11/18/2009 2:39 PM ET
(RTTNews) -
In a letter sent to the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism on Wednesday, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., requested that the results from the internal investigation of the November 5th shooting at the Fort Hood Army Base be transmitted to the Judiciary Committee.
"Consistent with my responsibilities as the Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary," Leahy wrote, "and my constitutional obligation to conduct rigorous congressional oversight, I request that the results of the internal investigations by the FBI and the Army be transmitted to the Committee on the Judiciary."
Leahy is requesting the results of the FBI and Army investigations that President Barack Obama ordered into the Fort Hood shooting that left 13 soldiers dead.
"I appreciate that the Department of the Army and the FBI are engaged in an ongoing investigation of this case, and I do not wish to interfere with that process," Leahy said. "I will work with your office, the Attorney General, Director Mueller, and Secretary Gates to ensure that congressional oversight does not unduly impede the investigation."
The shooting took place Thursday, November 5th, when Nidal Malik Hasan, an Army psychiatrist stationed at Fort Hood, allegedly opened fire on soldiers who were preparing to be deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.
During the ensuing chaos, 13 soldiers were killed and another 38 were injured before Hasan was shot four times by civilian police.
Hasan survived and was taken to a hospital at Temple, Texas before being flown to Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston. He regained consciousness the following Monday.
On November 12th, it was announced that Hasan was being charged with 13 counts of pre-meditated murder. If convicted, Hasan could face the death penalty.
The following day, it was announced that Hasan had been permanently paralyzed from the waist down due to the injuries he received from being shot by police.
by RTT Staff Writer
For comments and feedback: contact editorial@rttnews.com