csua.org/u/cu2 -> www.boston.com/news/politics/president/bush/articles/2005/07/25/congress_plans_to_scrutinize_plame_related_issues/
George W Bush Reuters Congress plans to scrutinize Plame-related issues By David Morgan | July 25, 2005 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Congress will conduct a series of hearings on nati onal security and espionage issues raised by the CIA-leak controversy su rrounding senior Bush adviser Karl Rove, officials said on Monday. The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence plans hearings on po tential national security threats posed by leaks, including leaks to the media, and will aim to toughen legislation barring the unauthorized dis closure of classified information. "It's time there's a comprehensive law that will make it easier for the g overnment to prosecute wrongdoers and increase the penalties that hopefu lly will act as a deterrent," said Rep. Pete Hoekstra of Michigan, the p anel's Republican chairman. Media leaks and the covert status of espionage officials have become poli tically charged issues with the controversy over Valerie Plame, whose id entity as a CIA agent was leaked in 2003 after her diplomat husband Jose ph Wilson accused the White House of exaggerating intelligence to justif y the Iraq war. A Time magazine reporter said he learned about Plame's identity from Rove , deputy White House chief of staff and chief architect of President Bus h's re-election. Time reporter Matthew Cooper also said he discussed Pla me and Wilson with Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's c hief of staff. It can be illegal for a government official to knowingly disclose the ide ntity of a covert CIA operative. Democrats, who have urged Bush to fire Rove or revoke his classified clea rance, stepped up political pressure on Republicans on Monday by calling for a formal congressional investigation of the Plame leak. Speaking earlier at a forum hosted by the conservative Heritage Foundatio n, Hoekstra said his committee would begin hearings as early as Septembe r that would include testimony from CIA, Pentagon and Justice Department witnesses. He said he would also hope to invite witnesses representing the news medi a Intelligence officials have long complained that leaks to the media have damaged US spy operations, including efforts to track al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Hoekstra described current laws governing unauthorized disclosure as a li mited "patchwork" of statutes. Past attempts to craft more comprehensive measures have ended in failure. But Hoekstra said concerns fostered by bombings in Madrid, London and Egypt have created a more favorable polit ical climate. "That's what we have t he hearing process for, to design and determine exactly what legislation might look like." Meanwhile, Hoekstra's counterpart in the Senate, Republican Sen. Pat Robe rts of Kansas, intends to preside over hearings on the intelligence comm unity's use of covert protections for CIA agents and others involved in secret activities. The chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence could hold he arings on the use of espionage cover soon after the US Congress return s from its August recess, said Roberts spokeswoman Sarah Little. Little said the Senate committee would also review the probe of special p rosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, who has been investigating the Plame case for nearly two years. Reuters content is the intellectual property of Reuters or its third-party content providers. Any copying, republicatio n, or redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing o r similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written conse nt of Reuters.
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