He’ll be back on MSNBC in the not too distant future with the same schtick and bashing private contractors.
Did Blackwater save Rep. Alan Grayson in Niger?
Before joining Congress, Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) was the scourge of military contractors, filing dozens of whistleblower lawsuits against companies who defrauded the government in connection with their work in Iraq. In the past, the freshman lawmaker, who’s known for his pugilistic style and no-holds barred remarks, has blasted the firms working on the payroll of the US government overseas: “We’re not going to let the defense contractors use our money to bribe our government and take it over,” he once said. And he has singled out Blackwater (now known as Xe) for special criticism: “We can’t let, basically, Blackwater take over the entire government here. We have to draw the line somewhere.”
But did Blackwater contractors come to his rescue last week, when Grayson was traveling in Niger and a military coup erupted? It certainly seems that way, considering the prepared testimony of Xe executive vice president Fred Roitz, who will testify later today in connection with a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Blackwater subsidiary Paravant. In his remarks, he stated: “Xe Services, through its subsidiary Presidential Airways, provides aviation support and medevac services to Defense Department personnel in Africa. Just last week, our personnel evacuated a congressman from Niger during civil unrest.”
That link goes to enemy territory, so do wave your cursor before you decide to leap that way.
Should have left him there.
I won’t take that bet.
For shame! Mr. Grayson should’ve remained ideaologically pure, refused Blackwater/Xe’s service and left himself to the tender mercies of the Nigerian military. Instead we find out he’s a hypocrite, a traitor to his beliefs. For shame! He should refund Blackwater’s fee and hop the next plane to Nigeria to make up for his mistaken ways.