On April 24, 2007 the Oversight Committee held a hearing focusing on misleading information following the death of Army Ranger Specialist Patrick Tillman in Afghanistan and the capture and rescue of Army Private Jessica Lynch in Iraq. A transcript of this hearing is now available.

The hearing focused 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 April 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.

The following witnesses testified:

Panel I:

• Mary Tillman, mother of Cpl. Pat Tillman
• Kevin Tillman, brother of Cpl. Pat Tillman
• Jessica Lynch, former Private, U.S. Army
• Dr. Gene Bolles, former Chief of Neurosurgery, Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany

Panel II:

• Hon. Thomas F. Gimble, Acting Inspector General, Department of Defense
• Brigadier General Rodney Johnson, Army Criminal Investigative Command
• Specialist Bryan O'Neal, U.S. Army
• Senior Chief Petty Officer Stephen White, Navy Seal
• Lt. Col. John Robinson, formerly of U.S. Army Central Command (CENTCOM)