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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- U.S. Rep. Jim Matheson on Saturday condemned the abuse of Iraqi prisoners and called for a congressional investigation into the matter.
Characterizing the abuse and torture of the prisoners as "outrageous behavior," Matheson said that the House of Representatives on Thursday tried unsuccessfully to get the body to endorse a bipartisan commission
"We have to hold people accountable. This was kept from Congress for a number of months. That bothered me," he said.
Matheson, Utah's lone Democrat in Congress, attended the Utah Democratic Party Convention on Saturday and wouldn't comment on Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's testimony the day before in Washington.
Matheson said he wasn't able to watch Rumsfeld's testimony and hasn't had time to read the transcript.
"It's not just him at the top. We need to get this out in the open. Was there any direction for this to happen?" he said. "This really blemishes the good name of everyone else serving in the military."
(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
