Oversight Committee to Hold Hearing on Tillman, Lynch Incidents

The Oversight and Government Reform Committee announced that it has scheduled a hearing entitled "Misleading Information from the Battlefield" on April 24th:

The hearing will focus on the death of Army Ranger Specialist Patrick Tillman in Afghanistan and the capture and rescue of Army Private Jessica Lynch in Iraq. The Committee will examine why inaccurate accounts of these two incidents were disseminated, the sources and motivations for the accounts, and whether the appropriate Administration officials have been held accountable.

Specialist Tillman was killed near Manah, Afghanistan on March 22, 2004. Although the Defense Department reported that he had been killed by enemy combatants, it was later disclosed that Tillman's death was the result of friendly fire.

Private Lynch was captured when her convoy became lost in An Nasariyah, Iraq, on March 23, 2003. Following her release, the Defense Department disseminated an account of her capture and rescue that turned out to be inaccurate and misleading.

Private Lynch and family members of Specialist Tillman are scheduled to testify, as well as Defense Department officials.