Official's brother quits Blackwater
WASHINGTON (AP)-- The brother of embattled State Department Inspector General Howard Krongard quit as an adviser to Blackwater Worldwide on Friday, two days after the relationship with the security contractor was sharply criticized by a congressional oversight committee.
Erik Prince, Blackwater's top executive, said the conflict-of-interest questions raised by the connection prompted Alvin "Buzzy" Krongard to submit his resignation.
"I have reluctantly accepted it," Prince said in a statement.
It's unclear whether the move will salvage Howard Krongard's damaged credibility and career, however. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee plans to meet in December to determine if Howard Krongard testified truthfully about his brother.
Alvin Krongard never received any payment for his work on Blackwater's advisory board, which only met once, Prince said.
Prince said there are no allegations of impropriety against Alvin Krongard for his membership on Blackwater's board, a group recently created to help the North Carolina-based security company plan future business activities.
Blackwater is a major State Department contractor and the subject of ongoing federal investigations. One of those is examining whether Blackwater guards violated use-of-force rules during a Sept. 16 shooting in Baghdad that left 17 Iraqis dead.
Prince said there is no evidence that Howard Krongard's ability to perform his oversight duties was compromised by Alvin Krongard's relationship with Blackwater.
"The publicized allegation of an 'apparent conflict of interest' against his brother Howard, with whom Buzzy has not been close for years, is just that, an allegation," Prince's statement said.
Alvin Krongard's departure from Blackwater's board comes two days after the connection was made public during a hearing by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. In sworn testimony Wednesday, Howard Krongard was asked by Democratic members of the committee about his brother's ties to Blackwater, and he angrily said there weren't any.
But when confronted by committee members with evidence Alvin Krongard had joined the board, Howard Krongard called his brother during a hearing break and was told he attended a Blackwater advisory board meeting in Williamsburg, Va., on Monday and Tuesday. Before that conversation, Howard Krongard said he was not aware of the link.
Howard Krongard then told the committee he was recusing himself from any inquires related to Blackwater.
On Thursday, however, Alvin Krongard challenged Howard Krongard's version of events. According to the oversight committee's chairman, Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., Alvin Krongard called the committee and said he had told his brother well before Wednesday's hearing about his decision to become a strategic adviser to Blackwater.
In a move that further escalated the differences, Howard Krongard's attorney on Friday sent Waxman a copy of notes she said Howard Krongard took during an Oct. 31 conversation with his brother. The call was initiated by Howard Krongard and lasted 10 minutes, said attorney Barbara Van Gelder.
"No financial interest whatsoever," the notes read, referring to Alvin Krongard's explanation of his status with Blackwater. "Was on short list for advisory board but not taking it."
In a side note to himself on the same page, Howard Krongard wrote, "Why would anybody go on the board now?"
Asked to reconcile the conflicting versions, Van Gelder called the situation "he said, he said."
"These discrepancies between the testimony of Howard Krongard and the information from Buzzy Krongard raise questions about the truthfulness of Howard Krongard's testimony," Waxman said in a memo delivered Friday to committee members.
The union that represents U.S. diplomats on Friday repeated its call for Krongard to step down.
"We still believe he should step aside temporarily until this issue has been fully resolved by the appropriate bodies," said John Naland, president of the American Foreign Service Association.
Waxman said he plans to invite the Krongard brothers to testify at the December hearing.
If both appear, it's likely to be a chilly reunion. They speak rarely.
Alvin Krongard contacted the committee after receiving a letter from Waxman seeking information about his connections to Blackwater and any communication he may have had with Howard Krongard about the company.
Alvin Krongard said he was watching his brother testify on television and heard him say there was no Blackwater connection.
"You could have blown me over," Alvin Krongard told the committee, according to Waxman's memo.
Alvin Krongard recounted for the committee the conversation he had with his brother prior to the hearing.
"'He asked me whether I had any financial interest or any ties to Blackwater, and so I told him 'I'm going on their board,' " Alvin Krongard told the committee, according to Waxman's memo. "He responded by saying, 'Why would you do that?' and 'Are you sure that's a good idea?' "
It was his decision to make, Alvin Krongard told his brother, and "we just differed on that," according to Waxman's memo.
Van Gelder, Howard Krongard's attorney, asked Waxman not to hold the December hearing.
"There is no legitimate legislative purpose to be gained by publicly pitting two brothers against each other," she said in a letter to Waxman.
The role of the advisory board is to offer "leadership advice" on the paths Blackwater should take to expand its business, according to the company. Prince invited Alvin Krongard to join the board in July.
Expenses for attending board meetings would be covered and board members would receive a $3,500 honorarium for each meeting attended. The money could be paid to them or to a charity of their choice.
In addition to recusing himself from matters related to Blackwater, Howard Krongard also said he is no longer involved in corruption investigations related to the flawed construction of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, a $600 million project that is beset by logistical delays and security concerns.
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Associated Press writer Matthew Lee contributed to this report.