Congressional Candidate Chuck Wilkerson Calls for U.S. Justice Department Investigation Into Henry Waxman's Sanctioning of Efforts To Provide Aid to the Enemy

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- California 30th Congressional District candidate Charles "Chuck" Wilkerson is calling for a U.S. Justice Department probe into official conduct by U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman that helped an American anti-war group gain entry into Iraq where it distributed aid to families of insurgents fighting U.S. troops.

"The letter posted by Andrew Breitbart today is a smoking gun," Wilkerson said today. "It's bad enough having Henry Waxman vote against funding our troops in combat, but to actively assist getting aid to people who killed and wounded Americans on the battlefield is beyond forgiveness. If aid and comfort were given to the enemy, this borders on treason."

Wilkerson's call for an official probe comes after he examined a copy of a diplomatic letter signed by Waxman and dated December 14, 2004, to the U.S. Embassy in Jordan. The letter urged the embassy to assist members of the anti-war group Code Pink who were seeking to provide assistance to war-torn Falluja. The city was occupied by the U.S. Marines after 51 Americans were killed and 560 wounded in what was the fiercest insurgency battle of the war in April of that same year.

Wilkerson, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran of the Korean war, continued, "What motivated Representative Waxman to assist these anti-war activists when the U.S. command in Iraq had already refused them passage? Why would he actively aid people with an anti-U.S. military agenda as they headed deep into the zone of conflict? And how was the $600,000 in cash and so-called 'humanitarian aid' they brought with them distributed – and to whom – once they got there?"

Wilkerson continued, "Americans deserve answers to these questions. I'm calling upon Attorney General Eric Holder to conduct an investigation into Henry Waxman and the anti-war groups in connection with possible charges of aiding and abetting a declared enemy of the United States in a war authorized by the Congress – a Congress in which Waxman is a sitting member."

Questions have swirled around the 2004 Code Pink trip since Robert "Buzz" Patterson, a retired Air Force colonel, reported in his 2010 book Conduct Unbecoming that Code Pink directly aided the enemy during its visit. Patterson quotes Code Pink co-founder Medea Benjamin saying at a news conference, "I don't know of any other case in history in which parents of fallen soldiers collected medicine for the 'other side.'"

Benjamin Gifford, a former USMC Captain and Southern California native who lost his younger brother to enemy action in combat, was critical of the Waxman letter as well. "My brother Micah gave his life for his country. He knew he was doing the right thing," Gifford said.  "I don't understand how Barbara Boxer and Henry Waxman can possibly think that what they allowed was in the best interest of our nation." Sen. Boxer also reportedly provided a similar diplomatic letter of passage, as well.

The Pentagon had previously denied American anti-war organizations access to the region, citing security concerns.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:  Charles "Chuck" Wilkerson, email: [email protected], phone: 888-308-6445

SOURCE The Chuck Wilkerson for Congress Campaign