Former Secretary Rumsfeld Testifies about Pat Tillman [J. Mark English]

It got a bit snippy today in Congress, as congressmen pressed former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, about how the pentagon so mishandled the stories relating to the death of Pat Tillman. Here are some highlights of the questioning from Breitbart:

Rumsfeld, in his first public appearance on Capitol Hill since President Bush replaced him with Robert Gates late last year, reiterated previous testimony to investigators that he didn't have early knowledge that Tillman was cut down by fellow Rangers, not by enemy militia, as was initially claimed.

He told a House committee hearing that he'd always impressed upon Pentagon underlings the importance of telling the truth.

"Early in my tenure as secretary of defense, I wrote a memo for the men and women of the Department of Defense," Rumsfeld told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. "You will note that principle number one—the very first—was: 'Do nothing that could raise questions about the credibility of DOD.' "

Rumsfeld gave the committee a copy of that memo.

Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., charged that unanswered questions surrounding Tillman's death reach into the highest ranks of the Pentagon and beyond.

"The concealment of Corp. Tillman's fratricide caused millions of Americans to question the integrity of our government, yet no one will tell us when and how the White House learned the truth," said Waxman.