From the press release: “All Democrats on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) today joined Congressman John F. Tierney (D-MA), the only New England Member of HPSCI, to call on President George Bush to revoke White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove’s security clearances and access to classified information. In a letter to the President, all nine Democrats on the Committee urged him to take immediate action.”
The letter [PDF format] is signed by all Democrats on the committee, including Rep. Jane Harman and Rep. Rush Holt.
A couple hours ago, I watched on C-SPAN as Rep. Holt spoke on the floor of the House along with Wash. state Rep. Jay Inslee, a longtime friend of former Ambassador Joseph Wilson. Rep. Inslee organized the forum at which Amb. Wilson first suggested that Karl Rove be “frog-marched” out of the White House.
OUR JOB: Spread the word on this. There isn’t a single news story on this press conference, release, or letter via Google or Yahoo news searches.
Go Tierney! (My Congressman).
Go Inslee, my mom’s Congressman….
He took down the video of the forum at which Wilson made the infamous frog-marching statement… it’s probably up somewhere.
Inslee and Holt were very good on the floor of the House this afternoon. I can’t find a press release at either of their sites though.
As David Sirota just wrote: “This is a major development – Democrats of all stripes on the committee are coming together to do what’s right.”
On the one hand, I feel an average joe ought to be “innocent until proven guilty” and, maybe, Rove is entitled to that, too. On the other hand, just the whiff of impropriety should prompt a public servant is be removed from his capacity until it is resolved. For example, a school principal may be falsely accused of child abuse. During the investigation, I don’t think it’s a good idea for him to continue working in the school. After he’s absolved, fine, give the guy a pay upgrade for his suffering. But, in the meantime, the risk is too great. I could expand and offer other equivalents like an pilot suspected of drunkeness.
So, these calls for Rove’s security clearance being revoked stike me as fair and reasonable. It would happen to a school principal, to an airline pitot, to an accountant when his books didn’t add up, to so many other ordinary Americans suspected of crimes. Public service isn’t strictly about guilt or innocence; it’s about trust.
“Innocent until proven guilty” is the standard for criminal punishment. But when we’re talking about allowing people to hold positions of privilege and trust, the burden of proof shifts to other side.
Right now, I can’t see anything that could possibly clear Rove from the charge of violating his public trust, regardless of ultimate criminal liability. But even giving him the benefit of the doubt in the long run is no reason he should get it now. Relieving people of duty pending the outcome of an investigation is a fairly standard practice. But, of course, we all know that standard practice doesn’t apply to Republicans.
Of course we could also declare that Rove fits into some legal limbo so we don’t have to worry about due process. It seems to be all the rage these days.
Or maybe we could save Fitzpatrick some work and send Rove to Syria for questioning.
Snark.
are showing balls. And that is what it takes to take on someone as powerful and vindictive and Karl Rove.
No clearance, a mere slap on the hand for this treasonous act, that ties in with the war crimes to take place, as a result of their numerous lies. The yellow cake just one of the lies. Do remember the lies and attacks on people like O’Neill, & Clarke, that could have saved America some suffering… America is in a nasty street fight with these thugs, and the American public is still trying to follow the rules of fighting ??? Time to drop the gloves, and as a friend once said; throw sand in their face, and kick them in the balls. The ethics are long gone in our National Government.
it’s a media campaign. The Dems are sending a united message from the intel committees.
I think it is an effective beat of the drum.
Boo, The Democrats are pretty much as guilty as the Republicans in a lot of actions that have taken place in the last 5 years(10 or 20 for that matter). The so-called Democrats are in the same bed as the so-called Republicans, they helped make it. Just another hand-job by the democrats, think back of their handjobs(actions, whatever) of the last few monthes; did anything get done ?!?!? Slow dance should not be an option, time to demand accountability for the politicians in office, regardless of their party. Simply my opinion, EtJ, who has seen enough.
