Posted on 12/30/2003 7:21:03 PM PST by jmstein7
The top story on Yahoo this morning was "outraged, simply OUTRAGED!!!" the democrats were about Ashcroft allowing an independent investigation into that bogus CIA "leak" story. The media and the liberals tried to milk that one, and now they are trying again.
Memo Gate puts that nonsense to shame by comparison. It appears the Dims are trying some pre-emptive bomb throwing to hide their own shame.
An excerpt:
Democrats Divided Over CIA Leak Probe
WASHINGTON - While some Democrats applauded the decision, several presidential hopefuls attacked the appointment of a federal prosecutor to take over the politically sensitive investigation into whether a Bush administration official leaked a CIA operative's name. p> Attorney General John Ashcroft (news - web sites) removed himself Tuesday from the inquiry into who leaked the name to a newspaper columnist. U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald of Chicago, a career prosecutor, will lead the probe.
Deputy Attorney General James Comey announced that Ashcroft had stepped aside to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest after reviewing evidence recently developed in the inquiry. He would not discuss the evidence.
Democrats have been calling for Ashcroft to step down, but the critics were divided over the decision to keep the investigation in-house with a promise of independence for Fitzgerald.
Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota called the announcement "as welcome as it is overdue."
"For the sake of America's national security, I hope the administration will give the new counsel its full cooperation and the resources needed to quickly get to the bottom of this urgent matter and swiftly bring to justice the person or persons responsible," he said.
Sen. Jay Rockefeller, senior Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Ashcroft made the right decision.
"Our intelligence agents need to know that we understand the sacrifices they make and that we will come to their defense when someone puts them at risk," said Rockefeller, D-W.Va.
But the Democratic presidential contenders made clear that the decision will be a campaign issue.
"The public will not likely trust the results of an investigation headed by a political appointee, especially when the special counsel is constrained by Department of Justice (news - web sites) regulations that severely curtail the prosecutor's autonomy," said Sen. Joe Lieberman (news - web sites) of Connecticut. Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean (news - web sites) said Justice Department (news - web sites) lawyers still will be answering to a political appointee despite the change. "Whether it is a special counsel or the Justice Department inspector general, the American people deserve a person whose honesty, objectivity and fairness are guaranteed to investigate this serious matter," Dean said. North Carolina Sen. John Edwards did not criticize the appointment, but said Ashcroft's decision "comes far too late. President Bush (news - web sites) knows how to get what he wants inside his White House, yet for months, his administration has somehow failed to find the person responsible for this dangerous and destructive leak." Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry (news - web sites) called Fitzgerald's appointment "a half measure and nowhere good enough to restore public confidence in this tarnished agency."
What a crock ! Heads should roll over the 'RATS playing politics with our safety !Thanks for the link and excerpt !
Tell The Media: NO on Valerie "Plame", YES on Memogate!!! (memos and judges action alert)
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