Oh No, We Have To ... Another "I'm Shocked, Shocked To Find Gambling Going On Here!"

As Steve Benen, over at The Carpetbagger Report asks (rhetorically) "Where does the Bush gang find these guys? Hacks ‘R Us?"

Our "Shocked, Shocked" recipient today is none other than State Department Inspector General Howard L. (Cookie) Krongard, who came oh-so-close yesterday of jumping the shark, nearly denying he even had a brother.

Actually, it ended up playing out more like the old SNL bit - "It's a floor wax and a dessert topping" - with Krongard finally fessing up that "Yes he's my brother and he's on the Blackwater board".

Appearing before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee yesterday, who is looking into Krongard's possible criminal conduct regarding - and here's the "Shocked, Shocked" part - of burying/stonewalling/looking the other way (we're flexible, you call it what you want) investigations into Blackwater, for gun smuggling and, just how they got their golden egg contracts over in Iraq.

The sibling tango began when Krongard was hit with the info, surprise, surprise, that his brother - the former CIA official Alvin B. "Buzzy" Krongard - is currently a member of the Blackwater Worldwide advisory board.

After volleying (okay squirming) denials, Krongard finally broke down into the Chinatown scene, with the committee slapping him around and Krongard blubbering yes "he's Blackwater and my brother!"

The high drama continued to play out late in the day, when Brother Buzzy told TPMmuckraker, about Brother Cookie; "I told him I was going on this board. He claims I didn't tell him," Buzzy Krongard says. "So what can I tell you?"

And lest you think Cookie chills out after hours, check out Barry Crimmins and "It's Just Krong", which details "Think of it, the Inspector General, a man who is supposed to be beyond reproach, has been caught shaking down his own children!"

Sign these guys up for a reality show, they'll make the Osbournes look like The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.

Linkfest Below

Stay tuned on this one. This could play out, in the Bush Grindhouse Hall of Fame, of polishing Michael "Heck-of-a-job" Brown's apple - at least Brownie didn't have an Inspector General brother who's about as straight as a corkscrew.

Bonus Cookie and Buzzy Links

Crooks and Liars - Countdown: Blood Is Thicker Than Blackwater

Think Progress: ‘Buzzy’ Krongard contradicts brother’s testimony.

TPMmuckraker: Krongard Recuses Himself from Blackwater Investigations

FBI Concludes Blackwater Killings Unjustified

Other "I'm Shocked, Shocked To Find Gambling Going On Here" On The Garlic