Reid criticizes NRC member

Posted on Jul 31, 2012 in Top News | 0 comments

Sen. Harry Reid called William Magwood, member of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, a “liar” and “first-class rat” in an interview reported Monday.

Reid, D-Nev., also referred to Magwood, who headed U.S. Energy Department from 1998 to 2005 and won confirmation to his NRC post in 2010, as a “tool of the nuclear industry,” “unethical” and “incompetent” in an interview with the Huffington Post, the Washington newspaper The Hill said Monday.

The comments were made in reference to a private meeting in which Magwood allegedly indicated he would support Reid”s efforts to close down the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump in Nevada. Yucca Mountain has been a contentious issue at the commission for the past year, the newspaper noted.

Referring to Magwood, Reid said, “He”s a first-class rat. He lied to Rouse, he lied to me. He”s a tool of the nuclear industry, a tool,” a reference to White House aide Pete Rouse. “I will never, ever forget what a treacherous, miserable liar he is.”

Copyright 2012 by United Press International