This afternoon Sen. Rockefeller (D-WV), ranking member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, put out the following statement …
âIt is a terrible day for all Americans when a top White House official is accused of lying and obstructing justice, made all the worse when itâs about a national security matter.
âRevealing the identity of a covert agent is the type of leak that gets people killed. Not only does it end the personâs career, and whatever assignments they may have been working on, it puts that person in grave personal danger as well as their colleagues and all the people they have had contact with over the years.
âThese very serious charges go to the heart of whether administration officials misused intelligence by disclosing an undercover CIA agent. They also heighten concerns that the administration engaged in a pattern of misusing intelligence to make the case for going to war with Iraq.
âTo date, Congress has completely failed to answer these critical questions. The fact is that at any time the Senate Intelligence Committee pursued a line of questioning that brought us close to the White House, our efforts were thwarted. If my Republican colleagues are not prepared to undertake a full and serious congressional investigation into the potential misuse of intelligence, then I regretfully conclude that we have no choice but to pursue an outside independent investigation. The American people deserve answers and they want the truth.â
âWe must send a strong message to all the patriotic Americans in our intelligence agencies who continue to serve their country at great personal risk. Our government and our judicial system will not tolerate those who leak classified information and put the lives of others at risk.â
It’s a strong statement. And the Congress has completely failed in its oversight responsibilities in this whole matter. But the question can’t be avoided.
If that’s all true, why did he and fellow Democrats on the intel committee sign off on last year’s report?
Why has he said so little this year about the failure to pursue the promised second phase of the Senate investigation, which was supposed to look into the question of executive branch manipulation of WMD intelligence?
Why has he remained silent in the face of evidence, put before him more than a year ago, that the FBI investigation into the forgeries, which he himself requested, has never been pursued in earnest?
Accountability for the Congress’s failure to pursue its oversight responsibilities in this case does not end on the Republican side of the aisle. Nor does it end with Rockefeller. He’s the ranking member of the committee, with unique access and power. But he’s not the only Democrat on the committee. Why stand up now when they didn’t stand up before? The Republicans’ behavior at least has the logic of self-interest behind it. That of the Democrats’ is inscrutable.
