The next frontier of the Space Command HQ basing fight, which this week took its most significant turn in years, may be in a congressional investigation.
Rep. Mike Rogers, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, reiterated a charge he made last month against Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall and Space Command Commander Gen. James Dickinson, this time in a letter threatening a subpoena and “compelled appearance” in pursuit of answers.
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“Your refusal to abide by the Committee’s repeated requests for responsive documents and transcribed interviews can only be considered obfuscation and purposeful delay, highlighted by the fact that the basing decision was decided while the Committee’s requests are outstanding,” Rogers (R-Saks) wrote in the letter.
“This is unacceptable.”
President Biden’s decision to locate Space Command HQ in Colorado Springs, which contradicts four years worth of government vetting, was handed down the first working day after members of Congress left Washington for August recess.
The Armed Services Committee wields oversight jurisdiction with the Department of Defense. Rogers, along with the totality of Alabama’s congressional delegation, isn’t cooling off anytime soon.
RELATED: Rogers: ‘Taxpayer-funded manipulation’ in Space Command delay
“It now appears you have something to hide, otherwise a forthright response to the Committee’s patient and numerous requests would have already come,” Rogers said.
“If you fail to adequately respond, I will be forced to seek a subpoena for the relevant documents we have requested on multiple occasions, and to seek your compelled appearance.”
Rep. Dale Strong, a member of the committee, called Biden’s actions “undeniably malicious” driven by “a sense of retribution against the State of Alabama in response to disagreements over its democratically enacted state laws.”
“I find it unbelievable that anyone, upon reviewing the reasoning for the initial headquarters decision which was supported by investigations conducted by the Government Accountability Office and the Department of Defense Inspector General, would willingly choose the fifth-place ranked location of Petersen Space Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo, over the first-place ranked location of Redstone Arsenal,” Strong (R-Huntsville) said.
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