Congressional Republicans will be in the worst possible position if they are seen as backing down on hearings because they fear the political fallout.
Kate O'Beirne is NR's Washington editor. National Review. 5/03/00 6:30 p.m.
Don't back off now. After pledging to hold the Administration accountable for its handling of the Elian Gonzalez case, congressional Republicans will be in the worst possible position if they are seen as backing down on hearings because they fear the political fallout.
Permitting public-opinion polls to dictate the scheduling of hearings in the Senate will only reinforce the Democrats' accusation that Republicans were bent on "politicizing" the case by investigating it. So, the least damaging alternative at this point is just to do what's right.
Hearings should be held, at the very least by Senator Arlen Specter's Judiciary subcommittee, even though the Administration's superior propagandists, and their friends in the media, will likely leave the public just as ill-informed as it currently is on the entire affair.
Still, key questions demand answers. A preliminary list would include: Why did the INS reverse its original position, which gave jurisdiction of Elian’s custody to Florida state courts? What is the evidence that his father is free of coercion in his demand for the child's return? How could
the child be seized on the assertion to a magistrate that he is in the country illegally, when a federal appellate court ordered that he remain in the U.S.? If the INS didn't need a court order to seize Elian, why did it seek one from the 11th Circuit? What law was Lazaro Gonzalez in violation of?
According to the publisher of the Miami Herald, Janet Reno described herself as a mediator in the final negotiations, i.e. "a person who takes a proposal to the decision-maker." Who was making the decisions? Was it Greg Craig?
The four prominent Miami citizens mediating over the last hours before the raid assert that the Miami relatives had agreed to turn over custody to Juan Miguel Gonzalez. So, why the armed assault that put Elian's life at risk? What were the operational instructions to the INS agents, about what
they should do if they met with resistance?
Republicans have a sorry track record in attempting to expose the Administration's lawlessness, and they dread the prospect of a pathetic Janet Reno robotically insisting in front of the TV cameras that the "rule of law" forced her hand. But either way you consider it — on the
merits, or just as a crass political question — the GOP now has no choice but to follow through with hearings. Mr. Specter, prepare your gavel.
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