Former White House Press Secretary Scott McClennon drops a bombshell in his forthcoming book- He admits that
Bush and Cheney were in fact involved in the leaking of Classified information for political purposes. In the process, they not only ruined the career of a CIA officer, but they put her safety at risk, as well as the safety of her foreign contacts. They also damaged national security, since the ability of the CIA to continue using the sources that Mrs. Plame developed had been destroyed by her outing.
Both Scooter Libby & the White House have already admitted that there was involvement at higher levels of government. But Bush & Co. would never respond to detailed questioning. McClennon's statement provides further confirmation and the first good look at what was happening from the perspective of someone who was on the inside. He admits that they used him to spin the Plame story in order to take the heat off. He now says that
his claims of no White House involvement were all lies. Congress should have pursued this matter much more aggressively. Instead, it has been swept under the rug....like so many other crimes by Bush & Co.
These are in fact impeachable offenses, even though a President can declassify just about whatever he wants. However, political leaders cannot use sensitive information in such a malicious, threatening, bullying and irresponsible way, for political purposes.
I am disappointed with Patrick Fitzgerald for not being more aggressive. I guess he just didn't have the courage. But this highlights another problem. The fact that Federal Prosecutors are political appointees, is one of the fundamental problems with Washington D.C. The same goes for the Attorney General being chosen by politicians. The Federal justice system is not independent, and can never be independent, until this is changed (which will never happen). Because of this fundamental flaw in the U.S. system, Washington D.C. has been allowed to become a cesspool, full of corruption.
I have mentioned before that the Attorney General should be an elected position, protected from the influence of the White House, or Congress. Anyone running for the position must be independent.... not affiliated with any political party. In fact, political affiliation of a candidate should be disqualifying. Attorney Generals should be elected every 4-6 years in a national election (just like the election for President). U.S. Attorneys should be appointed by the elected Attorney General.
The Attorney General and Justice Department should be overseen by a special panel of Federal Judges, by the Supreme Court, and by the U.S. Congress. It should be an independent organization, rather than the inherently political one that it is today.
This political conflict of interest likely made Fitzgerald back down, although he knew he had a huge conspiracy case against the White House (in fact he hinted at that several times). In the end, he knew that he could only take it so far due to political considerations.
This should also help to vindicate Valerie Plame, who was branded a liar, traitor, unpatriotic and all sorts of other nonsense by the Right Wing Republican commentators.
Related PostsValerie Plame Comes Out Swinging With New BookDick Cheney Implicated in CIA LeakLibby points to Bush & CheneyLibby sentenced to 30 months in PrisonPlame makes first official comments since the outingNew Documentary - Cheney's Law
Posts
