Congress puts Fort Hood shooting probe on hold
Staff report
Posted : Thursday Dec 17, 2009 10:07:55 EST
The House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday suspended its investigation of the Nov. 5 shootings at Fort Hood, Texas, until the Department of Defense had finished its investigation.
DoD requested that Congress wait until its review had been complete before calling DoD witnesses to testify in public hearings, according to a release from committee chairman Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo.
“While the House Armed Services committee will continue to assert its oversight role by seeking information from the administration that will not impact the ongoing criminal investigation,” he wrote, “I intend to refrain from scheduling public hearings until after the DoD review is complete.”
The shootings left 13 soldiers dead and injured at least 30 others. Maj. Nidal Hassan, the accused shooter, was critically wounded by police and had been in intensive care until Wednesday. Doctors said he had been permanently paralyzed.