Kerry confidantes say senator is seeking others to cosign letter on Downing minutes

RawStory.com, Steve Bagley

Two confidants of Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) told RAW STORY Tuesday that he is privately seeking other senators to cosign a letter to the Senate Intelligence Committee on the Downing Street minutes.

�Kerry has been enlisting other senators to sign onto a letter to the intelligence committee seeking answers to the Downing Street memo,� said one, �so Americans can trust that security decisions are driven by facts and responsible intelligence, not by political calculation.�

This statement comes after nearly two weeks of silence from the senator, who previously promised to �raise the issue� of the Downing Street minutes in the Senate chamber.

Two days after RAW STORY reported on Kerry�s initial promise to react, Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) delivered his own statement, saying, �The Administration�s dishonesty, lack of candor, and lack of planning have brought us to where we are today, with American soldiers dying, Iraqi civilians living in constant fear, and with no clearer picture of our strategy for victory in Iraq than when we started.�

The reactions from the Massachusetts senators come after action in the House. Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) penned a response to the Downing Street minutes five days after it leaked to the British Sunday Times, demanding that President Bush answer new questions about the contents of the secret document.

Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), who signed Conyers letter, told RAW STORY the missive is part of a plan to �keep agitating the public� and to convince more Republicans and Democrats in Congress to act in response to the Downing Street minutes.

Ninety-four House members have since signed the letter. Conyers also put up a copy of the same memo open for the public to sign, and has since received nearly half a million signatures from across the country. Conyers is expected to deliver it to the President in a Democratic hearing Thursday.

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