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Reid: Nuclear official is a ‘first-class rat’ and a ‘treacherous, miserable liar’
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/240995-reid-dem-nuke-agency-member-is-a-first-class-rat-and-liar By Ben Geman     – 07/30/12   Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has launched a blistering verbal assault against William Magwood, a Democratic member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission nominated by President Obama, calling
him a “liar,” a “first-class rat,” and a “s**t-stirrer.”

Reid, in an interview with The Huffington Post, also calls Magwood a “tool of the nuclear industry” and says he’s “unethical” and “incompetent.”

Reid’s comments underscore the raw political emotions that have
engulfed the NRC over the past year and have long surrounded battles
over Yucca Mountain, the proposed nuclear waste dump in Nevada that
Reid strongly opposes.
In the interview, Reid alleged that Magwood lied by indicating in a
private meeting with the majority leader he would back efforts to shut
down the Yucca project. “That man I will never, ever forget what a
treacherous, miserable liar he is,” Reid said. He also took aim at
Magwood’s accusations against former NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko.

Jaczko is a former Reid aide who recently departed the NRC, a move
that followed accusations of a bullying management style and other
complaints by Magwood and other NRC members.
Allison Macfarlane, whom the Senate recently confirmed as Jaczko’s
replacement atop the NRC, has pledged to bring “collegiality” to the
agency, which has been hampered by infighting.

Reid, according to The Huffington Post, took aim at Magwood’s
behind-the-scenes maneuvering at the NRC.

“He’s a first-class rat. He lied to Rouse, he lied to me, and he had a
plan. He is a tool of the nuclear industry. A tool,” Reid said in the
story, referring to Pete Rouse, a top White House aide.

“Magwood was a s**t-stirrer. He did everything he could do to
embarrass Greg Jaczko,” Reid said.

Magwood’s office did not provide immediate comment on Reid’s remarks
Monday morning, and a spokesman for the NRC’s Office of Public Affairs
declined comment.

Magwood won Senate confirmation in March of 2010. He previously headed
Energy Department nuclear programs from 1998 to 2005.

Asked if Reid stands behind his comments, Reid spokesman Adam
Jentleson replied in an email, “absolutely.”

“Why wouldn’t he?” Jentleson said.

July 31, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | general