Republican opponents of former Senator Chuck Hagel welcomed the decision by the Senate Armed Services Committee last Thursday to postpone the panel vote on President Barack Obama’s highly controversial defense secretary nomination after he refused to release additional requested financial information.
Included in that information are details regarding compensation for speeches he delivered since leaving Capitol Hill.
While Hagel has provided some information on his personal finances, he said he could not provide all of what has been requested because it was the property of private organizations that he was not authorized to disclose. Astonishingly, however, senate sources disclosed Thursday that they have been informed that one of the reasons Hagel has refused to release the documents on his sources of foreign funding is that one of the names listed is called “Friends of Hamas.”
Last Wednesday 26 Republican senators sent a letter to the controversial nominee, asserting their opposition to the vote until he provided the requested information.
“This committee and the American people have a right to know if a nominee for Secretary of Defense has received compensation from foreign sources,” the letter said. “Until the committee receives complete answers, it cannot in good faith determine whether you should be confirmed as Secretary of Defense.”
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