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Democratic Leaders to Speaker Hastert: Congress Must Investigate Leak of CIA Agent’s IdentityWashington, D.C. – House The text of the letter follows: July 15, 2005
The Honorable J. Dennis Hastert Speaker
Recent revelations that White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove was involved in the disclosure of classified information regarding the identity of CIA covert agent Valerie Plame raise serious questions that we believe the House of Representatives has a duty to investigate. It has been two years since Ms. Plame’s status as a clandestine service officer was revealed in a Robert Novak column. For obvious reasons dealing with the safety of covert agents and their network of sources, unauthorized disclosures of the identities of CIA agents are among the most serious of national security breaches. This fact alone should have spurred House committees into action and hearings should have been convened to take testimony under oath. If that had been done, and if appropriate sanctions had been placed on those identified as having acted wrongly, the American people could have been assured that anyone who disclosed classified information was no longer in the employ of the federal government. Regrettably, none of that happened. We urge you to direct that committees with jurisdiction over the Plame matter schedule hearings immediately. In previous Republican Congresses the fact that a criminal investigation was underway did not prevent extensive hearings from being held on other, much less significant matters. The House has neglected its oversight responsibilities on many crucial issues related to the war in The American people deserve the truth about who in the White House recklessly endangered our national security by disclosing classified information. We want to work with you to restore the reputation of the House for vigorous oversight of activities in the executive branch and, especially given the revelations about Mr. Rove, believe the disclosure of Ms. Plame’s CIA status is an excellent place to start. Thank you for your consideration of our views. We look forward to your response. Sincerely,
House
Robert Menendez James E. Clyburn House Democratic Caucus Chairman House Democratic Caucus Vice Chairman |
“ Democrats are united in presenting a New Direction for America, one that will make our nation as strong as its people, one that brings opportunity, security, and prosperity to all Americans. ” Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi |
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