New Evidence of Security Problems at the White House

[sabra]

Source: House Oversight

Current and former employees of the White House Security Office have reported to Chairman Waxman that there was a systemic failure at the White House to follow procedures for protecting classified information. According to the security officers, the White House regularly ignored security breaches, prevented security inspections of the West Wing, and condoned mismanagement of the White House Security Office.

Read more: http://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=1264

---

PDF: http://oversight.house.gov/documents/20070423111759.pdf

<snip>

After an Oversight Committee hearing last month in which James Knodell, the chief security officer at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., testified that the White House Security Office had done nothing to investigate the source of the Valerie Plame leak, "multiple" security officers from the White House approached Waxman to complain about the loose ship being run at the presidential residence. The security officers, who requested anonymity to avoid retaliation, had three main complaints:

--The White House regularly ignored security breaches. Security officers reported several incidents in which administration staffers left sensitive information lying around in the open. Some of the information was "Sensitive Compartmentalized Information," the highest level of classified material. The White House Security Office ignored the violations and prevented officers from investigating.

--No West Wing inspections allowed. Security officers were denied access to the power wing of the White House, preventing them from making inspections, a power granted them under federal law. Senior White House officials actively blocked inspections.

--White House Security Office "flouted" security rules. The security officers who talked to Waxman lit into Knodell and his deputy director Ken Greeson, calling them poor managers who preferred to avoid embarrassing White House officials rather than to do their jobs. Knodell and Gresson routinely allowed people to bring cell phones or a Blackberrys into "sensitive compartmentalized information" facilities, a big no-no. Gresson also reportedly put classified information on an unsecured computer.

http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2007/04/white_house_pl...

[merh]

1. Oh, I thought that this was about the

secret service agents that were accidently wounded/shot when the gun went off at the WH.

[eppur_se_muova]

12. Or the use of outside, privately-owned servers for WH email.

[eppur_se_muova]

13. Or the fact that they let a phony reporter USING A FALSE NAME enter the WH

and even stay overnight, on several occasions failing to sign out on leaving.

[merh]

23. oh come on

we all can't be perfect

what is so funny (in a twisted and sad sort of way) is that the right said we are conducting witch hunts

their years of "no oversight" now looks like a magnifying glass on the admin, when in fact, it is what should have been happening all along.

[durtee librul]

25. And yet a bunch of WWII vets who requested a

WH tour were told no because the WH is off limits during war.

My dad is at the Soldiers Home and DC and they had petitioned for a small group (15) to tour and were denied. The youngest in the group was 77 and ALL have purple hearts (the real ones, not the plastic ones that come in a tin can), and many other honr medals....

Why doesn't this 'breach of security' surprise me? From a WH that can't control immigration on our own borders...hell and now they can't control the WH.

BUT, they can figure a way to keep Cindy Sheehan off of * 'ranch' land.....

[acmavm]

2. Intentional as hell.

[maddezmom]

3. more like planned systematic failure

sums up the whole *administration.

[sinkingfeeling]

4. SOP for this White House. Everything's blotched!

[Hugin]

5. They didn't mention the male prostitutes posing as 'Journalists'.

Not a word.

[durtee librul]

26. And of course then we have

ol' Jeffie Gannon/Guckert who ha(s)(d) unrestricted access to the WH at all hours........and they whine when Sandy Berger stuck papers in his pants...

[Ezlivin]

6. They broke the law - "...a power granted them under federal law."

Simple question: If it is a federal law to allow security officers to make inspections of the West Wing and they were not permitted, is this a crime?

If not, why not? After all, they were prevented from following the law.

Another day, another set of outrages. When will it end?

[dragonlady]

7. Just another thing they can't (or won't) do right

As far as security, what should we expect when Bush goes on television and shows a map of where all our military units are placed around Baghdad? (Sorry, no link, but it has been reported on DU.)

[jojo54]

8. Geez, I feel like I'm hearing about the Three Stooges, but

in a broader sense.

Moe, Larry, cheese!

[Mrs. Overall]

10. Yes, they are the Three Stooges and here's the video to prove it--

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

[ClintonTyree]

9. Replace Bush's name with Clinton in that story....

and let's see how the corporate "liberal" media would react.

[MotorCityMan]

15. I've been saying that for over 6 years now

For every scandal ignored, for every fuck up by * and company that the MSM refuses to report on, I would say to myself, "If this had happened with Bill and Al in office, you would never hear the fucking end of it."

[soothsayer]

11. oh, but * and cheney can 'declassify things at will'--isn't that the meme?

careless a-holes! You lose yer security clearance for infractions like that.

[tanyev]

14. It's OK--we're Republicans! Rules are made for everybody else.

[rocktivity]

16. Maybe some hearings are in order

starring Jeff Gannon!


rocknation

[Orsino]

17. Not counting the entire staff, focused on undermining...

...national security, of course.

