New information in "Memogate"

In the middle of the contentious fight over judicial nominations, we accused Republicans of surrendering to Democrats over what has been termed "Memogate" by some journalists.

We said it was wrong for GOP senators to fire and scapegoat one of their most effective staffers, Manuel Miranda. It appears we were right. New information has surfaced showing that not only did Republicans act hastily, but the real blame does lie with the Democrats.

From: MANUEL MIRANDA
For Immediate Release

Contact: MM at 547-1499
March 1, 2004

NEW PROOF COMES OUT OF DEMOCRAT TECH NEGLIGENCE
"I told you so," Miranda says.

Washington, DC. Today a former Grassley intern, with deep computer security experience, has stepped forward with a sworn affidavit attesting that he knew over two years ago that the Senate Judiciary Committee network lacked security protocols and was an open server, and that he discovered that documents of both Republican and Democrat staff could be accessed in the same manner recently described by Hatch staffers. The affidavit also states that the Grassley staffer informed other Grassley staffers and even members of the United States Secret Service of the failure in computer security protocols in the Judiciary Committee. The Secret Service did not appear interested, which is significant because they are responsible for the computer security of Congress.

Statement of Manuel Miranda:

"Today's news will regrettably leave some Senators with egg on their face but it is not for lack of better counsel than that which they took. Democrat spinmeisters are proven today to be nothing more than rank liars for spinning tales of hacking to mask the gross negligence of their own technology staff. And the two or three news writers that soaked up the lies come out as fools and should be taken to task."

"The revelation today, which arises by act of Providence, shows that the SAA investigation, promised to end today, was tainted from the start. It was tainted the moment that Senator Hatch made his early judge and jury comments before any report had settled the facts or anyone had studied computer law and practice, or Senate Rules. This taint was repeated by more judge and jury comments made by SAA Bill Pickle to the Associated Press. These were comments made, in both cases, in violation of the Senate Rules."

"The information revealed by another young staffer confirms also that this investigation was contaminated from the outset when Senator Hatch threatened to fire any staffer with mere knowledge of the open server. This made the SAA investigation an exercise in terror, and not fact finding. The consequence is that the investigation has produced scapegoats and focused on two people who were forthcoming."

"By pursuing this investigation with an Inspector Javert attitude, the SAA investigators and Republicans Senators have blinded themselves to computer gross negligence in favor of self-serving talk of wrongdoing."

"As to wild charges of criminal conduct in the accessing of documents, I call on the Senate to hide nothing in releasing the SAA report that would open them up to charges of scapegoating or cover up. After spending $500,000, the American people are entitled to scrutinize the methods and premises of the probe and its non-speculative conclusions. For too long both Democrats and Republicans have abused their control over information. This must now stop."

"Republican Senators have also surrendered to the use of the word unethical or improper. But ethics is neither morality nor etiquette. Ethics requires a code and no one has been able to point to any code that has been violated by reading documents, left unprotected and in a virtual common area, by a government employee. Whereas, I do point to the Code of Ethics for Government Service that would be rendered ineffectual if such a bar existed.

"If this matter comes down to the golden rule or gentlemen?s etiquette, then the American people will consider Republicans lacking in both schmartz and cojones, if they allow Democrats who have abused the Constitution and people?s good names in disgusting ways to get the high ground."

"No one can fault Senator Hatch for an investigating whether a hacking occurred. But Republicans are also encouraging Democrat petulance by not being clear that the documents in question are not protected from the scrutiny of the American people by Senate Rule 29.5 and its 1992 legislative history. Republicans have made a grotesque error in allowing Democrats to treat their partisan documents as "confidential" and protected. The Senate has no power to protect such unethical conduct as the Democrat documents describe from the eyes of the American people."

"I call on anyone holding Democrat documents to turn them over to the press or a House of Representatives Committee, since it seems that the Senate is unwilling to police itself on matters of greater substance."

"People who protest so bitterly about their documents being read are people with something to hide. Had Democrats wanted to keep their unethical actions from the American people they should have been more careful to do so."

CORRECTION: "In a previous statement I referred to a "glitch" as allowing the Democrat documents to be read easily. This was incorrect. "Glitch" turns out to be a term of art that suggests that a firewall existed. In this case there was no firewall at all."

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Republican Senators with "egg on their faces"