Posted on 06/12/2012 5:43:50 PM PDT by mandaladon
By opening an investigation into the leaks of classified information, the Obama White House appears to be entering the kind of perilous Fill-In-The-Blank-Gate terrain that has eventually engulfed most administrations in the modern era.
The pattern: an initial investigation launched to relieve mounting political pressure snowballs into a much larger scandal, leaving a trail of broken careers in its wake.
And the beginnings of that pattern are in place: Attorney General Eric Holder Friday appointed two federal prosecutors to oversee multiple FBI investigations into leaks involving stories in recently published books and articles in the New York Times, AP, and Newsweek. The move deflected, but didn't end, a rising, bipartisan tide of Congressional criticism of the leaks. Republican senators Tuesday called for a vote in Congress to recommend that an independent counsel look into national security secrets that have appeared in the media.
“It’s going to be trouble, “ says Steve Clemons, an influential policy analyst who has close ties to the administration. “It’s going to be like the search for who leaked Valerie Plame’s name. If the truth does come out, I suspect it will be a major player. Of course the White House is very nervous.”
Those major players are some of the most powerful figures in Obama’s Washington.
The scandal has the potential to drag in a cadre of senior administration officials, both former and current, who have extensive contacts with the press.
The short list could include Leon Panetta, Ben Rhodes, Tom Donilon, Gen. David Petraeus, John Brennan, Jim Jones, and General Doug Lute, among other heavy hitters.
(Excerpt) Read more at buzzfeed.com ...
Anyone watching CNN for their news would barely even know that there were any leaks.
Having Holder & his minions be the special prosecutors to ‘find the leaks’ is like having the fox inside the henhouse, IMO.
Memo to Eric Holder:
Does anybody remember the fate of one John N. Mitchell, Attorney General under Richard Nixon?
Nobody is indispensible, Mr. Holder. When the grinder starts up, not much is recognizable later.
Trying to fix everything for your boss and trusted friend may not be the best course to career advancement.
Good article, but we MUST not accept the premise that this is “just like the Plame case”. That entire investigation was conducted in spite of the fact that they knew who the leak was. That whole thing was a dog and pony show. THIS IS NOT THAT!
We could use the vice president to open another can of worms.
It takes a LOT to overcome pure partisanship... but, eventually... National Secuity will trump it. Even partisans like Diane Feinstein eventually stand, to protect themselves.
Someone will fall...
Well... drilling holes in the bottom of a boat to let the water out has rather poor results.
I'd say that's fitting since this administration has left it's own "trail of broken careers" numbering in the millions since 2009.
Scum always floats on top so we won’t be rid of these corrupt fools until 2013.
Obama and Holder have gotten away with treason and corruption since Obama entered the WH. Nothing has dislodged them yet. I pray for their downfall daily. It would be a great day to see them perp walked into prison but I won’t hold my breath.
Yeah well Bush did a great job prosecuting Sandy Berger for stealing secret documents and burning them during the 911 hearings didn’t he
True dat. The Plame case was an absolute joke.
Their choice of caliber.
This is quite promising... this pair WILL get to the bottom of the leaks. I know this will likely be successful, because it's my understanding that these are the prosecutors that were initially put on the investigation into King Samir Shabazz and Jerry Jackson protection of the Philly polling location.
Well, since this white house is full of liars from top to bottom, they should be able to lie their way out of it easily enough. One thing for certain, we’ll never really know who the real leaker is.
-——Having Holder & his minions be the special prosecutors to ‘find the leaks’ is like having the fox inside the henhouse, IMO.——
Just as a FYI.....
These are NOT special prosecutors, just run of the attorneys appointed by Holder....they have no special powers to investigate ...
Special prosecutors have all sorts of legal powers and the financial power to get to the truth....they are accountable to Congress....Not Holder or the administration
I have a difficult time believing that the leaks have been coming from either General Petraeus or General Lute.
The Plame thing was a joke--she was basically outed by her own husband and never in danger, and national security was never endangered. This series of leaks, in contrast, can do a lot of harm to national security.
Is the main stream media paying any attention to the story?
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