Back in this country, Congressmember John Conyers convened the first public hearing on the so-called Downing Street Memo and other recently released British documents that he says show the Bush administration’s “efforts to cook the books on pre-war intelligence.” The jam-packed hearing was held in a small basement meeting room in the Capitol because Republicans refused to allow the Democrats to hold an official hearing. After the meeting, Conyers delivered a petition to the White House, signed by more than a half a million Americans calling on President Bush to answer questions on the documents. More than 120 Congressmembers also signed the letter. Later in the program, we are going to play excerpts from that hearing and we’ll be joined by Reginald Keyes, the British man who ran against Tony Blair in the recent elections in the UK. His son was killed in Iraq. Among those who testified yesterday was former US ambassador to Iraq, Joe Wilson, longtime CIA analyst Ray McGovern and Cindy Sheehan, whose son was killed last year in Iraq. This is constitutional lawyer John Bonifaz.

• John Bonifaz, speaking June 16, 2005.

Attorney John Bonifaz, speaking yesterday at the public hearing on the so-called Downing Street Memo. We’ll have much more on this later in the program.