A "stolen" vote in Congress? Democrats OK investigation [View All]

[Flabbergasted]

A "stolen" vote in Congress? Democrats OK investigation
By Jonathan Weisman and Elizabeth Williamson

The Washington Post

BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / GETTY IMAGES

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., take questions Friday during a news conference on Capitol Hill.
WASHINGTON — The House late Friday unanimously agreed to create a special select committee, with subpoena powers, to investigate Republican allegations that Democratic leaders had "stolen" a victory on a parliamentary vote.

The move capped a remarkable day: Republicans marching out of the House in protest near midnight Thursday, and partisan bickering dashed Democratic hopes for a final legislative rush. A temporary blackout of the chamber's vote-tally board led to accusations of skulduggery.

While Democratic leaders hoped to leave for their August recess on a wave of legislative successes, the House instead slowed to an acrimonious crawl that threatened to stretch the legislative session into next week.

The agreement to form a special committee was extraordinary. Such powerful investigative committees usually are reserved for issues such as the Watergate scandal and the funneling of profits from Iranian weapons sales to the Nicaraguan contras in the 1980s.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003821171_cong04.html