Duo Found Guilty Over Leaked Iraq Memo

Sky News ^ | May 9 2007 | Sky News

[DesScorp]

A civil servant and an MP's researcher have been found guilty of breaching the Official Secrets Act. They leaked an "extremely sensitive" memo about talks on Iraq between Tony Blair and President Bush.

Cabinet Office communications officer David Keogh passed the four-page document to Leo O'Connor, a researcher for anti-war Labour MP Anthony Clarke.

Keogh was found guilty on two charges and O'Connor on one.

The jury heard Keogh, 50, believed the memo exposed President Bush as a "madman".

He hoped it could be used to raise questions in the House of Commons.

He also wanted it to be passed on to US presidential candidate John Kerry.

O'Connor placed the memo in Mr Clarke's constituency papers and the MP handed it in to Downing Street.

An investigation was launched, leading to an Old Bailey trial.

The researcher told the jury he left the memo for his boss so that he would return it to the appropriate authorities.

Keogh, O'Connor and Mr Clarke had all been members of a now-defunct political dining club in Northampton, where they all lived.

The document's contents were considered so explosive that much of the trial was held behind closed doors.

[DesScorp]

Good for the Brits. We need to do the same to the political malcontents that are leaking classified stuff to derail the administration.

[Badeye]

Yep.

I’m still waiting for the investigation into who leaked there was an investigation into who leaked that bimbo Val Plame’s name.

I won’t hold my breath, however.

[SittinYonder]

We need to do the same to the political malcontents that are leaking classified stuff to derail the administration

The UK's Official Secrets Act is serious business and, to the best of my knowledge, we don't have anything nearly as tough or that goes as far in the US to deal with leaked information like this.

Besides, with Bush's "new tone" the DOJ isn't going to go after Democrats who violate the law.

[picard]

Around the globe and especially in America the Left is exposing themselves as an official security risk.

They are so agenda driven and one could say ‘frantic’ about their beliefs that they have become a perpetual leak source. Whenever they come across initiatives or information that they disagree with or something that can be used politically against their opponents they head straight for the sympathetic press regardless of the disastrous results that may ensue.

With the Left, their ends always justify the means.

I really do believe that Democrats/Socialists/Leftists/Progressives et al should be barred from access to classified information. Because they are lunatics and either do not understand or have a misguided view of what they do.

[the Real fifi]

I’m curious to know if these guys who were working for Kerry as was Joe Wilson had any known contact because in mid-June of 2003 when he first revealed his fake story at the EPIC meeting in DC, Wilson was saying that this was also going to bring down Blair.

[eureka!]

As I recall, the perp said he leaked the memo specifically with the hopes that it would benefit Kerry...

[Enchante]

"The jury heard Keogh, 50, believed the memo exposed President Bush as a "madman"."

Which suggests that Keogh is really the madman.... talk about a severe case of BDS!

Good for the Brits to take this seriously - hope these clowns get a real term in jail. We need an Official Secrets Act in the USA, too -- the liberals act as though it's their fundamental right to leak whatever they want, whenever they want to....

[the Real fifi]

Yes he did. And Clare Short who resigned from Blair’s cabinet over Iraq appeared in the Kerry campaign film with Joe Wilson, a fiml whose production and distribution was sponsored by George Soros.

[James W. Fannin]

I remember when "conservatives" cried that the DSM was falsified disinformation (something you can find right here using a FR keyword search "downingstreetmemo"). If folks are facing jail for leaking the truth, perhaps our politicians should have been more careful with the facts themselves?

[B4Ranch]

Our method is to appoint a lawyer to investigate the subject for 5 years, interview 4000 witnesses with a staff of 50 investigators to determine that there is insufficent evidence for a trial.

Or spank their hand, give them a hug, a raise, a new position and tell everyone it was a mistake.

I’m still waiting to hear what is going to happen to Jefferson and his icy $90,000.