Posted on 12/22/2005 10:33:26 AM PST by shield
The Justice Department has launched a criminal investigation into whether Democratic Senators Dick Durbin, Jay Rockefeller and Ron Wyden leaked details about a secret "black ops" CIA satellite program last December in a move that may have seriously compromised national security, former Deputy Undersecretary of Defense Jed Babbin said on Saturday.
"The CIA made a request to the Justice Department to investigate and possibly bring criminal charges against these three [senators]," Babbin told WABC Radio host Monica Crowley. "My information is that investigation is ongoing."
Rockefeller is the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and Durbin is the No. 2-ranking Democrat in the Senate.
Media reports on the satellite leak last December indicated that the Bush administration was concerned about public comments by Durbin, Rockefeller and Wyden and that the CIA had requested a Justice Department probe.
"The formal request for a leaks investigation would target people who described sensitive details about a new generation of spy satellites to The Washington Post, which published a page-one story about the espionage program Saturday [Dec. 11, 2004]," a Justice Department official told The Associated Press at the time.
But the same official told the AP that Justice "has not decided whether to investigate."
Former Deputy Undersecretary Babbin's comments on Saturday were the first indication that such a probe was actually launched and is ongoing.
"The fact of the matter is that [Durbin, Rockefeller and Wyden] divulged something that was above and beyond top secret and frankly, they probably blew the strategy and the hundreds of millions of dollars that were being spent to pursue it," Babbin told Crowley.
"The acknowledgement of [the "black ops" program's] existence is not even proper and the acknowledgement of them and the details of them can very well damage national security," Babbin added.
Asked if he thought the three Senate Democrats should have their security clearances revoked for the duration of the leak probe, the former Defense Department official said: "Absolutely and forthwith. I mean, they should have been revoked at the time of the leak."
"There's really not much doubt about the leak having occurred," Babbin told Crowley. "It's in the press records, it's in the Congressional record. We know what they did."
"The only question," he explained, "is how much damage was done by the leak. And that's part of the criminal investigation right now - to do a damage assessment, to figure out how much this is going to cost us strategically and militarily."
Are we going to have some consistency around here? If leaking of classified information is outrageous - and it is - then it's outrageous if the Democrats did it in this case, and also outrageous if some administration officials did it in the Plame case. Can't have it both ways.
Hey you forgot to include some hammer and sickles on the emblem.
You got that right! Let them have a little of their own medicine and see how they like it.
Has Gonzalez accomplished ANYTHING since he took over from John Ashcroft?
This story just goes to prove how dangerous it can be to have (R) after your name and how beneficial it is to have a(D).
High damned time ping!
Nah! No cigarette. Remember...the lefties are all anti-tobacco/anti-smoking. And since they've all been bleating about Bush's secretive administration....I'm sure they don't want no stinkin blindfold.
But we could give them a '21-gun salute'....Texas conservative style!
'Wall. Cigarette. Blindfold.'
AMEN, Jailed for treason sounds like a plan to me.
Cool. Hope it pans out. /sarc
I loved John Ashcroft, he resigned 'cause of health and the fact that job was just way to much of a pressure cooker. Gonzales, IMHO, has been accomplishing a lot. There are indictments coming out of Justice almost every week.
bump
LOL...great picture....
You mean....kinda like Sandy Burgler was prosecuted to the max for stealing and destroying classified documents?
"I pray that if they find anything (and I'll bet they do) that they prosecute to the max."
Holy crimoly! That sure beats a rather large pineapple!
Hang 'em high.
They need to float some bunk info out there to find the leak then plug it. Kind of what the Navy did to find out that Midway was Japan's next target in WWII.
There are secret investigations and secret courts to protect National Security. I think the only way we'll get to hear is when they step down from the Senate. Will they say it's due to family problems? Or will this go as it went for Congressman Cunningham? You know turn about is fair play. Did DOJ put Cunningham out there first as a Republican, before the dems are put out there?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.