AP News, April 26th, 2007
President Bush tapped magazine publisher James K. Glassman on Wednesday to head the agency that directs U.S. overseas broadcasts, replacing a chairman whose tenure has been stormy.
Glassman, a fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute think tank in Washington, will replace embattled chairman Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, who resigned in January as chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors.
Bush had renominated Tomlinson to continue as chairman on Nov. 14, after Republicans lost control of both chambers of Congress. The nomination stalled in the Democratic-controlled Senate on the basis of a report by the State Department's inspector general, which had been released in August 2006. It said Tomlinson had misused government money for two years as chairman.
The U.S. attorney's office in Washington concluded that a criminal investigation was not warranted, according to the State Department report. The report said a civil investigation related to charges that Tomlinson had hired a friend as a contractor was pending.
Tomlinson disputed the allegations but finally told Bush he would continue only until the president could find a successor.
The 1994 law that created the board dictates that Tomlinson will serve until his replacement is confirmed by the Senate.
Glassman is publisher of The American magazine and was a syndicated financial columnist for The Washington Post from 2001 until 2004, according to a biography on AEI's Web site.
The Broadcasting Board of Governors oversees Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, Radio and TV Marti, broadcasting initiatives in the Middle East and other nonmilitary U.S. broadcasting overseas.
If confirmed by the Senate, Glassman would serve the rest of Tomlinson's term, which expires Aug. 13, and a full three-year term ending in 2010.
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On the Net:
Broadcasting Board of Governors: http://www.bbg.gov
The American Enterprise Institute: http://www.aei.org
