I do recall when this memo circulated around, and I believe Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) was one of the authors of the memo.
NewsMax.com: Intel Chair Roberts: Dem Memo May Have Compromised Terror War - November 5, 2003
The memo suggests that Democrats should "prepare to launch an investigation when it becomes clear we have exhausted the opportunity to usefully collaborate with the majority. We can pull the trigger on an independent investigation of the administration's use of intelligence at any time -- but we can only do so once ... the best time would probably be next year."
Mens News Daily/Talon News: Democrat Intel Memo Scandal Rocks Senate - November 6, 2003
Sen. Zell Miller (D-GA) said Wednesday that "heads should roll" over the memo written by the Democrat staff of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence that outlines a strategy to politicize intelligence data.Miller lamented that the process in Washington is "so politicized and polarized that it can't even be put aside when we're at war." Miller believes this memo to be a clear indication of how partisanship is affecting a committee that has always been considered to be above politics.
Sen. Miller blasted those responsible for the memo, saying, "If what has happened here is not treason, it is its first cousin. The ones responsible - be they staff or elected or both should be dealt with quickly and severely sending a lesson to all that this kind of action will not be tolerated, ignored or excused."
Criticism grew throughout the day Wednesday, as Sen. John Kyl (R-AZ) took to the Senate floor to say, "It is a disgusting possibility that members of the Senate would try to politicize intelligence, especially at a time of war... It is reprehensible."
Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO) added his comments, saying, "It's clear from this memo that it suggests, at least at the staff level, a Democratic game plan to make the intelligence committee a focal point for the 2004 presidential debate."
Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (R-IL) said in a press release, "It used to be that when our nation was engaged in a war, politics stopped at the water's edge. But it seems that Democratic leaders now want to play politics with our intelligence agencies, as those agencies help fight the war on terror."
Hastert called on Democrats to disavow the memo, saying, "I would hope that Democrats would condemn this strategy memo. They should resist the urge to play politics with our nation's intelligence agencies. We are in a war against terrorism and terrorists, and our nation must be united as we fight to protect our freedoms."
Former Speaker Newt Gingrich called for Rockefeller to resign from the committee and maybe the Senate altogether once the matter is fully investigated. The Republican National Committee has yet to comment on the developing scandal.
Ranking committee member Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) owned-up to having the memo prepared by staff and said he was troubled by how it was obtained by the press. He repeated the frustration he says the memo was intended to express. But he chose not to defend a part of the memo that reads, "We have an important role to play in revealing the misleading -- if not flagrantly dishonest methods and motives -- of the senior administration officials who made the case for a unilateral, preemptive war... The approach outline above seems to offer the best prospect for exposing the administration's dubious motives."
White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan told Talon News that he hadn't seen the Rockefeller memo and declined to say if the administration would halt the transfer of documents to the Senate Intelligence committee now that the Democrats' political motives have been revealed.
"We have been, and will continue to work cooperatively with the Senate Intelligence Committee. That is our position. We want to assist them and we want them to -- we want to be helpful in their efforts to review the intelligence relating to Iraq. That's exactly what we plan to continue doing," McClellan said.
"Again, I just have not seen that specific memo. I've seen the news reports, but we would hope that people are not trying to politicize an issue of such importance," McClellan added.
Democrats lined up behind Rockefeller to seek an answer as to how the memo became public, while Republicans alluded to an ethics investigation into the content of the memo.