[IChing]

18. Waxman: 'Systematic' security failures in Bush White House

Source: Raw story

The head of the House Committee on Oversight and Governance Reform warned today of a 'systematic failure' in basic security procedures as well as the safeguarding of classified information in the White House of President George W. Bush.

"Multiple current and former White House security personnel have informed my staff that White House practices have been dangerously inadequate with respect to investigating security violations, taking corrective action following breaches, and physically securing classified information," Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) wrote to former White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card today.

Waxman sought Card's cooperation in his probe on a "systematic breakdown" in White House security procedures.

According to Waxman, the security personnel "described a systemic breakdown in security procedures at the White House," and he warned that they suggested "that the security lapses that characterized the White House response to the leak of Wilson's identity were not an isolated occurrence, but part of a pattern of disregard for the basic requirements for protecting our national security secrets."

Read more: http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Waxman_Systematic_securit...

[ck4829]

19. K&R

[Donnachaidh]

20. so IMPEACH these a-holes already!

Do we have to wait for bloody bodies on the floor of the Oval Office?

[calimary]

28. I hope you're calling your congresscritter about this.

They need to know, I mean REALLY NEED to know that we the voters (who worked our tails off last year to make sure the Dems got back into power - HINT, HINT) DEMAND this.

Have we NOT, by now, reached the "high crimes and misdemeanors" level? For heaven's sakes, like you just said in such frustration, WHAT'S IT GOING TO TAKE??????

[Double T]

21. Just another reason to impeach the entire administration

[bjobotts]

22. Read entire Waxman letter to Andrew Card

Thank you for this post. After reading the entire letter I was shocked to see how badly this Administration operates. If foreign powers don't already know our secrets it's only because they don't care to know. Leaving classified material laid out in your hotel room when out visiting with the president while on a trip...good god, these people are so incompetent. Our National Security is a joke now...that's why HALF of the secret service officers in the WH left in the last year alone. How much more do we have to endure before this congress begins impeachment. It's to the point where congress should focus all of its attention on WH corruption and incompetence before something horrible occurs...These people are operating outside of all the boundaries of government. We now know 1/3rd of the country is insane and in power, screaming "somebody stop me".

[EVDebs]

24. Google up ptech wikipedia. Bang head against wall. nt

[calimary]

27. Astonishing, isn't it? Welcome to DU, btw!

Glad you're here! Now GET BUSY!!!

Convenient TOLL FREE Capitol Hill switchboard numbers located in my sig line below. Won't cost anything but a couple of minutes of your time. You can ask to be connected to ANYBODY'S office in the House and/or Senate, and they'll transfer you FREE!

[krkaufman]

29. Ummm... couldn't this be rephrased as "the White House is breaking the law"?

Bullet 2:

--No West Wing inspections allowed. Security officers were denied access to the power wing of the White House, preventing them from making inspections, a power granted them under federal law. Senior White House officials actively blocked inspections.

At what point are these chumps going to be held accountable for their rampant disregard for the law? We're only 3 months in to the Democratic majority, so this is a good start. Ijust hope this info finds its way to the MSM and the public, so the Dems aren't left out in the cold.

[goforit]

30. This prooves my point!!! Bush/Cheney are ANTI-AMERICAN

[Triana]

31. SO - If the bu$hit Admin Can't Even Secure the White House

HOW are they going to secure the COUNTRY?

Homeland Security my A**!

[lakeguy]

32. this is what republicans do...

they claim that "big" government doesn't work and then they set out to prove it.

[maddezmom]

33. White House security violations alleged

White House security violations alleged
By Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Washington

Published: April 23 2007 23:23 | Last updated: April 24 2007 02:38

The White House was on Monday accused by a senior Democratic congressman of systematically ignoring security breaches and violations involving classified material, including leaving “sensitive” classified information unattended in a hotel room.

Henry Waxman, chairman of the House oversight committee, said interviews with current and former White House security personnel raised questions about alleged failures by the Bush administration to investigate security violations.


In a letter to Andrew Card, former White House chief of staff, Mr Waxman asked him to testify voluntarily before the House committee for government reform.

Mr Waxman’s inquiry into White House security policies followed a hearing last month in which James Knodell, chief security officer at the White House, said his office had never conducted an internal investigation to identify who leaked the name of Valerie Plame, a former covert CIA agent, to several reporters.

The matter was investigated by a special prosecutor at the justice department, Patrick Fitzgerald, who oversaw the conviction of Lewis “Scooter” Libby, a former aide to vice-president Dick Cheney, on obstruction and perjury charges.

more:http://www.ft.com/cms/s/7c7bfadc-f1ca-11db-b5b6-000b5df...

[gratuitous]

34. Is there a penalty for breaking the law anymore?

Or is the war on terror so all-consuming that following even the lightest protocols is too onerous?

[Demeter]

35. What Really Happened:

Somebody got a sliver of Reality, unadulterated Truth, into the West Wing.