- In the last graph, Bush says the media will be partly
to blame if the identity of the leaker isn't uncovered because they "do
a very good job of protecting the leakers." Seems he knows how good
the media is at following orders to keep things quiet... -ed
-
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- The White House came under criticism Tuesday for failing
to order employees to comply with a new Justice Department tactic in the
investigation of the leak of a CIA operative's identity.
-
- The Justice Department is investigating the leak of the
identity and CIA status of the wife of former U.S. Ambassador Joseph Wilson.
This summer, Wilson publicly criticized evidence offered by the Bush administration
to justify the invasion of Iraq. Soon after Wilson aired his criticism,
his wife's name and status as an undercover CIA operative was made public
in a column by Robert Novak - a move Wilson has alleged was meant as an
intimidation tactic.
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- Last week, NBC News reported that investigators in the
case have asked Bush administration officials to sign a waiver releasing
journalists from any promises of confidentiality they made to their sources.
NBC News cited legal experts who said that the purpose of the forms would
be to push journalists into revealing the identity of Novak's sources.
-
- Earlier this week, White House press secretary Scott
McClellan refused to say under repeated questioning whether White House
employees would be directed to sign the waiver, instead saying that President
George W. Bush expected White House staffers to "cooperate fully"
with the investigation.
-
- "The president has directed the White House to cooperate
fully with the career officials who are leading this investigation. And
that's exactly what he expects the White House to continue doing. We have
been and we will continue to do so. I think also in the spirit of cooperating
fully with the career officials who are investigating this matter, it's
important that we do everything we can to preserve the integrity of the
investigation and not compromise it," McClellan said.
-
- Tuesday, however, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., sent
a letter to White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card calling on the White
House to order its employees to sign the waivers.
-
- "'Full cooperation' requires freeing these journalists
from their obligations to protect their sources. I hope you will do so
as soon as possible," Schumer wrote.
-
- In a press statement, Schumer, who has been a strong
advocate of an investigation into the leak of Wilson's wife's identity
and a frequent critic of the Justice Department's efforts, noted the previous
decision by the White House Counsel's office to set a deadline for complying
with a Justice Department request for phone and e-mail records.
-
- "It took long enough to get the Justice Department
to do the right thing with regard to this case, we shouldn't have to keep
pestering the White House to cooperate," Schumer said.
-
- A Justice Department spokesman yesterday was unable to
comment on the White House's cooperation with the waiver request or with
the leak investigation overall.
-
- While reaffirming the White House's cooperation yesterday,
McClellan offered veiled criticism of Schumer's efforts.
-
- "It would be unfortunate if people are seeking to
politicize a serious matter, like leaking classified information, for partisan
gain," he said.
-
- Even if the White House compels its staff to sign the
waivers, though, they may have little use in the investigation. According
to Lucy Dalglish, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom
of the Press, states that have dealt with the issue of reporters' privilege
have determined that the privilege rests with the journalists and not their
sources.
-
- The waivers "will have no effect on the journalists'
behavior whatsoever," she told Global Security Newswire.
-
- Instead of being an effective investigative measure,
Dalglish said that the waivers were more likely intended to get "political
mileage" by shifting the blame for lack of progress in the case to
a lack of cooperation by journalists.
-
- Throughout the course of the investigation, both Bush
and Attorney General John Ashcroft, who has since recused himself from
the case, have publicly suggested that the media would play a role in its
success or failure.
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- "I have no idea whether we'll find out who the leaker
is, partially because, in all due respect to your profession, you do a
very good job of protecting the leakers," Bush said during an October
press conference.
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- http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0104/010704gsn1.htm
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