Posted on 11/08/2005 5:52:19 PM PST by aculeus
WASHINGTON (AP) - The CIA took the first step toward a criminal investigation of a leak of possibly classified information on secret prisons to The Washington Post, a U.S. official said Tuesday.
The agency's general counsel sent a report to the Justice Department about the Post story, which reported the existence of secret U.S. detention centers for suspected terrorists in Eastern Europe.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the issue deals with classified information, said the referral was made shortly after the Nov. 2 story. The leak investigation into the disclosure of covert CIA officer Valerie Plame's identity came about through the same referral procedure. The Justice Department will decide whether to initiate a criminal investigation.
Post spokesman Eric Grant said the newspaper had no comment.
On Capitol Hill, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and House Speaker Dennis Hastert called for a congressional investigation into the disclosure of the existence of the secret prisons.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice sidestepped questions on secret prisons, saying the United States was in a "different kind of war" and had an obligation to defend itself.
If the Post story is accurate, "such an egregious disclosure could have long-term and far-reaching damaging and dangerous consequences, and will imperil our efforts to protect the American people and our homeland from terrorist attacks," wrote Frist, R-Tenn., and Hastert, R-Ill., asking for a joint leak probe by the Senate and House intelligence committees.
The newspaper's story of a week ago said the CIA has been hiding and interrogating some of its most important al-Qaida captives at a Soviet-era compound in Eastern Europe, part of a covert prison system set up by the agency four years ago that at various times has included sites in eight countries. Those countries, said the story, include several democracies.
"If the leadership determines that we should investigate the leak, it would be much like the 9/11" commission, said Senate Intelligence Committee chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., who did not dispute a reporter's suggestion that a probe would raise First Amendment press-freedom issues.
Such an investigation would become "very difficult when you're getting into matters like this," said the senator.
Roberts also said he would support hearings into the importance of maintaining a covert agent's cover, a topic triggered by the leak of Plame's identity, eight days after her husband accused the Bush administration of manipulating prewar intelligence to exaggerate the Iraq threat.
Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada said the House and Senate committees with normal jurisdiction should conduct any hearings, not a bicameral committee as suggested in the letter of the two Republican leaders.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said any such joint investigation should also investigate possible manipulation of prewar intelligence on Iraq.
"If Speaker Hastert and Majority Leader Frist are finally ready to join Democrats' demands for an investigation of possible abuses of classified information, they must direct the House and Senate Intelligence Committees to investigate all aspects of that issue," said Pelosi.
The letter asked, concerning the leak of information about prisons, "What is the actual and potential damage done to the national security of the United States and our partners in the global war on terror?"
"We will consider other changes to this mandate based on your recommendations," Frist and Hastert wrote.
The letter said the leaking of classified information by employees of the U.S. government appeared to have increased in recent years, "establishing a dangerous trend that, if not addressed swiftly and firmly, likely will worsen."
"We are hopeful that you will be able to accomplish this task in a bipartisan manner given general agreement that intelligence matters should not be politicized," it added.
Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, said Republicans "should be focused on the illegality of these prisons, not the revelation of the illegality."
The allegations about secret prisons prompted denials from governments in the former Soviet bloc. Such prisons, European officials say, would violate the continent's human rights principles.
While not confirming the existence of secret prisons, Rice told reporters, "We, our allies, others who have experienced attacks, have to find a way to protect our people."
The administration has protected itself "within the constraint of the Constitution and cognizant of our values," said Rice. "The United States holds to these values today as strongly as we ever have."
---
Associated Press writer Pete Yost contributed to this report.
TBO.com is Tampa Bay Online 2005 Media General, Inc. All rights reserved Member agreement and privacy statement
bttt
Pentagon Papers whistle-blower urges insiders to leak Iraq info
First Amendment Center ^ | Sept. 11, 2004 | AP
WASHINGTON — Daniel Ellsberg, the former Defense Department official who leaked the Pentagon Papers during the Vietnam War, is urging government insiders to provide similar classified documents about the invasion of Iraq. Joined by other whistle-blowers [* leakers] and former government employees, Ellsberg said at a Sept. 9 news conference that claims of government deception and lies have “little credibility” unless supported by documentary evidence, which often is available only in classified materials.
The document that came to be called the Pentagon Papers was a 7,000-page study of U.S. decision-making in Vietnam that was classified “top secret.” Ellsberg leaked the study to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and later 19 different newspapers. The New York Times began publishing them in 1971. The publication added fuel to an already politically charged debate over U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia and set legal precedents for freedom of the press.
