State Dept IG recuses himself from Blackwater Investigation

House Oversight Committee chaired by Rep. Henry Waxman held on Nov 14th. State Dept Inspector General Howard Krongard was before the committee. The IG's official responsible is to ensure the agency operates ethically. The IG recused himself from any investigations related to Blackwater Worldwide after admitting to the Oversight Committee that his brother is a member of Blackwater's advisory board.

The brother is Alvin "Buzzy" Krongard. Former Exec. Director of CIA - appointed by Tenet in March, 2001. Prior he was CEO/Chair of Alex Brown - Deutsche Bank (oldest Investment Firm) and Banker's Trust.

AB “Buzzy” Krongard resigned from the CIA shortly after the arrival of Porter Johnston Goss in September 2004. While at the CIA, he was the link connecting the CIA, Erik Prince and Blackwater. Through his influence, Blackwater was able to receive its first no-bid contract.

In March, 2005 , Krongard was appointed as an outside US director to the Global Board of Directors organized to oversee and coordinate the worldwide operations of DLA Piper, one of the world’s leading law firms.

His name is brought up in conjunction with investigations into suspected 9/11-related insider trading because of timely Wall Street trades allegedly made through the investment bank he used to head.

These clips are from the end of the Oversight Hearing. btw, yes I got creative and I am proud of it.

He_Ain't_Heavy_He's_My_Brother video

Still want more information on the Krongard brothers? Great article just posted on Mother Jones, authored by Bruce Falconer.

http://www.motherjones.com/washington_dispatch/2007/11/Krongard-Blackwater-State-Department-Brother.html


November 17th Update

The lawyer for State Department Inspector General Howard Krongard asked on Saturday that he not be called to testify before Congress on discrepancies between his statements and those of his brother over the brother's ties to the Blackwater security firm.

"There is no legitimate purpose to be gained by publicly pitting two brothers against each other," Barbara Van Gelder wrote in a letter to Rep. Henry Waxman, chairman of the government oversight panel. "