The sieve administration takes on leaks

March 6, 2006

One of the more frustrating articles of the weekend was a front-page item on the Bush administration’s all-out war against leaks.

The Bush administration, seeking to limit leaks of classified information, has launched initiatives targeting journalists and their possible government sources. The efforts include several FBI probes, a polygraph investigation inside the CIA and a warning from the Justice Department that reporters could be prosecuted under espionage laws.

In recent weeks, dozens of employees at the CIA, the National Security Agency and other intelligence agencies have been interviewed by agents from the FBI’s Washington field office, who are investigating possible leaks that led to reports about secret CIA prisons and the NSA’s warrantless domestic surveillance program, according to law enforcement and intelligence officials familiar with the two cases. […]

Some media watchers, lawyers and editors say that, taken together, the incidents represent perhaps the most extensive and overt campaign against leaks in a generation, and that they have worsened the already-tense relationship between mainstream news organizations and the White House.

This comes less than a month after Insight magazine reported that the administration was poised to launch “the largest crackdown in decades against whistleblowers in government,” and quoted one Justice Department official as saying, “We will be ruthless.”

There are a couple of ways to look at this. One is to note that efforts like these make a shield law look more and more necessary. Another is to point out how ridiculous it is to punish whistleblowers who are exposing wrongdoing within the administration.

But for my money, the best angle is to note the over-the-top hypocrisy.

The Bush gang is launching an anti-leak crusade, but only against those whose leaks are politically embarrassing. All the while, the White House looks like a sieve in its handling of secrets it wants to get into the public sphere.

We are, after all, taking about a White House which authorized top staffers to disclose classified information to reporters about Iraq’s weapons capability in June and July 2003. For that matter, the same officials aren’t terribly good at keeping the identity of undercover CIA agents under wraps, and the Vice President doesn’t seem entirely clear on what he can and cannot declassify.

Moreover, it appears that the White House “authorized” leaks of classified information to reporter Bob Woodward, possibly undermining national security.

The reality is, leaks work in holding administration officials accountable and keeping the public informed about decisions being made in our name. The crackdown on leaks is little more than the latest White House effort to keep their conduct shielded from public view or scrutiny.

Even putting that aside, however, the Bush gang has no credibility left on the issue. After years of engaging in constant leaks to bolster their support, punish their rivals, and/or make themselves look good, the White House is now convinced it needs to plug the holes? Please.

If this administration isn’t on a path to Fascism, where else could it be heading? When you examine most academic analyses of what constitutes Fascism, with each passing week it gets harder and harder to call this a democracy. As Ive asked before, if this country were to end up one day as unquestionably Fascist, how would the path there look any different from what we are seeing now?

  • Frustrating, yes. Unexpected, no. Really bad government, yes.

    All this kind of crap has to go into the 2006 Dem campaign arsenal. Give the Dem’s control of Congress and we will stop the corruption. Let the Rep’s keep control and watch them change the rules to suit their political needs.

    This should be a slam dunk.

  • and that they have worsened the already-tense relationship between mainstream news organizations and the White House.

    The upside is that now now maybe the mainstream news organizations will start calling them out on their BS. If they’re pissed they just might start reporting all the stuff they should have been reporting the last five years…

  • Great setup for entrapment! Call a reporter and leak some Unclassified material to them. Then hang up and stamp it Classified – puff, one more reporter gone. Its not just the American people this president wants to keep in the dark, the main target is Congress – how many times have you seen a senator stand at the podium waving a newspaper article because it was the only way THEY found out about something they should have been privy to in the first place. You have to hand it to Rove. Bush has classified more documents than any other President in history.

  • I just saw an online article at Raw Story a few weeks ago that said both current and former intelligence officers have said that the Plame leak had seriously damaged our intelligence gathering on Iran’s nuclear weapons program. This is the angle I wish CNN or Democrats would go after, not just WHO destroyed Plame’s cover, but HOW the leak has compromised both our intelligence capabilites and national security.
    Just a thought

  • Delving into historical Nazi documents can be enlightening.
    The freedom of the press is the critical battlefield to stop these bastards.

    From http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/rpl.htm

    Organization Structure of the Nazi Propaganda’s Central Office

    The propaganda of the NSDAP, its subsidiaries and affiliated organizations is the responsibility of the Reichspropagandaleiter, given the authority as a Reichsleiter by the Führer for all propaganda. He is responsible for the entire public work of the movement, including its subsidiaries and affiliated organizations in the German Reich, including the carrying out of the Führer’s will on the part of the party apparatus and its subsidiaries and affiliated organizations. He is also responsible for the whole German radio system’s organizational, cultural and economic development, for the spreading of the National Socialist world view to the entire German people, and for explaining the accomplishments of the party and the state.

    The press and film are at his disposal in securing these aims.

    To ensure the systematic coordination of the entire propaganda apparatus, he is at the top of an organization that reaches down to the smallest local office, and is organized as follows:……..

  • All the while, the White House looks like a sieve in its handling of secrets it wants to get into the public sphere.

    St. Dick, the patron saint of this admin, said it best, “If the president does it, it’s not illegal.

  • I have reached the point where these stories no longer cause surprise nor outrage. To anyone who has been paying attention for the past five years, it should be clear that this administration will use all of the levels of power to achieve its goals. They do so without fear of challenge because the first line of defense against an authoritarian president an independent congress does not exists today. They have also had great success at the ballot box through lies, fear, and dirty tricks. This gives them the confidence that the second line of defense the electorate will not hold them accountable. However, with Bush favorable below 40% this electoral invincibility may not be true any more. The only people the Republicans can count on today are the very rich, the frightened and the delusional. To the rest of the public a very powerful case can be made that we are on the road to fascism and the only thing which will stop it in the short run is a Democratic Congress. This is the platform which Democrats must run on in 2006.

    There is one proviso which I should make. The Republicans have engaged in overheated rhetoric for more than a decade. The Democratic case for Republican fascism must be made passionately, but rationally. Build arguments slowly until the people begin to seethe with anger for being played as fools, only then go for the kill.

  • Disturbing is a better word. Our country is already divided.
    Now we are spying on and investigating our own citizens and threatening journalists. Never did i ever imagine our country could become this corrupt.

  • “… the most extensive and overt campaign against leaks in a generation.”

    It actually ranks right up (down?) there with the Sedition Act of the John Adams administration.

  • Considering how often the administration cried wolf on the veto threat and then never did it, I would question how much real interest they have in bringing these cases to court. The reporters would have the right of discovery and so much is already known in the public arena already, it could well lead to more indictments for the Bush people than they have already.

    Seems like the object is more intimidation than not. I predict the gutless wonders in the White House will let it drop at the first sign of resistance from the press. Let’s hope they have enough spine to give that sign right at the start.

    • Comments are closed.