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| Democrats claim double standard on leaks |
| 2006-04-24 |
| Key Democratic legislators yesterday joined Republicans in saying they do not condone the alleged leaking of classified information that led to last week's firing of a veteran CIA officer. But they questioned whether a double standard exists that lets the White House give reporters secretly declassified information for political purposes. "I don't know this woman, and I do not condone leaks of classified information," said Rep. Jane Harman (Calif.), ranking Democrat on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, referring to the firing of Mary McCarthy. Harman added that "while leaks are wrong, I think it is totally wrong for our president in secret to selectively declassify certain information and empower people in his White House to leak it to favored reporters so that they can discredit political enemies," she said on Fox News Sunday. Harman was referring to White House staff members disclosing the classified identity of CIA case officer Valerie Plame in 2003. Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) echoed Harman, saying, "A CIA agent has an obligation to uphold the law, and clearly leaking is against the law. And nobody should leak." But he added: "If you're leaking to tell the truth, Americans are going to look at that, at least mitigate or think about what are the consequences that you . . . put on that person." McCarthy, while working for CIA Inspector General John L. Helgerson, is alleged to have "knowingly and willfully shared classified intelligence, including operational information" to journalists including The Washington Post's Dana Priest. Last week, Priest was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for beat reporting that included the revelation of secret, CIA-run prisons for suspected terrorists in Eastern Europe and elsewhere. Kerry, on ABC's "This Week," said, "Classification in Washington is a tool that is used to hide the truth from the American people." He added, "I'm glad she told the truth," but if McCarthy did it, she will have to face the consequences of breaking the law. Then drawing a parallel to the Plame case, Kerry said that with McCarthy, "you have somebody being fired from the CIA for allegedly telling the truth, and you have no one fired from the White House for revealing a CIA agent in order to support a lie. That underscores what's really wrong in Washington, D.C." From 1996 to 2001, McCarthy worked as a senior intelligence aide on the National Security Council staff. She has been denounced by critics for leaking classified material; some suggested she had a political motive and noted that she gave $2,000 to Kerry's presidential primary campaign. Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-Mich.), chairman of the House intelligence panel, took issue with Harman on the question of a double standard. Appearing on the same Fox program, Hoekstra said the president has the legal authority to decide "what is classified and what is not," whereas "this person in the CIA thought that they were above the law." As a result, he added, McCarthy put the country at greater risk through her alleged disclosures. Asked about the administration's statements about Iran's fast-advancing nuclear program, Hoekstra and Harman gave support to Director of National Intelligence John D. Negroponte's prediction last week that it could be the next decade before Tehran has enough fissile material to make a nuclear weapon. "We really don't know," Hoekstra said, but "we're getting lots of mixed messages." Pressed about the apparent lack of clear intelligence on Iran, Hoekstra said: "Sometimes it's better to be honest and to say there's a whole lot we don't know about Iran that I wish we did know . . . as decisions are being made on Iran." Harman picked up the point, saying, "Our intelligence is thin. I don't think we have enough sources." Referring to recent statements from Tehran that it had begun enriching uranium, Harman said: "Just the fact that the Iranian government is making a lot of noise doesn't prove their capability." She compared Iran today to Iraq in 2002, when "the Iraqi government made a lot of noise, and they had nothing." She said when the Bush White House did not have a strong case that Saddam Hussein had unconventional weapons, "those who tried to speak truth to power were shut out." As for Iran, Harman said, "This is not a time to be saber rattling in our government, talking about the military option. We don't know enough." |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #16 The Dems have always believed that rules are for Republicans and laws are for the little people. |
| Posted by: RWV 2006-04-24 22:54 |
| #15 I'm sure there is, Xb! |
| Posted by: BA 2006-04-24 15:11 |
| #14 BA: something tells me there's a similar inter-service rivaly joke out there somewhere. |
| Posted by: xbalanke 2006-04-24 15:05 |
| #13 Appears I owe Cyber Sarge a pint, which I will gladly pay at the first opportunity. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2006-04-24 14:59 |
| #12 Then, the robot replies, "So, I hear you Democrats are gonna nominate Hillary for President, eh?" Rong... Itn, Gooooooooooooo Gateeeeeeerss! |
| Posted by: 6 2006-04-24 13:50 |
| #11 I am thinking of what would happen if I leaked classified info. My access would not be "suspended;" it would be gone. I would be fired, of course. I would then be put on trial for a felony. |
| Posted by: Jackal 2006-04-24 12:32 |
| #10 :)~ |
| Posted by: Glemble Spins6394 2006-04-24 11:59 |
| #9 Besoker: I always loved this one. One day, a barber shop got a new haircutter, who was a robot. The first customer walks in, sits down and the robot asks "What is your IQ?" The customer says "140." So, the robot computes, and begins talking to him about science, engineering, etc. A second customer comes in, and when asked, tells the robot his IQ is 100. The robot begins conversations on football, baseball, women, etc. A third customer comes in and the robot asks "What is your IQ?" The man says "40." Then, the robot replies, "So, I hear you Democrats are gonna nominate Hillary for President, eh?" |
| Posted by: BA 2006-04-24 11:19 |
| #8 Besoeker, I'll take theat bet because in another related story it says she was dimissed, stripped of her security clearence, and escorted from the building. Additionally, she may not be under arrest now but may soon be. Kerry et al keep missing the point that Bush IS NOT THE ENEMY, but liberals always feel they are smarter than most. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2006-04-24 11:16 |
| #7 What I was hearing yesterday from all the Bleeding Heart Liberals was, "She's already paid a high price, she was fired. Isn't that enough?" NO, it's not enough. She broke the law and now needs to pay the consequences. These smae people were calling for Carl Rove and Scooter Libby to spend decades in prison for "outing" a non-covert agent. Talk about double standards. |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2006-04-24 10:54 |
| #6 Like I said a day or two ago, I'll bet a nice pint of Guinness that her bloody access still hasn't been pulled. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2006-04-24 10:33 |
| #5 She's already getting the Sandy Berger kid-glove treatment, I observe. The "CIA is considering" yada yada. So tell me, why is this woman not already in cuffs and doung the perp walk on the nightly news? 10 years in Leavenworth, that's my vote. Not that it appears to matter what I think. |
| Posted by: mojo 2006-04-24 10:31 |
| #4 I wish SOMEONE would have the BALLS to try these ASSH*$ES with treason!!! This CRAP has got to STOP!!!!!Don't care,Repub or Dhimi.Try em' and HANG em' high!! |
| Posted by: ARMYGUY 2006-04-24 09:37 |
| #3 While visiting his niece, an elderly man had a heart attack. The woman drove wildly to get him to the emergency room. After what seemed like a very long wait, the E. R. doctor appeared, wearing his scrubs and a long face. Sadly, he said, "I'm afraid that your uncle's brain is dead but his heart is still beating." "Oh, dear, what are we going to do?" cried the woman, her hands clasped against her cheeks with shock, "We've never had a Democrat in the family before." |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2006-04-24 09:22 |
| #2 Of course there's a double standard - DemocRATS leak info in order to 'tell the truth', whereas everybody knows Republicans are naturally evil and greedy, so their guilt in these matters should be obvious! |
| Posted by: Raj 2006-04-24 08:01 |
| #1 But they questioned whether a double standard exists that lets the White House give reporters secretly declassified information for political purposes. Not a double standard -- just a law. Idiots. |
| Posted by: Rob Crawford 2006-04-24 07:18 |