Evidence of White House Leak Investigation and Coverup

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Thursday March 22, 2007 · 4:32 AM PDT

2007/03/22 · 04:32

[Note: Re-titled from "Josh Bolten's Role in Plame Leak Coverup"]

Following testimony last Friday by James Knodell, Director of the White House Office of Security, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-California) released a letter addressed to Bolten demanding an explanation for the lack of corrective action following the leak of Valerie Plame Wilson’s CIA identity. In fact, Bolten may have been involved in a complex White House scheme to shield leakers from strong penalties.

While Bolten was Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), President Bush gave him oversight authority over security clearance processes. Bush also altered security clearance and information security laws so as to potentially shield leakers on Cheney's staff. The timing of each suggest that a whitewash was conducted in the last months of 2005.

goverup1

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Friday March 16, 2007 · 8:16 PM PDT

2007/03/16 · 20:16

This was perhaps the busiest national "Sunshine Week" in years. Revelations about the mass firing of U.S. attorneys, a hearing on the leak of Valerie Plame Wilson’s CIA identity, and fallout over inadequate VA care - all demonstrated how miserably government performs in the absence of transparency and accountability. So, it’s ironic that last week four bills promising more open government went to a vote in the House almost without notice. The House of Representatives passed all four, snubbing President Bush’ opposition statements.

The bills are (1) the Presidential Records Act Amendments of 2007, (2) the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2007, (3) the Presidential Library Donation Reform Act, and (4) the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Amendments of 2007.

Bloggers and Daily Kos diarists will want to pay close attention to that last bill; it includes a provision entitling Internet media to a waiver of charges for government records,a perk currently available to traditional news media. (More on this below.) That and other improvements to FOIA will boost the ability of citizen journalists to investigate government agencies and hold officials accountable.

goverup1

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Wednesday March 14, 2007 · 7:44 AM PDT

2007/03/14 · 07:44

Yesterday, the Executive Office of the President issued a "Statement of Administration Policy" (provided below the fold) that seeks to kill House bill H.R. 985, scheduled for a House vote TODAY. Your help is needed to keep alive the bill's protections for government employees who report the kinds of abuses epidemic in the Bush administration - abuse of power, corruption, squelched scientific dissent, contractor fraud and more. For the first time, protections will be available to employees at intelligence agencies, where much remains to be uncovered about domestic snooping and the Iraq war.

Unsurprisingly, the White House attacks protections for "employees at national security agencies" which it claims would be "overly burdensome." The Statement mischaracterizes H.R. 985 by implying that government employees who handle classified information would be free to disclose it on a whim. Rather, H.R. 985 allows whistleblowers to take concerns to members of Congress, enabling Congress to provide, as the Constitution requires, oversight and checks on Executive Branch abuses of power. Indeed, power is at the heart of the White House statement.

goverup1

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Sunday March 11, 2007 · 6:44 PM PDT

2007/03/11 · 18:44

Last week, the nation learned that--just as many of us suspected--the Federal Bureau of Investigation has been spying on citizens illegally under the guise of national security. It's a jarring reminder of the importance of "sunshine" laws that allow us to find out what government agencies are doing.

Ironically, this is national Sunshine Week, the annual celebration of open government and the public's "right to know." And, what better way is there to celebrate this Sunshine Week than for each of us to write the FBI asking for any information it has on us? Fortunately, this is not hard to do and, below the fold, I explain how.

goverup1

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Tuesday March 06, 2007 · 10:05 AM PST

2007/03/06 · 10:05

ABC News (The "Blotter" ) reports today that an At&T technician's disclosure of domestic surveillance by the National Security Agency (NSA) was blocked, not only by U.S. intelligence officials, but by top editors of the Lost Angeles Times.

ABC's interview of the whistleblower, Mark Klein, will be broadcast tonight on Nightline and World News Tonight. In the interview, ABC says Klein describes how he discovered "secret NSA rooms" at AT&T switching centers around the country, and how he collected documentation that NSA was copying both domestic and international Internet traffic.

goverup1

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Sunday March 04, 2007 · 2:37 AM PST

2007/03/04 · 02:37

Apparently, the Food and Drug Administration considers bovine health - and profits of the drug and cattle industries - more important than saving human lives.

The Washington Post reports that the FDA is prepared to approve an antibiotic drug for use in treating cattle for a common respiratory disease. Such widespread use of the drug would promote antibiotic resistance, say experts, making it and similar drugs ineffective in treating human diseases. The drug, cefquinome, "belongs to a class of highly potent antibiotics that are among medicine's last defenses against several serious human infections," including an antibiotic that is the "only effective treatment for serious infections in cancer patients." [WaPo] And, as fewer antibiotics remain effective, the U.S. becomes increasingly vulnerable to biological disaster.

goverup1

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Tuesday February 20, 2007 · 5:38 PM PST

2007/02/20 · 17:38

A new Justice Department audit report (07-20) confirms what many have suspected, that officials there have inflated terrorism statistics. But, the report also includes alarming revelations about mishandled databases that have disturbing implications for justice and homeland security.

goverup1

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Saturday January 13, 2007 · 7:52 PM PST

2007/01/13 · 19:52

Forget parking garages. Tomorrow’s Deep Throats can go wiki.

A new Web site that aims to encourage large-scale leaking of confidential government documents by allowing anonymous disclosure could launch as early as next month. (Federal Times)

The new website, wikileaks.org, says it will provide "an uncensorable Wikipedia for untraceable mass document leaking and analysis."

Domestic spying and intimidation of whistleblowers by the Bush administration have created the need for a secure forum to expose waste, fraud and abuse by government officials. But, the plan also begs a number of questions. For example, can whistleblowers really be protected from the prying of government agencies like our own NSA? Could the site be abused by wrongdoers? Can we trust that the site is what it claims to be? These seem like good questions to pose to the Daily Kos community, with its broad base of experience and knowledge.

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