Bush Reprimands Lawmakers Over Leaks
WASHINGTON – Rep. Christopher Shays (D-4th) said he approves of President Bush’s decision to reprimand members of Congress who allegedly leaked classified information relating to the bombing strikes against Afghanistan to the press, saying there is no justification when national security was at stake.
“The less people know the better,” Shays said. “We don’t want a lot of people to know. Some members who had been briefed shared classified information with the press and this affects our national security. There is absolutely no excuse for that. The Senate must reprimand those who have done that.”
Rep. James Maloney (D-5th) said that it was necessary for members from the Armed Services, Foreign Relations and Intelligence committees to have access to secret information to fulfill their constitutional role of oversight. “They need to have a fairly candid degree of understanding of the facts,” Maloney said. “But what no member of Congress needs to know are the details of troop movements and other issues where the lives of American servicemen and women are at risk,” Maloney stressed.
Bush accused lawmakers last week of leaking secrets provided to them by intelligence officials to the news media, just before the U.S. attacks on Afghanistan. He said it was unacceptable to leak classified information when troops were at risk.
The leaks initially prompted Bush to instruct his staff to brief only four congressional leaders [the Senate Majority and Minority leader, the Speaker of the House, and Minority Leader] as well as the chairmen and vice chairmen of the intelligence committees about classified information relating to the military activities. After lawmakers expressed their disapproval, Bush reached an understanding with Congress Wednesday to also provide classified briefings to members of the Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees.
Maloney said he found Bush’s initial decision to brief only a few members “restrictive” and said he was very “pleased to see that progress has been made on negotiations between Congress and the White House” to provide information to more members of Congress.
Congress members had urged the President to strike the right balance between giving Congress enough information to let it oversee the executive [Bush administration], and protecting national security. In order to be able to do their job, Congress said members of committees such as Foreign Relations, Armed Services, Judiciary and Appropriations must have access to secret information that has been barred by the memo Bush circulated.
The new decision by the Bush administration does not make clear how extensive the briefings would be, and who would be included. Questions on whether members of the intelligence committees of both houses, or leaders of the appropriations committees that oversee spending on diplomatic, military, intelligence and law enforcement matters would be included remain to be answered.
