‘Memogate’ report delayed as new witness steps forward

[CatWoman]

The Senate sergeant at arms’ final report on whether Republican aides hacked into Democratic Judiciary Committee files has been delayed as a former committee aide stepped forward with new information that seems to undercut Democratic claims that a criminal investigation was warranted.

The report was scheduled to be given to Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and ranking Democrat Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) yesterday.

Democrats on the judiciary panel have called for a criminal investigation of how Republican aides accessed internal Democratic documents and whether they then circulated them to the media, the Department of Justice and the White House.

But a former aide assigned to Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on Friday signed a sworn affadavit stating that between October 2001 and September 2002, Republican and Democratic staffers on the Judiciary Committee could easily access each other’s private documents on the committee’s shared computer server.

The aide’s testimony seems to corroborate the defense put forth by Manuel Miranda, who coordinated the GOP strategy on President Bush’s judicial nominees for Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) before being pressured to resign last month.

http://www.thehill.com/news/030204/memogate.aspx

[Beetwasher]

1. Huh?

"But a former aide assigned to Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on Friday signed a sworn affadavit stating that between October 2001 and September 2002, Republican and Democratic staffers on the Judiciary Committee could easily access each other’s private documents on the committee’s shared computer server"

So if I read this correctly, their defense is now, "well we were both ABLE to do it."

In other words, the Dems were able to do it too, so that makes it ok that we actually did do it. Even though the Dems DIDN'T do it (or they weren't stupid enough to leave evidence) and the Repubs were busted red handed, they should be excused because they Dems also had the opportunity to steal. Good Grief, that's pathetic...

[htuttle]

4. Doesn't mean Democrats were stupid...

...just law-abiding.

Our mistake, I suppose.

[short bus president]

2. Hm. "It was easy to do, so clearly it wasn't wrong."

Is THAT how they're trying to defend this?

[joeunderdog]

8. If you don't lock your front door you deserve to be robbed.

What's sick is that this will feel like a perfectly acceptable defense for these criminals and the investigation will seem fruitless.

Maybe we really do need more jails.

[AngryWhiteLiberal]

3. Typical. So much for the party of personal responsibility...scumbags. n/t

JB

[dweller]

5. mmm...someone knows how this 'ability' came about

breaching/nullifying a firewall?
dismantling a <insert your own idea of security here> thus allowing both sides access to the other's files.

so yeah, it was easy for either side to cross, only problem is only one side knew of the breach...and took advantage of it.

not a defense,
dp

[Rex]

6. So a witness stepped forward and admited that the Repukes stole

information and the Dems COULD HAVE but didn't. I don't see how this helps the Reps case.

[0007]

7. Nada

[RC]

9. Can't see how it helps the repugs case? Come on now.

You can't see it 'cause you are not corrupt. You don't think like a greedy repug. You have integrity. See what honesty get you?.

[Nancy Waterman]

10. So they didn't pick the lock

they still walked into someone else's house and took what they found!! By law that would still be considered "breaking and entering" even if they didn't break something to enter, but nonetheless didn't have permission (and clearly wouldn't have had it, had they asked).

No egg on the face here. It is highly illegal!!

[1monster]

14. It's called illegal entry...

But whether you call it breaking and entering or illegal entry, either way, it's ILLEGAL.

[LiberalFighter]

11. Key Points

• The former Republican committee aide knew about the security problem but only informed other Grassley staffers and the U.S. Secret Service.
  
  • Did those Grassley staffers or Secret Service report the security problem to anyone on the Democratic side?
    
  • What did that former Republican committee aide do to correct that security problem?
    
  • Did that former Republican committee aide password protect their files?
    
  • What measures were taken to protect Republican files?
    
  • How long did that security problem exist?
  
  
• Thousands of internal Democratic Judiciary Committee documents were downloaded by GOP staff, and 14 of those documents were later leaked to journalists.
  
  • THAT IS INTENTIONAL AND KNOWINGLY AND CRIMINAL.
  
  
• The former Republican committee aide was a computer technician at the University of Maryland and helped manage computer security for the school’s technical support administration.
  
  • How do we know that he didn't hack in or look for flaws so that he could retrieve those files?
  
  
• For weeks, Miranda has asserted that he and another GOP aide embroiled in the controversy over publicized Democratic memos could easily access the documents from the desktop computers and did not break or hack into Democratic files.
  
  • It is breaking and entering whether a person breaks a window or smashes a door to gain entry. It is also breaking and entering when one gains entry thru an unlocked door or window.
    
  • It didn't take them long to download thousands of internal Democratic Judiciary Committee documents.
    
  • Did Republicans seek times when the Democratic computers were not being used so they could better hide their illegal activities?

[Octafish]

12. Great points!

Do you want to handle the prosecution of Bush and the BFEE, too? All I want is to be able to put the handcuffs on Cheney. It's personal, in a way.

[aquart]

13. Only Handcuffs? Manacled Feet and Orange Jumpsuit. Perp Walk.

I have a long memory.

[LiberalFighter]

15. How about that flight suit...

and make sure the crotch area is secured TIGHT!!

[UTUSN]

16. So, the "Investigation" Will Exonerate Itself

So the docs were available and reported, but MIRANDA and his elf continuted ACCESSING. And LEAKING to the press. And this will be exoneration.