When it comes to classified leaks, most of the attention has focused lately on the Plame scandal and the CIA’s “black sites” prisons. But let’s not forget that a sitting U.S. senator has been under investigation for about two years for his role a controversial leak of his own.
Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), who was investigated by the Justice Department and the Senate Ethics Committee, was identified as the source of a leak to reporters about sensitive 9/11 intelligence. Though the reasons are a little murky, Shelby was quietly let off the hook last week.
The chairman and vice chairman of the [ethics] committee wrote to Shelby on Friday, saying the Justice Department had referred the matter to the panel in a letter dated July 20, 2004.
The FBI began searching for the source of the leak after news reports that the NSA had intercepted two messages on Sept. 10, 2001, that hinted at an impending action, but did not translate them until Sept. 12.
The story surrounding Shelby’s controversy has always looked damaging. In August 2004, Fox News’ Carl Cameron confirmed to FBI investigators that Shelby verbally divulged classified intercepted messages to him during a June 2002 interview, literally minutes after Shelby’s committee had been given the information in a classified briefing.
Shelby was chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee for over five years. He, of all people, knew all about legal restrictions on passing classified information over to the media, leaving him no excuse for this kind of recklessness. (Better yet, it didn’t even meet Fox’s standards — Cameron did not air the information Shelby gave him.)
Shelby said in a statement last week that he feels that he’s been “vindicated.” That’s a bit of a stretch. National Journal reported that the Ethics Committee had “insufficient evidence” to continue the probe, which is hardly a wholesale exoneration.
Ultimately, however, it looks like another Republican who can’t handle classified materials — and who’ll get away with it.