On Wednesday February 7, Blackwater USA found itself in the Congressional hotseat as Rep. Henry Waxman launched the opening salvo in what could be a very long Congressional road for the Bush administration's mercenary company of choice. For the first time, Blackwater was forced to face the families of four of its contractors ambushed and killed in Fallujah on March 31, 2004. The families of the four men have filed a ground-breaking wrongful death suit against Blackwater, alleging the company cut corners in the pursuit of greater profits, sending their loved ones into Fallujah under-staffed, under-armed and in Pajero jeeps instead of fully-armored vehicles. Blackwater founder and CEO Erik Prince had been invited to testify but instead sent an emissary, Blackwater legal counsel Andrew Howell. On February 8, the day after the hearing, Jeremy Scahill--who was in Washington for the hearings-- appeared on the national radio and television program Democracy Now! to discuss developments in the case. Also on the show was Katy Helvenston, who is suing Blackwater. Her son, 32-year old Scott Helvenston, was one of the contractors killed in Fallujah. READ THE TRANSCRIPT, WATCH THE PROGRAM.