In a memo to current government employees, Ellsberg and other former government officials said federal insiders owe a “higher allegiance” to the Constitution, the public and American soldiers in Iraq than to their government bosses. “A hundred forty-thousand Americans are risking their lives every day in Iraq for dubious purpose,” the memo said. “Our country has urgent need of comparable moral courage from its public officials. Truth-telling is a patriotic and effective way to serve the nation. The time for speaking out is now.”
The memo acknowledged that whistle-blowers risk personal setbacks, such as losing their jobs, but urged them to act nonetheless. “You may save many Americans from being lied to death,” it said.
Sibel Edmonds, who was fired by the FBI after she alleged security lapses in the agency’s translator program, said the government frequently over-classifies documents, including the investigation into her own case.
Among the documents claimed to be wrongly classified are sections of reports from Army investigations into prisoner abuse in Iraq and Afghanistan, and supporting material for then-Army Gen. Eric Shinseki’s February 2003 estimate that several hundred thousand troops would have to stay in Iraq after the war.
Ellsberg was a special assistant to the assistant secretary of defense during the Vietnam War. He released the 7,000 page classified study to the Senate and 19 newspapers in 1971 and now leads the Truth Telling Project.
********
Remember, Kerry staffer and former Ambassador to Gabon Joe Wilson received some kind of bogus award for "truth-telling" for lying his arse off about his trip's finding in Niger.
*********
So, who all was in on that Elesburg press conference and scheme I mentioned earlier? See :
...A group of former government officials urged federal employees Thursday to come forward with information exposing government wrongdoing - - especially with regard to Iraq - - and announced a new legal support network to protect whistleblowers. The group issued a public memo asking current government officials to disclose classified information concerning plans and cost estimates for the war in Iraq, as well as other documents that reveal government deceit or misconduct.
"Some of you have documentation of wrongly concealed facts and analyses that, if brought to light, would impact heavily on public debate regarding crucial matters of national security, both foreign and domestic," the memo states. "We urge you to provide [leak] that information now, both to Congress and, through the media, to the public." ...
The group is made up of 10 former employees of the Defense, Labor and State departments, the FBI and the CIA. It includes Daniel Ellsberg, a former Marine who leaked the Pentagon Papers about the Vietnam War to the media in 1971; Sibel Edmonds, who reported security breaches and cover-ups of intelligence within the FBI while working as a contract linguist; Ray McGovern [VIPS member also involved in the Joe Wilson/Niger/Plame leak], a 27-year CIA analyst who founded an organization opposed to the invasion of Iraq; and Mary Ann Wright, a career foreign service officer who resigned the day the Iraq war began....
Ellsberg said a new support network for whistleblowers is being established. The network includes pro bono legal counsel from the American Civil Liberties Union and advice from the Project on Government Oversight. The network also includes Ellsberg's Truth Telling Project and McGovern's group, Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity. ----- "Whistleblowers [leakers] urge workers to disclose classified information," By Chris Strohm, cstrohm@govexec.com, govexec.com, daily briefing, september 9, 2004
Imagine that- the folks demanding that people be nailed in the Plame leak are the same folks who ask other people to break the law and leak.
I would also put odds on my POS rino senator -- Hagel.
One of his donors is Elias Aburdene, who has other connections:
...but also the Rock Creek Corporation* , an investment company controlled by Al Amoudi and chaired since 1997 by a Lebanese businessman very connected into the power circles of Washington, Elias Aburdene. Former adviser of the Franklin Bank National in Washington DC, Aburdene at the start of his accession to the head (position) of Rock Creek Corporation hired the ex - adviser to Bill Clinton for African affairs, Joseph Wilson IV. The latter had already met Mohamed Al Amoudi in 1997 at the time of a reception organized for the World Bank by Westar Group (LAW n.794). --- via Shermy
Of Course the ACLU would be involved. It's interesting that organizations would encourage people to knowingly break the law. From my understanding of the constitution t his doesn't protect some one under Freedom of Speech? Question: Is it legal for a reporter to write an article using classified information? If not, perhaps a law should be written to stop this crap!
The Aburdene clan even set up a PAC for Hagel.
Thanks for reference to Unholy Alliance Ernest. Perhaps I shall see if I can get it out of the library system.
Maybe it was Senator DoLittle. Who is Senator DoLittle? Guess.
I'm with you on that Doctor.
Just when you think it can't get any more outrageous.....We are perhaps in a global war for our very existence and our worst enemy is our own press, the left, and possibly mccain. I really hate to use up my energy hating someone but I really despise the above. Yes, mandatory sentences in one of these "secret prisons" with no parole.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.