to-coast wireless network.  The majority owner of LightSquared is Harbinger Capital Partners an investment fund whose CEO, Philip Falcone, is a large Democrat Party donor.

The bandwidth spectrum proposed to be used by LightSquared would be very close to the global GPS system used by private industry as well as the U.S. military and intelligence communities.  Although LightSquared maintains their proposal would be "quiet neighborhood" network, the Pentagon and industry experts have voiced serious concerns that the "tens of thousands of ground stations for a wireless network could drown out the GPS signal."  

Prior to appearing before the House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee, the White House reviewed and recommended changes to General Shelton's testimony that would have been favorable to LightSquared.  "There was an attempt to influence the text of the testimony and to engage LightSquared in the process in order to bias his (Gen. Shelton's) testimony." Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH), the Committee Chairman told The Daily Beast.  "The only people who were involved in the process in preparation for the hearing included the Department of Defense, the White House, and the Office of Management and Budget." 

According to the report, the White House pressed Gen. Shelton to alter his testimony on two critical points: first, that the General supported the White House policy to add more broadband for commercial use (a campaign pledge by Obama), and secondly that the Pentagon would try to resolve the questions around LightSquared with testing in just 90 days.   Instead of caving to the White House pressure, General Shelton "chafed at the intervention" and blew the whistle.

Consistent with what has become standard-operating-procedure, the White House issued a statement denying any wrong doing or pressure on the General. 

LightSquared was granted conditional approval for their system in 2004, but the go-ahead for build out of the whole system has been stalled because technical experts have warned that the "proposal to build tens of thousands of ground stations for a wireless network could drown out the GPS signal." 

Indeed, General Shelton testified that preliminary tests concluded that only a portion of the band that was licensed in 2004 "would cause significant disruptions to GPS."

Members of Congress have smelled a rat in the LightSquared deal for some time recognizing that the Administration and the FCC have been trying to rush through an approval for the proposal.  "The FCC's fast-tracking of LightSquared raises questions about whether the government is rushing this project at the expense of all kinds of other things, including national security and everyone who uses GPS, from agriculture to emergency medical technicians," said Sen. Chuck Grassley who has been suspicious since at least last April.  "Without transparency, and with media coverage of political connections in this case, there's no way to know whether the agency is trying to help friends in need or really looking out for the public's interest."

In April, Grassley asked the Chairman of the FCC Julius Genachowski to hand over all records of communications, including emails between Falcone and the FCC, and LightSquared and the FCC.  Genachowski declined to turn over those records. 

Genachowski is a political appointee of Barack Obama.  He cut his teeth as an aid to New York Senator Chuck Schumer before making millions in the telecommunications industry.  He was a classmate of Obama's at the Harvard law school, and became a critical member of the 2008 campaign and transition team credited for the development of the sophisticated campaign communications system utilizing social media networks.  

Perhaps trying to get ahead of a developing scandal involving one of the military's top commanders, on Tuesday the FCC issued a public notice prohibiting LightSquared from further build out until more testing proves GPS would not be damaged. 

[headhuntersix]

This not a big deal how? Barry is so dirty and now we're seeing Chicago politics come to DC.

[Soul Crusher]

This not a big deal how? Barry is so dirty and now we're seeing Chicago politics come to DC.

Palin tried coke and Bachmann hyped ip the gsrdisil issue.  Those are drastically of more importance to the obamacvnts. 

[Dos Equis]

Good grief.  I need to start compiling a list.  This will probably be another issue that fades into the sunset. 

[Soul Crusher]

Good grief.  I need to start compiling a list.  This will probably be another issue that fades into the sunset. 

It's all in my Obama dossier thread.   

[240 is Back]

Good grief.  I need to start compiling a list.  This will probably be another issue that fades into the sunset.  

agreed with you there.  FOX is more interested in traching bachmann for her HPV incident again.

[Soul Crusher]

agreed with you there.  FOX is more interested in traching bachmann for her HPV incident again.

And why isn't msnbc covering any of this?

[Dos Equis]

And why isn't msnbc covering any of this?

As the Obama Administration said, MSNBC is invaluable (talking about Maddow, Olbermann, etc.).   

[tonymctones]

agreed with you there.  FOX is more interested in traching bachmann for her HPV incident again.

your obsession with the right and not political ideology is getting disturbing bro...

being against a political ideology is one thing, but being against something simply b/c they have an R by their name or are called FOX is just fuking weird...