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National Security and Obstruction of Justice: Waiting for a Special Prosecutor for the Plame Leak Investigation

A BUZZFLASH READER COMMENTARY
by Matt Hine

John Ashcroft is "concerned" about the CIA cover-gate scandal. He should be.

The best defense we have against terrorism is not laser guided bombs. Our most vital tool is the information we get from our agents in the field, allowing us to get to the terrorists before they can carry out their plans. The treacherous exposure of Valerie Plame as an undercover CIA agent has greatly weakened the "war on terrorism." Ms. Plame's assignment was to infiltrate the very terrorist networks that are most likely to develop weapons of mass destruction! Plame and all of her undercover contacts are now at risk. Her work is destroyed and other potential informants will think twice before putting their lives on the line.

According to the Washington Post, a senior administration official told the Post that before Robert Novak's column appeared, two top White House officials called at least six journalists and disclosed the identity of this CIA agent.

That's an incredibly serious matter, and the continued presence of such a person in the White House ought to worry the president immensely. That the exposure was apparently an act of revenge against a political opponent (former Ambassador Wilson, Ms. Plame's husband) ought to infuriate him. But Bush has shown no sign of anger at the leak and he has publicly stated that he doesn't think an investigation will succeed in finding the culprit.

Now, Bush Administration lawyers are reviewing phone logs and other records BEFORE turning them over to Justice Department officials! The documents must be reviewed "for national security and executive privilege concerns," according to White House aides.

Senator Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. commented on NBC's Today show, "To allow the White House counsel to review records before the prosecutors would see them is unheard of in the way cases are always prosecuted. The possibility of mischief is very, very large," he said.

The way the White House and Justice Department are handling this matter just doesn't seem right.

How can we expect Ashcroft's Justice Department to find the traitor who committed this breach of national security? Bush appointed Ashcroft and Ashcroft has long ties with Karl Rove, Bush's top political advisor. Rove was a paid consultant in three of Mr. Ashcroft's former election campaigns, and is widely considered at least complicit in this debacle. It took more than two months for the Justice Department to launch an investigation after the FBI learned that "senior administration officials" may have illegally leaked the identity of this covert CIA operative. Justice Department officials delayed obtaining critical evidence, giving the perpetrator(s) plenty of time to destroy it.

President Bush is resisting the appointment of an independent investigator, asserting that "career people" at the Justice Department should conduct the investigation. But Ashcroft's underlings are not protected by the provisions of the Special Counsel regulations, making them vulnerable to wrathful retribution.

Procedural safeguards were written into the Special Counsel regulations in order to encourage an arm's length impartial investigation. These regulations enable the Attorney General to appoint an outside Special Counsel if he has concerns that the Justice Department has an inherent conflict of interest.

The Special Counsel reports to the Attorney General, who pays the Special Counsel's salary and the salary of his or her staff. The key to the Special Counsel is this: At the end of the investigation, the Attorney General must report to Congress all instances where he blocked the Special Counsel from taking an action, such as subpoenaing documents or putting a witness before a Grand Jury. That's the kind of balance we need in this type of situation -- when the administration is obligated to investigate itself.

So far, Ashcroft has refused to recuse himself or his Department, but a Washington Post-ABC poll recently found that nearly 70% of Americans believe an independent investigator should be appointed. If the President truly cared about national security, he would direct Ashcroft to appoint a Special Counsel.

We're waiting.

A BUZZFLASH READER COMMENTARY