Legal Watch Dog Group CREW Alleges Cheney Leaked Classified Information, Breaking Federal Law

BUSINESS WIRE ^ | 1/28/04

[Tumbleweed_Connection]

Jan. 28, 2004--Earlier today, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a non-profit legal watchdog group, sent a letter to President Bush asking that he call upon the White House Counsel to investigate Vice President Cheney's confirmation of leaked classified information in an interview with the Rocky Mountain News on January 9, 2004.

Federal law prohibits leaking classified information. Confirming information that has already been leaked is also prohibited. In his Jan. 9th interview, Mr. Cheney referred his interviewer to a story that appeared in The Weekly Standard's November 24, 2003 issue. The story, written by Stephen F. Hayes, discussed a 16 page memo written by Defense Department Under Secretary for Policy regarding raw data and reports describing possible links between Al Queda and Iraq.

Mr. Cheney, responding to a question regarding the relationship between Iraq and Al Queda, called the Standard's story "the best information out there." Mr. Cheney provided this information despite the Pentagon's November 15, 2003 press release stating that news reports that characterized the contents of the memo were "inaccurate" and excoriated the leak as "deplorable and may be illegal." The Pentagon also stated that leaking such information does "serious harm to national security."

"Mr. Cheney's reference to classified information and the ensuing silence from the White House shows a distinct pattern: leaking classified information that the administration deems beneficial is Standard Operating Procedure," Melanie Sloan, Executive Director of CREW said today.

"The deliberate delay in investigating the outing of Valerie Plame and the immediate investigation into an alleged leak by former Secretary of the Treasury Paul O'Neill the morning after Mr. O'Neill's interview with 60 Minutes shows the contrast between investigations into leaks that help with President Bush's agenda and those that damage the administration's efforts."

"Perhaps even more disturbing, Mr. Cheney is continuing to rely on a discredited memo to buttress the administration's claim of a connection between Iraq and Al Queda as justification for the war in Iraq, completely contradicting both President Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell who have admitted that there is no evidence linking Iraq to the September 11th attack."

"The administration cannot play politics with classified information. First, it endangers national security and second, it encourages others to leak such information," Sloan said today. "How can the American people trust this administration if they cannot handle classified information in a responsible and lawful manner? The American people deserve better."

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is a non-partisan legal watchdog group. CREW brings legal cases exposing government officials who betray the public interest by serving special interests. CREW's cases target not only such officials, but also the special interests supporting them.

[hchutch]

Non-partisan? Yeah, sure...

[lilylangtree]

This organization's motives are suspect.

[HardStarboard]

The sharp knives are out - and I hope Bush/Cheney/Rove have a really good diamond hone and are begining to get our knives in shape!

I'm getting a bit worried at the relative silence out of the administration on all the WMD, security leak, and bad Iraq policy charges by the left.

[section9]

Someone tell this woman that she'd better put some ice on that...

Be Seeing You,

Chris

[hchutch]

LOL!

[ravingnutter]

According to their website, they are currently investigating John Ashcroft, Tom DeLay, Rep. Nick Smith (R-MI), Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL), Billy Tauzin (R-LA) and Jeb Bush and are defending Friends of Earth in a lawsuit against the Interior Dept. Couldn't get their links page to come up, think they have something to hide?

[hchutch]

I'd be willing to make a conservative bet on it. Not as much as Bill Bennett would, but I'm pretty sure I'd come out ahead on the bet that CREW has something to hide.

Never heard of them before today...

[Poohbah]

I'm getting a bit worried at the relative silence out of the administration on all the WMD, security leak, and bad Iraq policy charges by the left.

"Rope-a-dope. It's how Ali beat Foreman. Everyone thought Ali's arms had given out..."

[jimbo123]

http://www.citizensforethics.org/news/20030719_natljrnl.php


CREW has been active only since February, so its profile is still relatively low. Yet Republicans detect a strong Democratic orientation. Sloan, most recently an assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, is a former aide to Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del.; then-Rep. (now Sen.) Charles Schumer, D- N.Y.; and Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich. In addition, CREW's three board members are Mark Penn, President Clinton's former pollster; Daniel Berger, a trial lawyer from Philadelphia and a Clinton fundraiser; and Louis Mayberg, the president of a mutual fund company.

[jimbo123]

Melanie Sloan, Executive Director

Melanie Sloan serves as CREW's Executive Director. Prior to accepting this position, Ms. Sloan served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Columbia, where, from 1998- early 2003, she successfully tried cases before dozens of judges and juries. Before becoming a prosecutor, Ms. Sloan was Minority Counsel for the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee from 1995 to 1998. She worked directly with the Honorable John Conyers, the ranking member of the Committee, specializing in criminal enforcement issues, including the Independent Counsel law. Her responsibilities included drafting legislation and committee reports (minority views), writing speeches, and working with interest groups. She also assisted a working group of Members of Congress in developing and drafting a Democratic alternative to the Republican juvenile justice bill.

In 1994, Ms. Sloan was Counsel for the Crime Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee, working for then Representative Charles Schumer. There, she drafted portions of the 1994 Crime Bill, including the Violence Against Women Act, and worked on issues including the death penalty, mandatory minimum sentencing, and habeas corpus. In 1993, Ms. Sloan served as Nominations Counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee, under then Chairman, Senator Joe Biden, where she researched the backgrounds of nominees to high level Department of Justice positions and to the federal courts. Prior to serving Congress, she was an associate at Howrey and Simon in Washington, D.C. and at Sonnenschein, Nath and Rosenthal in Los Angeles, California. She received her undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Chicago and has published in the Yale Law and Policy Review, the Legal Times, and the Washington Post.

[11B3]

Just as was expected - forehead deep in Clintonistas.

[Sarastro]

Help me out here.

Is it possible for the President to leak classified information? He (or his subordinates) decides what's classified. For him to reveal classified information is tantamount to declassifying it. If the Vice President does it, it's a leak only if the President doesn't approve; otherwise, it's an authorized declassification.

[Dog]

Because Cheney talked about a article linking Al Qaeda and Iraq ....they want to prosecute him?

[<1/1,000,000th%]

From their website,

CREW aims to counterbalance the conservative legal watchdog groups that made such a strong impact over the past decade. These groups focused their attention on their left-wing adversaries, leaving the right relatively free from scrutiny. CREW focuses equal attention on misconduct by all, including the right.

But they only accuse Republicans.

[OldEagle]

Cheney refers to the information in a news article as "the best information out there". That declaration does not in any way validate the information. It could be correct or it could be incorrect.

[Sarastro]

By that logic, Clinton could legally give classified weapons technology to the Red Chinese because -- by giving it -- he declassified it. You buy that?

Yep. He declassified it. Should he have? Nope. That particular information ought to have remained classified. But I guess the Chinese earned access to it through their campaign contributions. Also, I guess it was legal, because he was never prosecuted for it.