Earlier this month, two conservative newspapers — the Washington Times and the Wall Street Journal — and Fox News blowhard Sean Hannity mysteriously “obtained” a copy of an unsent Democratic Party memo. The document provided details on Dem senators working with progressive political organizations, including the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and People for the American Way, to block some of Bush’s most conservative judicial nominees.
While the secret memo was mildly damaging, though it didn’t say anything that most people didn’t already know, the more interesting question quickly focused on how the memo came to public light in the first place.
Democratic Sens. Dick Durbin (Ill.), Pat Leahy (Vt.) and Ted Kennedy (Mass.) wrote to William Pickle, the Senate’s sergeant at arms and chief law enforcement officer responsible for the chamber’s computer networks, asking for a probe.
Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch (R), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, rejected the notion that anyone stole anything. “To have one or two of the Democrats start to scream that somebody stole [the memo]… is how they try to get around the criticism,” Hatch said. He added that he believed the information may have been leaked to the conservative press by a “conscience-stricken” Democratic staff member.
Despite Hatch’s sentiment, an investigation was launched and led by two experienced federal prosecutors assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee. They purportedly interviewed some 50 current and former staff members.
As it turns out, it wasn’t a conscience-stricken Dem staffer who was responsible; it was a conscience-less Republican staffer who stole the memo.
At a Senate press conference last night, Hatch said, “It is with deep regret that I must report today that the interviews conducted to date have revealed that at least one current member of Judiciary Committee majority staff had improperly accessed some of the [Democrats’] documents…. I was shocked to learn this may have occurred. I am mortified that this improper, unethical and simply unacceptable breach of confidential files may have occurred on my watch.” He added, “There is no excuse that can justify these improper actions.”
I think “improperly accessed” is my new favorite phrase. I’ve heard some good euphemisms for stealing — lift, pinch, pocket, the list goes on and on — but “improperly access” has to be the best.
At this point, the investigation is still ongoing. The responsible Hatch staffer has been placed on administrative leave, with pay, pending a separate probe by the Senate sergeant at arms.
This is a pretty good story. It’s a shame it’s breaking the day before Thanksgiving, or it might actually get some headlines.