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August 21, 2009

Ridge: Bush Admin Tried to Raise Alert Level Before ’04 Vote
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Former Homeland Security secretary Tom Ridge is claiming top Bush
administration officials pressured him to raise the national “terror
alert” level to sway the November 2004 elections. In a forthcoming book,
Ridge writes that he rebuffed pleas from cabinet members, including
then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Attorney General John
Ashcroft, to raise the color-coded threat level just days before the
vote. The alleged request came as President George W. Bush was in a
tight race with Democratic nominee John Kerry. Ridge also says he
rejected earlier administration requests to publicly suggest the
invasion and occupation of Iraq had helped protect the United States.



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