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TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2002

Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge is offering to hold informal briefing sessions with lawmakers as a means of avoiding testifying before Congress.

The offer was made in a letter delivered to the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. The committee has made a bipartisan request for Ridge to appear.

The White House has balked, saying presidential advisers need not testify. The Senate is considering a subpoena.

In an editorial today, The Seattle Times says it is "wrong" for Ridge not to testify and discounts the notion he is a private adviser. "Ridge is not whispering advice in the president's ear," the paper writes. "He is running a multibillion-dollar enterprise with Cabinet authority that cuts across administration hierarchy."

Get the Story:
Editorial: Ridge is wrong not to testify (The Seattle Times 3/26)
Ridge Offers Congress Informal Briefing (AP 3/26)
Ridge Offers Compromise on Testimony Before Congress (AP 3/26)
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Relevant Links:
Office of Homeland Security - http://www.whitehouse.gov/homeland

Related Stories:
Dispute grows over Ridge (3/21)
Ridge still refusing to testify (3/20)
Senate might subpoena Ridge (3/18)
Ridge refuses to testify (3/5)