Dem CONGRESS: Waxman Questions White House Security Practices

[L. Coyote]

Waxman Questions White House Security Practices
Friday, March 16, 2007
Disclosure of CIA Agent Identity
http://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=1213


Rep. Waxman asks White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten to explain why the White House failed to conduct any investigation following the disclosure of Valerie Plame Wilson’s covert CIA employment. The letter follows the testimony of the Director of the Office of Security at the White House, James Knodell, that the White House Security Office did not follow the investigative steps prescribed by Executive Order 12958.
Documents and Links

* Letter to White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten - http://oversight.house.gov/documents/20070316154127-11403.pdf
* Follow-up Letter to Joshua Bolten (April 10, 2007) - http://oversight.house.gov/documents/20070410130747.pdf

[AndyA]

1. That question needs to be posed to Bush as well, as he stated that

anyone involved would be dealt with. How can you deal with something when you don't even bother to look into it? :shrug:

Of course, we now know Bush was lying to us about it all, since he was obviously involved in the outing early on. Can you say treason?

[HCE SuiGeneris]

2. Geez. What is Waxman trying to do? Set the the record for

"person appearing most times on America's Most Iggy'd List?"

:9

[jojo54]

3. Blah, blah, blah.

I'm sick and tired of the Democrats stirring up the coals, then running when things get too hot. They're losing credibility and if they don't actually DO something about ANYTHING soon, 2008 will be just a blur.

[L. Coyote]

4. Testimony: White House never conducted any investigation ..Rove, others guilty ...violated laws

James Knodell, Director of the Office of Security at the White House, testified at the
hearing about White House procedures for safeguarding classified information. During his
testimony, Mr. Knodell made some remarkable statements about how his office handled the
disclosure of Ms.'Wilson's covert status. Specifically, Mr. Knodell testified:

  The Office of Security for the White House never conducted any investigation of the
  disclosure of Ms. Wilson's identity;

  Under the applicable executive order and regulations, your senior political advisor, Karl
  Rove, and other senior White House officials were required to report what they knew
  about the disclosure of Ms. Wilson's identity, but they did not make any such report to
  the White House Office of Security; and

  There has been no suspension of security clearances or any other administrative sanction
  for Mr. Rove and other White House officials involved in the disclosure.

Mr. Knodell also testified that it would be inappropriate to allow an individual who was a
security risk to retain his or her security clearance while a criminal investigation is pending. As
members of the Committee pointed out, a criminal investigation can last years, and it would
jeopardize national security not to investigate the officials implicated in the leak and suspend
their security clearances if there were reason to suspect their involvement. Mr. Knodell did not
dispute this point.

The testimony of Mr. Knodell appears to describe White House decisions that were
inconsistent with the directives of Executive Order 12958, which you signed in March 2003.
Under this executive order, the White House is required to "take appropriate and prompt
corrective action" whenever there is a release of classified information. Yet Mr. Knodell could
describe no such actions after the disclosure of Ms. Wilson's identity.

Taken as a whole, the testimony at today's hearing described breach after breach of
national security requirements at the White House. The first breach was the disclosure of Ms.
'Wilson's identity. Other breaches included the failure of Mr. Rove and other offrcials to report
their disclosures as required by law, the failure of the White House to initiate the prompt
investigation required by the executive order, and the failure of the White House to suspend the
security clearances of the implicated officials.

..............

[L. Coyote]

5. OVERVIEW & TIMELINE: How the White House Shielded Leakers of Plame's Identity

How the White House Shielded Leakers of Plame's Identity
By Goverup
http://www.politicalcortex.com/story/2007/3/23/5253/54611

..........
Conclusion

There is not enough information, yet, to know the extent to which Joshua Bolten used his authorities in support of Bush's vision of a "unitary executive;" however, the early signs are troubling. Potentially, Bolten might have a lot to reveal in his response to Waxman's letter; perhaps even evidence implicating the President in a cover-up. In any case, Bolten's low-profile days are clearly over.

[L. Coyote]

6. Waxman Wants Answers from White House on Bush Lying About PlameGate

Waxman Wants Answers from White House on Bush Lying About PlameGate Internal Investigation
Submitted by BuzzFlash on Fri, 03/16/2007 - 4:35pm. Alerts
http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/alerts/207
A BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERT

From the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee

Chairman Waxman Questions White House Security Practices

Today, Chairman Waxman asked White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten to explain why the White House failed to conduct any investigation following the disclosure of Valerie Plame Wilson's covert CIA employment. The letter follows the testimony of the Director of the Office of Security at the White House, James Knodell, that the White House Security Office did not follow the investigative steps prescribed by Executive Order 12958.

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================
Security Breakdown at the White House?
April 23, 2007 5:20 P
Maddy Sauer Reports:
http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/04/security_breakd.html


White_house_dusk2_nr Security practices at the White House are dangerously inadequate say current and former employees of the security office there, according to a letter sent today from the House Oversight Committee to former White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card, asking that he cooperate with the committee's investigation into the alleged security lapses.

[L. Coyote]

7. "described a systemic breakdown in security procedures at the White House,"

Waxman: 'Systematic' security failures in Bush White House
Michael Roston
http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Waxman_Systematic_security_failures_in_Bush_0423.html

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."

The Oversight Committee chairman listed consistent allegations presented to his committee. The White House, he reported in the letter, ignored security breaches, blocked West Wing security inspections, and condoned mismanagement of the White House Security Office.

..............