Frist's Aide Says Files Not Hacked

Knox News ^ | January 27, 2004 | RICHARD POWELSON

[anymouse]

He believes probe looking at records prior to work with senator

A top aide to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, on leave during a computer security probe, said Monday he never distributed any Democratic documents that Republican staff found on a shared computer system.

"There was no hacking" into computer folders of Senate Democrats on the Judiciary Committee, Manuel Miranda, a counsel on judicial nominations for Frist, R-Tenn., said in an interview. "There was no stealing. No systematic surveillance. I never forwarded these memos - period."

The Senate sergeant-at-arms is using computer experts of the Secret Service to determine whether Republican access to newer, unsecured computer folders of Democratic staff violated any laws or Senate rules. A spokesman for the probe said it might be complete in three or four weeks.

The committee's Republican and Democratic members for years have shared the same computer server - a large memory for a network of computers - but there was supposed to be a security system separating the opposing parties' accounts.

Miranda said a 24-year-old Republican staffer discovered some unsecured portions of the committee's computer network in 2001 when Democrats regained majority control of the Senate. Months later, Miranda said, a Republican aide told the Democrats' computer liaison of the glitch that left some Democratic and Republican folders in the unsecured area. But it was not fixed.

Tracy Schmaler, spokeswoman for Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the senior Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, said to her knowledge that "no one was told of any kind of breach where we learned that Republicans could go in and look at records, and we were OK with it and did nothing about it."

Miranda said he believes the Senate probe is looking at his computer records from his work on the Judiciary Committee before he joined Frist's office a year ago. His computer hard drive is among several that were seized, copied or examined by investigators.

He said he has been on vacation, paternity leave or other leave since his wife had a baby in October.

Frist aide Nick Smith said Monday that Miranda is on leave now pending the results of the Senate investigation.

The 24-year-old Senate staffer who found the glitch returned to school, Miranda said, and he declined to identify him publicly.

While Miranda said he saw a number of Democratic documents, "most" were about something that already had happened. There was "never anything" about plans other than notices perhaps of a committee hearing, he said.

He said he did not give Democratic memos to The Wall Street Journal in November, which prompted a major editorial about Democrats working closely with interest groups on which judicial nominees to oppose.

A portion of one Democratic memo in 2001 said: "There's a reason why we do what we do - most of Bush's nominees are nazis. Controversial ones demand more careful scrutiny." (Some memos involved are posted at www.fairjudiciary.com)

Miranda said while he did not distribute Democratic documents copied to the unsecured computer network folders, "that would not have been a violation of Senate rules if I had."

Richard Powelson may be reached at 202-408-2727.

[anymouse]

As Paul Harvey likes to say "and now for the rest of the story." As usual the Rats are making up a sensational scandal out of whole cloth.

And this Miranda guy is getting heat for discovering (and reporting to them) a Rat screw up. No good deed goes un punished.

[cripplecreek]

words like "infiltrate" seem to prop up thier false beliefe in some sinister wrongdoing. good luck cnvincing them that one of thier own screwed up.

[FBD]

900 FBI files in the Clintoon White house, and Dims didn't say a peep.
So who gives a crap about their unsecured memos.

[NYC GOP Chick]

Just say that Craig Livingstone did it.

[NutmegDevil]

Who hired Chris Livingstone & who Mirandized him? Rep. Lantos (D-Calif.), curreently best friend of Moyamer Ghadafhi, wants to know so's he can off him before he offs himself.

[CyberAnt]

"a RAT screwup"

That's what it sounds like to me too. He told the RATs and they failed to do anything about it. Now .. to cover their own rear ends, they blame the repubs. So what else is new.

And .. why is it such a big deal if the guy didn't copy any of the memos .. I can't see what everybody is so upset about. Just what would the dims have on those computers that they want to keep hidden .. what are the dims scared the repubs will find ..?? Interesting??

[FreeAtlanta]

No good deed goes unpunished.

I see that in action, more and more. The less productive the people are around you, the more likely that any good effort you make, will be punished. sigh.

Never mind that the content of the docs is so outrageous and wrong, the attention is focused on the who might have spotted the diamond thieves. <<allegory, to those I just confused. :-)

[Howlin]

[Redbob]

And still no denials from the Dims that they conspired with various "interest groups" (read "poverty pimps and racemongers")to block Pres. Bush's judicial nominees.

All this "hacking" investigation is just a smokescreen for the real issue.

[Freedom2specul8]

Big ditto bump!!!

[Libertina]

Even though diligent FReepers set up the Intel Memo site and backed the Rs, the R's refused to make hay of this terrible behavior by the rats, and now the R's are allowing the staffer to be thrown to the wolves. It makes me disgusted to be registered as an R sometimes... Does the rat side have files on evey single conservative? Why won't they fight?

[Cicero]

If the Democrats were in charge, they would NEVER allow a probe like this to disrupt committee business. Why on earth didn't the Republicans fight back, instead of giving in?

What it looks like is that when the Democrats were in charge they failed to secure their files on the computer, and failed to heed advice that they do so. If so, it's nobody's fault but their own if the information got out. Whoever got it out to the press was a whistleblower, not a criminal, because it revealed that the Democrats on the Intelligence Committee were abusing their positions for partisan purposes. THAT is the only investigation the Republicans should ever have agreed to. And Jay Rockefeller should have been given the boot long since.

[fatal]

AMEN TO THAT!

[mwl1]

Frist needs to show some cajones and tell the RATS and the newsmedia that what's in the memos is a lot more revealing than how the GOP and/or the media got a hold of them.

[CyberAnt]

Maybe we need to start an email and phone campaign to Frist's and Hatch's offices and tell them they better stop trying to placate these democrats. The repubs need to go on the OFFENSIVE!!

Part of the problem is that most of these republicans who have been on the hill for a long time .. really don't see how corrupt and distorted the democrats have become. If they do see it .. they ignore it. It may be up to us to enlighten them that WE KNOW THESE DEMOCRATS ARE NOT CUT FROM THE SAME CLOTH AS PRIOR DEMOCRATS. They are not like JFK, they are like CLINTON.

For me .. I intend to begin a campaign to keep the pressure on for the repubs to stand together and tell the democrats to go take a flying leap!!