As we wait for the special prosecutor to finish probing the leak of CIA agent Valerie Plame’s name, the Senate Intelligence Committee chaired by Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., plans to examine the use of cover to protect the identities of intelligence officers. Roberts acknowledged Sunday that outing an agent is a “very serious matter” — and a crime, we’d add. But he also said of Plame: “I must say from a commonsense standpoint, driving back and forth to work to the CIA headquarters — I don’t know if that really qualifies as being, you know, covert,” he said Sunday on CNN. Let’s hope such comments don’t mean that Roberts is more interested in casting doubt on Plame’s need for cover than on preventing more such breaches.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
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16 Comments
I can’t believe Sen. Roberts is apparently going to carry water for this nonsense.
And I have decided to reserve judgment on the Plame matter until special prosecutor Fitzgerald does or does not issue indictments.
Still, if appears that our own Sen. Roberts is laying the groundwork for somebody’s “trial” to be conducted in public rather than in a court.
There’s a very good, very provocative Letter to the Editor in today’s Eagle by Monsignor WM Carr. Msr. Carr’s point is that, due to the non-Western idea of situational ethics, an inalienable right to life no longer exists in our world.
To paraphrase the Monsignor, to allow situational circumstance to dilute principle has led to this loss.
For our own Senator Roberts to argue now that unlawfully naming a covert American officer is merely “a serious matter” and not in fact illegal, and to expound on that argument by trying to fudge the definition of “covert,” would seem to be a prime example of the very situational ethics Msr. Carr deplores in his letter.
I think our own Senator Roberts, as chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, should be far more concerned with the effects of situational ethics on our national security than with mere partisan politics.
You can debate if Plame was covert or not, but if you are working for the CIA, every agent in a way is covert.
Also! Roberts is not the only member of congress to worry about. Liberal Democrats are wanting to have a Congressional hearing on the matter, because they are not happy with what Patrick Fitzgerald might come out with and Rove might walk free.They don’t want that.
Good luck to the Dems on a congressional committee. Last time I checked, the minority party doesn’t control the congressional schedule.
Count on Jimmy to ignore the ethics and morals and go right to what matters to the radical conservatives running our country–raw power.
They do what they do, BECAUSE THEY CAN.
As for Roberts, just like the middle class in this country, the middle WAY keeps shrinking and shrinking. A former moderate, he’s been co-opted like the rest of the Republicans by a radical cabel that wants to repeal everything that FDR passed and return the country to the glorious days of “splendid little wars” and the robber barons.
Roberts should be ashamed of himself for licking the administration’s boots. Say what you will about Clinton, the 9-11 terror attacks came on his watch. The anthrax attacks directed at Democrats came on his watch (never solved). The WMD’s rationale for invading Iraq came on his watch.
Some “intelligience.” Some “oversight.”
I used to respect Senator Roberts, even though I haven’t always agreed with him. Well, not anymore.
I sure wish I could just change any law I didn’t like AFTER I broke it…
I wrote Sen. Roberts’ office last year to ask whether intelligence assets had been degraded as a result of the outing of Valerie Plame. Never heard a word, and none of his actions as Chair of the Senate’s Intelligence Committee showed he had any interest in pursuing the matter.
Now he proposes to investigate whether the CIA is doing a good enough job ensuring that ‘covert’ operatives really are covert? He’s ceased acting like an elected official and looks more and more like a political appointee of the Bush White House.
There’s another wrinkle here that Joe Williams alludes to: namely, that if Roberts holds hearings that involve the principals in the Fitzgerald investigation, they’d have to be sworn and probably would be granted immunity from prosecution. If that happens, then no indictments could result from the Fitzgerald investigation, and whoever leaked Plame’s identity would walk.
The fact that Roberts is doing this at all seems to be a way of trying to intimidate Fitzgerald, and to keep him from pushing too hard.
Does anyone else, Republican and Democrat, Red and Blue, find Senator Roberts’ actions to be really disturbing?
Sen. Roberts reminds me of Leslie Nielsen in the Police Squad movies. The scene I am referring to is when the fireworks factory is blowing up and he is telling people to “keep moving-nothing to see here.”
Attacking the object of political schemes rather than the bad actor is standard playbook stuff. Roberts is doing exactly what neocons always do when they get into hot water. It is disappointing to see the good Sen. from Kansas acting this way as he has been a voice for the moderates in the past.
CF, when you wrote to Sen. Roberts, did you send a check? NOW do you see why you got no answer? (LOL)
Hammer, I told him the check was in the mail!
Guess he saw through my little ruse. And once he saw that ‘.edu’ followed my name on the email address, he must have known I wasn’t going to pony up with the $$.
STOP THE PRESSES–just ran across this little item from the Boston Globe.
“Republican Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas, intends to preside over hearings on the intelligence community’s use of covert protections for CIA agents and others involved in secret activities.
“The chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence could hold hearings on the use of espionage cover soon after the U.S. Congress returns from its August recess, said Roberts spokeswoman Sarah Little.
“Little said the Senate committee would also review the probe of special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, who has been investigating the Plame case for nearly two years.”
HE’S INVESTIGATING THE INVESTIGATOR a month before Fitzgerald comes out with his report . . . this smells BAD, folks.
For two years, he couldn’t “interfere with an on-going investigation” and now that it looks like it’s going to skewer the president, he’s all gung-ho to do his own “probe.”
Actually, CF already brought most of this up (should READ the posts before I respond), but it bears repeating.
In Iran-Contra “this was the method by which John Poindexter and Oliver North were able to avoid jail time for their roles in Iran-contra, their convictions being overturned by a federal appeals court because of their previously granted congressional immunity.”
http://cannonfire.blogspot.com/
Antares,
Yep. Can you say ‘Archibald Cox’ and ‘Saturday Night Massacre?’ But this is actually worse, since it directly attacks the constitutional separation of powers.
I’ve only lived in Kansas a couple of years. Does anyone here know if it is legal to recall elected officials? If so, what is required?
Lots of signature CF, but its a pipe dream to remove Roberts. He has brought so much pork to farmers, his job is secured for the remainer of his life.
Joe Williams,
Indeed, back-scratching, one hand washing the other, and all that. Hear hear for the powers of incumbency!
Still, given Roberts’ apparent lack of shame, one has to think about all possible avenues of redress, constituitional ones included.
A good way is to repeal the 17th amendment. That would end the life term Senator seats and bring back representation of the States.