Posted by
The Valletta Papers on Saturday, October 21, 2006 12:38:43 PM
All this time I thought most of the leaks so damaging to our national security were coming leftover Clintonistas still imbedded in the State Department or CIA. As it turns out, at least one of the recent leaks, and a serious one at that, reportedly comes instead from a Democratic committee staffer. Katherine Shader, of the Associated Press, broke the news Thursday that a Democratic staff member has been suspended for leaking “a high-level intelligence assessment to The New York Times.” House Intelligence Chairman Peter Hoekstra suspended the unnamed Democratic staffer because of concerns he may have leaked selective portions of the “National Intelligence Estimate” last month. The AP reports that the committee staffer is also “being denied access to classified information pending the outcome of a review.”
The most stunning aspect of the staffer’s suspension is the reaction of the Democrats! According to a subsequent Associated Press story also written by Katherine Shrader: Jane Harmon, the Intelligence Committee's top Democrat, responded “to Congressman Hoekstra that she was ‘appalled’ by his action, which was ‘without basis.’” Democrat Harmon also “demanded that Hoekstra ‘immediately reinstate the staffer's access to classified information.’”
Rather than be upset that national security leaks have damaged American efforts in the war on terror; the Democrats are upset that their suspended staffer, suspected of leaking national secrets, no longer have access to classified information. This is not the first time the Democratic congresswoman Harmon has reacted strangely to the outing of a liberal “leaker” in this manner. In April of this year, Harmon was in a debate with Rep. Hoekstra on Fox News Sunday regarding intelligence. Harmon was asked about her view of the CIA dismissal of a senior officer, “Mary McCarthy, for leaking classified information to reporters including material about secret U.S. prisons overseas for terror suspects.” (Hat tip: Michelle Malkin.) The Fox News Sunday transcript is revealing:
WALLACE: Congresswoman Harman, let's change subjects. I want to talk to you about leaks, because the CIA dismissed a senior officer this week, apparently reportedly a veteran named Mary McCarthy, for leaking classified information to reporters including material about secret U.S. prisons overseas for terror suspects.
Congresswoman, after it came out that the president had authorized the disclosure, partial disclosure, of the National Intelligence Estimate about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, you had the following to say, and let's put it up on the screen. "The president is revealed as the Leaker in Chief."
Congresswoman, do you really see any comparison between these two actions?
HARMAN: You bet I do. I don't know this woman, and I do not condone leaks of classified information. However, while leaks are wrong, I think it is totally wrong for our president, in secret, to selectively declassify certain information and empower people in his White House to leak it to favored reporters so that they can discredit political enemies.
That is wrong. That is unprecedented. I've never, ever heard about that happening in another administration, and it's a double standard.
WALLACE: But, Congresswoman Harman, isn't there a big difference? She was breaking the law. He wasn't.
HARMAN: Well, he wasn't breaking the law because the president claims to have power that no one else has. And he should be reminded that the Constitution starts with Article I, not Article II.
The inherent powers of the presidency are not unlimited. He's been ignoring Congress. He's been refusing to brief the full Intelligence Committees on the NSA program. I think that's a violation of law.
Presumably he's doing that because he's afraid we will leak, and yet he and his administration are the ones who leak selectively. And so I am not condoning what this woman allegedly did in the CIA. Of course, I'm not condoning that. But I think having a double standard is absolutely wrong.
WALLACE: Congressman Hoekstra?
HOEKSTRA: Well, it's clearly not a double standard. The president, the executive branch, but especially the Office of the President — the courts have clearly said they have the responsibility and the authority to decide what is classified and what is not classified.
This person in the CIA thought that they were above the law. They thought that the law did not apply to them. They have put America at risk. They have put our troops on the front lines at risk because they broke the law.
That is exactly — you know, you're exactly right. They broke the law. They're above the law. It's wrong. You know, and the country and our troops are at greater risk because of the decisions that this person made.
Consistently, the Democrats defend or rationalize damaging national security leaks. Leaks that put our troops and our nation at greater risk! And yet, if the pollsters and pundits are to be believed, the American people prefer turning our national security over to the Democrats. I just don’t believe it. I don’t believe that America is dumb enough to put the foxes in charge of defending and managing the henhouse.