General: White House Pressed Me to Alter Testimony

Air Force Gen. William Shelton dropped an uncomfortable bombshell in his Congressional testimony yesterday, accusing the Obama administration of asking him to soften his remarks about a company that happens to be owned by a Democratic donor’s investment fund. The company, LightSquared, is trying to build a nationwide wireless broadband network that the military fears would disrupt its GPS systems. The White House suggested Shelton express support for consumer broadband, and add that the Pentagon would test solutions to the issue within 90 days.

Shelton told the House Armed Services subcommittee that he was “being asked to say things he didn’t agree with,” a committee staffer tells Fox News. The White House confirmed for the Daily Beast that it had suggested changes to Shelton’s prepared remarks, but said that was normal policy when officials testified, and that the General was ultimately free to say what he wanted. LightSquared, meanwhile, quipped that its alleged Washington connections hadn’t even gotten them a representative at the hearing. (More William Shelton stories.)