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House Democrats Seek Congressional Inquiry Into CIA Leak By Mike Nartker WASHINGTON — Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives this week sought to launch a congressional inquiry into the leak of a CIA operative’s identity, a day after a call by a group of former CIA employees for greater congressional involvement in the matter (see GSN, Jan. 7). The Justice Department is investigating the leak of the identity and CIA status of the wife of former U.S. Ambassador Joseph Wilson. In a New York Times commentary last summer, Wilson criticized some of the evidence offered by the Bush administration to justify the invasion of Iraq. Soon after Wilson released his criticism, his wife’s name and status as a CIA operative was made public in a column by Robert Novak. Wilson has alleged that the leak of his wife’s identity was meant as an intimidation tactic by the Bush administration. On Wednesday, Representative Rush Holt (D-N.J.) introduced a resolution of inquiry, which would request the president and other Cabinet officials to provide all documents related to the leak, such as telephone and e-mail records, to the House of Representatives. In the past, the process of considering a resolution of inquiry has prodded the executive branch to provide information even though the resolution ultimately failed to pass the House, according to a Holt fact sheet. The Justice Department yesterday refused to comment on the resolution. Although the resolution was cosponsored only by other Democrats, some Republican House members have privately voiced support, according to Holt’s office. Steven Aftergood, director of the Federation of American Scientists’ Project on Government Secrecy, said yesterday, though, that the resolution was likely to receive little support “since the current Congress is so deferential to the White House.” He also said that he doubted the Bush administration would voluntarily provide documents related to the investigation. Instead, Aftergood said, the resolution is probably intended as a “political signal” to the administration that “congressional interest in this matter remains strong, and that some kind of response will have to be forthcoming.” Holt, a member of the House intelligence panel, said Wednesday on the House floor that the resolution of inquiry was the “best tool at the disposal of the House” to determine how the leak occurred and who was responsible, according to the Congressional Record. He also criticized senior Bush administration and intelligence officials for a lack of “public outrage” over the leak. “They should be standing in solidarity with [those] Americans who serve in our intelligence community, and they should be speaking out against those who would presume to unilaterally decide whose identity should be made public. Their silence is deplorable,” Holt said. In the Senate, Senator Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) yesterday sent a letter to Deputy Attorney General James Comey requesting that Comey report to Congress on how well the White House is cooperating with the Justice Department’s leak investigation. Comey is serving as acting attorney general in the case following the decision made by Attorney General John Ashcroft in late December to recuse himself from the investigation (see GSN, Dec. 31, 2003). “The investigation has been underway for four months now and we have received no meaningful reports regarding the progress you are making. I realize there are limitations on information that can be disclosed regarding an ongoing criminal investigation, but, as we have discussed, a prosecutor has the responsibility to assure public confidence in criminal investigations, especially those of such a serious nature,” wrote Schumer, who has been a strong advocate of the leak investigation. This week’s actions by members of the Congress follows a letter sent Tuesday to senior House members by a group of 10 former CIA analysts and case officers calling for a congressional investigation into the leak. “The disclosure … was an unprecedented and shameful event in American history and, in our professional judgment, has damaged U.S. national security,” says the letter, which was sent to Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) and other top House members. The former CIA officers wrote that a congressional inquiry into the leak was needed to “send an unambiguous message that intelligence officers tasked with collecting or analyzing intelligence must never be turned into political punching bags.” Holt’s office said yesterday that the former CIA officers’ letter and Holt’s resolution of inquiry were unrelated
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