White House might have interfered with general's testimony
- By Defense Systems Staff
- Sep 19, 2011
Air Force Gen. William Shelton told lawmakers during a classified briefing earlier this month that the White House tried to persuade him to change his testimony to make it more favorable to a company with ties to a key Democratic donor, reports the Daily Beast.
The incident involves satellite broadband company LightSquared and Democratic donor Philip Falcone's investment fund, which is the majority owner of the commercial enterprise. The Pentagon has expressed concerns that LightSquared’s new wireless project might interfere with Global Positioning System technology used by warfighters.
The White House asked the general to alter testimony to add that he supported its policy to add more broadband for commercial use, and also that the Pentagon would try to resolve the questions around LightSquared with testing in just 90 days, officials familiar with the situation told the Daily Beast.