Ed, hugs … you sound like you’re on a different wave length and perhaps feeling depressed about the state of the world. My suggestion: Hang with the kids at the FBC Cafe – Humpday Edition (in Recommended Diaries).
The only hand job I’ve seen this afternoon is the one that Chris Matthews gave Ken Mehlman.
It’s just one step, Ed.
I faxed Inslee’s office for a statement since they don’t have a press release on the site. Neither does Rush Holt. They were both just excellent on the floor.. hope they’re replayed later.
Boo, I think that what Inslee/Holt said on the floor was that the President is REQUIRED to respond to them. He can’t blow it off.
Anyone (be they Republican or Democrat) that is against this is not serious about national security.
Harman has been acting like a Rove puppet on the Downing Street Memos. So it’s fairly astonishing to see her acting like a Democrat all of a sudden.
Let’s hope that the key word re Harman is not acting. She is notorious for having no “follow through”, after all.
Oh, she’s acting all right. She’s always acting. But it’s her weather vane act I’m thinking of now. If she’s acting like a Dem, heck, even folks like Biden and Lieberman are likely to as well.
TREASONGATE: IT’S NOT JUST KARL ROVE
By Ted Rall
“Internal sabotage offers a tempting explanation for the fact that so much has gone wrong for the United States since 2001. After 9/11
Osama bin Laden was in Pakistan–which had financed the Taliban and trained the hijackers at its camps–but Bush shocked analysts by attacking
Afghanistan and
Iraq instead. Was Bush’s refusal to search for bin Laden in his nation of residence the result of spectacular incompetence–or a continuing alliance with the same Islamists his father’s presidency had armed and funded?” VERY INTERESTING QUESTION !!
Further: “Even Bush’s domestic policies, from tax cuts paid to the rich people least likely to stimulate the economy to his attack on
Social Security, seem designed to undermine U.S. stability and prosperity. VERY INTERESTING STATEMENT !!
“National security is bipartisan. Democrats and Republicans may be divided over various ideological conflicts, but all patriotic Americans should be able to agree on a zero-tolerance policy for treason. Rove, those who worked with him and anyone who protected him must go.” Nice wrap-up, THEY MUST GO !!
link
The dots are there, for America to connect !!
Judges in criminal proceedings will revoke a defendent’s passport if he/she is a flight risk. Well, Rove is a classified intelligence leak risk, and his security clearances should be revoked.
At least, that’s one way to explain it to those who are wavering or are on the right.
Rove’s lawyer has been bloviating all week — and the RNC shills are repeating it like a mantra — that Rove had waived the privilege long ago and had nothing to hide. But he was willing, apparently, to let Cooper go to jail without lifting a finger to clarify that fact. I wouldn’t call that “fully cooperating with the investigation,” which is what both Scotty and Junior have been emphasizing is the prime directive.
He let Fitzgerald spend millions of taxpayer dollars to get Cooper to testify. He certainly had no legal obligation to help. But his boss, the president, did say that he wanted his staff to fully cooperate. Rove knew very well that Cooper was way out on a limb, and it was probably because of him, and he said nothing. And now he’s acting like he was a big hero.
He should be fired for that too. And asked to pay back the money that was spent by the prosecutor getting Cooper and TIME to reveal their source when all Rove had to do was make it clear through his lawyer that if Cooper was holding out because of him, he didn’t need to.
Firing Offense #456 (I left out the first few paragraphs of this, which you might want to read)
That’s by Digby.
It’s a perfectly reasonable request – as many have pointed out, SOP for situations under investigation.
The R’s can either pull Rove’s clearances (unlikely) or spend their days explaining to the American people why it’s OK to risk national security by letting him keep them.
Either way, it gets the conversation away from who sent Wilson to Niger and “blatant partisan attacks” yadda yadda and back on to the real issue. National security. Maybe even around to how our national security is enhanced by illegal wars that are creating terrorists faster than we can kill them.
Good work, D’s.