Posted on 07/11/2005 12:11:46 PM PDT by areafiftyone
To: National Desk
Contact: Naomi Seligman of Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington, 202-588-5565
WASHINGTON, July 11 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington (CREW) sent a letter today to President George Bush requesting that he immediately direct Karl Rove's security clearances be suspended pending the outcome of the government's investigation into the leak of Valerie Plame's identity as an undercover agent for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
As reported today in Newsweek, Karl Rove was a confidential source for Time magazine reporter Matt Cooper on the identification of a covert CIA agent. Rove disclosed that Ambassador Joseph Wilson's trip to Iraq to investigate charges that Iraq was trying to buy uranium from Niger was authorized by Mr. Wilson's wife, a CIA employee working on issues related to weapons of mass destruction. At that time, Valerie Plame, Ambassador Wilson's wife, was a covert operative with the CIA whose identity as such had not yet been publicly revealed.
Under federal law, it is a crime to "intentionally disclose () any information identifying" a covert agent “to any individual not authorized to received classified information." 50 U.S.C. (Section) 421(a). Thus, by disclosing to Matt Cooper Ms. Plame's relationship with the CIA and thereby identifying her as a covert agent, Mr. Rove appears to have committed an illegal act.
"Considering that it is a federal crime to identify covert agents, and that President Bush signed executive orders identifying the vital role the President plays in protecting national security secrets from unauthorized disclosure, it is appropriate for the President to suspend Mr. Rove's clearance pending the investigation's outcome," Melanie Sloan, executive director of CREW, said today.
"The evidence uncovered so far raises serious questions about Mr. Rove's conduct and his ability to safeguard highly sensitive classified information. Until those questions are resolved, CREW believes it is not appropriate for Mr. Rove to have continued access to classified information. Anything short of suspension raises an unacceptable risk to our nation's security," Sloan wrote to the President today.
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Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is a non-profit, progressive legal watchdog group dedicated to holding public officials accountable for their actions. CREW drafted the complaint against Tom DeLay, filed by former Congressman Chris Bell, for which DeLay was admonished last year.
For more information, and a copy of the letter, visit http://www.citizensforethics.org or contact Naomi Seligman at 202-588-5565 or press@citizensforethics.org.
You are correct that Rove's association with Bush does not mean he didn't break the law.
He didn't break the law. It was IMPOSSIBLE for him to break this law wrt to Plame because said law has NOTHING to do with this pencil pushing twit. She was NOT a secret agent.
I thought that was odd, too.
At least they got it right at the end of the release.
I studied Russian for a short time a long time ago, but here's a stab at it:
Komitet dlia etiky i otvetstvennosti vo Vashingtone (KEOV)
Maybe a Freeper who actually knows Russian can supply a more plausible version.
........ probably defending him.
;-)
Le Comité pour l'éthique et responsabilité à Washington.
Actually that would be Les citoyens pour la Responsabilité et l'Ethique dans Washington.
It would, of course, still be a socialist front group.
Il n'y a pas d'honte être français. Il y a seulement l'honte dans rester de français.
(There is no shame in being French. There is only shame in staying French.)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
—William Lerach, quoted in Marie Brenner, "The Enron Wars," Vanity Fair, April, 2002
We are supposed to listen to people who don't have the vaguest idea what they are talking about? She is not an undercover agent, she is an operations officer who happens to be undercover. There is no such thing as an "undercover agent." She has not served overseas in over 5 years and given her marriage to a publicity seeking dimwit her ability to work covertly is questionable, anyway. Even if Karl Rove leaked her identity he broke no laws.
This is a Lefty organization, which has done little but file complaints against Republicans.
Their credentials tell their story.
They're among the first to get on the bandwagon to make a demand about Rove ("withdraw his security clearance!!")--like anyone cares what they think.
Oh that's right----the MSM cares, because they can write misleading stories citing them.
Pimps and hos.
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