Pierce Cancels Testimony, May Face House Subpoena

Former Cabinet officer Samuel R. Pierce Jr. Thursday canceled his scheduled testimony today before a House subcommittee investigating political favoritism at the Department of Housing and Urban Development during the eight years he headed the agency.

Rep. Tom Lantos (D-San Mateo), chairman of the subcommittee, termed the action “deceitful” and said that he would move immediately to subpoena Pierce if he fails to appear.

Pierce said in a statement that he needs more time to prepare for his second appearance before the House Government Operations subcommittee on employment and housing, even though the Sept. 15 date was set late in July when he asked for postponement of an Aug. 3 appearance.

“One would think that common courtesy and basic fairness demand that the subcommittee grant to any citizen . . . sufficient time to consult counsel and prepare testimony,” Pierce said.

During his first appearance, in May, the former housing secretary was not represented by a lawyer. Since then, however, numerous witnesses, including many former HUD officials, have testified about abuses in management of housing programs and six-figure fees paid to prominent Republican consultants during Pierce’s tenure.

Lantos has said that he wants to question Pierce about conflicts between his testimony and accounts given by other witnesses about Pierce’s role in awarding federal grants under a rent-subsidy program run from his office.

Pierce’s lawyer, Paul Perito, wrote to the chairman that the former HUD chief has not been given access to all the records he needs and the panel has not identified what parts of his previous testimony were judged to be inconsistent with accounts of others.

“This is of particular concern where, as here, there appears to be no separate legislative purpose for inquiring about ‘inconsistencies’ other than to invite potential charges of perjury,” Perito wrote.

Lantos said in a statment that he was informed at 5 p.m. Thursday that Pierce would not testify. If he does not appear, Lantos said, the subcommittee will start proceedings to issue a subpoena requiring his testimony.