White House may provide tanker lease documents to Senate panel

White House officials indicated Thursday they might deliver to the Senate Armed Services Committee some documents related to the Air Force's $23.5 billion deal to acquire Boeing KC-767 tanker aircraft, according to government sources.

The apparent willingness to hand over the documents, including internal e-mails among senior Defense Department and Air Force officials, came after a closed-door meeting Thursday between Senate leaders and White House staff. It also comes one year after Senate lawmakers first sought administration records on the aircraft procurement deal.

Senate lawmakers, including Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner, R-Va., and Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., expect the documents to shed new light on the administration's role in negotiating the Air Force-Boeing proposal to lease 100 KC-767 aircraft. McCain in particular has criticized the deal as a waste of federal funds.

Since July 2, 2003, McCain's call to release the records has gone unheeded by administration officials. McCain sought records from a number of administration sources, including top White House and Office of Management and Budget officials.

Senior Defense Department leaders likewise rebuffed a subsequent request last September for internal records associated with the role played by Air Force Secretary James Roche and Michael Wynne, the Pentagon's acting acquisition chief.

In May, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld indicated in a letter to Warner that he would limit access to e-mails and other documents related to the Boeing tanker proposal to preserve the sanctity of deliberations among members of the executive branch.

Later that month, Rumsfeld deferred a decision on the Boeing tanker procurement until November, when studies of Air Force mobility capabilities and proposed tanker alternatives are expected to be completed.

Sources said Thursday the Pentagon was not represented during the meeting, indicating the White House had stepped in to resolve the issue. White House officials could not be reached for comment.