... Little loaves and fishes

[pecunium]

I have no time to make commentary on this, though it speaks for itself, and what it says isn't pretty.

Harry Reid just introduced an amendment to the homeland security appropriations that would prevent anyone who discloses the identity of a covert CIA operative from having a security clearance. There will be 90 minutes of debate, and then a vote.

Here is the text of the so-called 'Frist Amendment': "Any federal officeholder who makes reference to a classified Federal Bureau of Investigation report on the floor of the United States Senate, or any federal officeholder that makes a statement based on a FBI agent's comments which is used as propaganda by terrorist organizations thereby putting our servicemen and women at risk, shall not be permitted access to such information or to hold a security clearance for access to such information."


(from Talking Points Memo).

Comments

[crisavec.livejournal.com]

yeh...being able to lock your opponents out of the information flow is generaly a bad thing in governmental operations.

I vaguely recall from my days of holding a Clearance, that Polititions don't actually have Clearances but are considered to be Vetted by Election and hence aren't investigated or cleared. I wonder how this would affect barring clearance?

[pecunium.livejournal.com]

Here they get an actual clearance. I suspect some of the vetting is streamlined, but those who can't get clearances (and it happens) are prevented, as a result, from sitting on certain committees.\

The only person vetted by election is, technically, the president, as the authority to classify, as well as to clear, resides in that office. The president therefore can grant a clearance, irrespective of investigation, and can remove classification.

If they wanted to they could use that to defend Rove, by the President saying he de-classified the data. Mind you that would open other cans of worms.

TK

[zaimoni.livejournal.com]

And here I am watching conservatives decipher whether Valerie ever was a covert agent under statute. Of course, a perfect execution would not leave any evidence for independent verification....

[Frist Amendment]
And what happens if the same information appears in both classified and unclasssified reports? One or two mathematicians a year trip up on this in the U.S.

[sethg]

There's a famous remark attributed to Henry Kissinger: "I never leak. I declassify."

[don-fitch.livejournal.com]

The Reid amendment was silly -- identifying a covert agent is already illegal -- and the Frist one could be claimed to be just pointing this out, but in fact it demonstrates a horrible attitude towards whistle-blowing. The key phrase in it isn't "FBI documents", it's "use as propaganda [by the enemy]". Things like those photographs of prisoners being tortured/humiliated. The Administration apparently wants an [American-style] football game without anyone blowing the whistle when the ball goes out-of-bounds... or a business with employees who say nothing but "Yes, boss, that's a great idea". Neither of these work well for long.

[pecunium.livejournal.com]

I'd say part of what makes Frist's amendment noxious, as opposed to merely posturing was the use of the phrase or any federal officeholder that makes a statement based on a FBI agent's comments which is used as propaganda by terrorist organizations".

He is punishing people not for the release of classified information in that sentence, but for doing (as Sen. Durbin did a few weeks ago) raising important questions and causing discussion (even if Durbin rolled over on that, which; in my opinion, he most decidedly ought not have done.

TK

[don-fitch.livejournal.com]

Yes -- that's what I meant by "whistleblowing"... though I think the "FBI documents" bit is merely cosmetic, or camouflage. And I agree that Durbin displayd a regrettable lack of principle by backing-down.