Announcing that it is “time for Congress to exercise its duty to oversee the Executive Branch,” the ranking minority member of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, Rep. John Conyers has just released a press statement announcing that four different U.S. House Committees will be voting on resolutions within the next week to request information on the outing of covert CIA operative, Valerie Plame.
Conyers describes the issue as a matter of “criminal and ethical misconduct” done “for political reasons, to retaliate against the operative’s husband for successfully challenging the President’s claim that Iraq had sought nuclear materials in Africa.”
The resolutions will be forced to come to a vote in the House Judiciary, International Relations, Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Armed Services Committee.
Conyers also calls former Attorney General John Ashcroft on the carpet for initially dragging his feet on the investigation and for remaining involved in it as it moved forward despite Ashcroft’s “long-standing ties to Karl Rove.”
UPDATE: On ConyersBlog, he also adds this:
The complete press release, along with scheduled dates and Internet URL’s for watching and/or listening to the debates on the four separate resolutions in the four separate House committees follow…
September 13, 2005
4 House Committees to Vote on Demanding CIA Leak Documents from Cabinet Departments
Watch and Listen Live on the Internet
Over the next week, 4 House Committees are expected to vote on resolutions requesting information on the outing of Valerie Plame Wilson in apparent retaliation for Ambassador Wilson’s truth-telling about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Most of these markups will be broadcast live on the Internet. The following is a listing of the expected markup times and Internet sites for webcasting:
1. House Judiciary Committee, Wednesday, September 14, 10 AM, ET, 2141 Rayburn Building. Simulcast at: http://judiciary.house.gov/.
2. House International Relations Committee, Wednesday: 10:30 AM, ET, Simulcast at http://wwwc.house.gov/international_relations/
3. House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence: Thursday, September 15, 1 PM ET. closed to public
4. House Armed Services Committee, Time TBA, Tuesday, September 20, Simulcast at http://www.house.gov/hasc/schedules/
Conyers stated: “This resolution is necessary because the Bush administration refuses to police itself in the midst of criminal and ethical misconduct. In July 2003, over two years ago, a Bush administration official committed one of the most serious breaches of national security in recent history by disclosing to the press the identity of an undercover CIA operative. Even worse, it likely was done for political reasons, to retaliate against the operative’s husband for successfully challenging the President’s claim that Iraq had sought nuclear materials in Africa.
“The purpose of this resolution is to get to the bottom of what happened and why the Justice Department slow-walked the investigation at the beginning. We know that, despite urgent pleas from the CIA for a criminal investigation into the leaker, the Justice Department and White House dragged their feet. Then-Attorney General Ashcroft insisted on private briefings on the status despite his long-standing ties to Karl Rove, a person involved in the investigation.
“It is time for Congress to exercise its duty to oversee the Executive Branch.”
##JUD-109-9/13/05##
About time.
I’ve been standing on my head and whistling Dixie for almost 6 years now. Does this mean I can put my feet on the ground soon?
Alan
THANK YOU JOHN!!!!
I cant wait to watch as nothing happens.
Now that I have been listening and reading things from the right, I see how wrong you all have been. Your ‘facts’ are speculative at best and general based on conspiracy theories.
Im happy you drove me away, I have been freed from the lies of the left.
BYE!
#4
I’m not too familiar with things from the right. Can you elaborate on what speculation has been passed off as fact, what debunks said speculation, and what constitutes a conspiracy theory in your view?
Thanks.
Brad – on Lars Larson’s show several days ago, Larson said something to the effect that if an agent hadn’t been out of the country in 5 yrs, that agent was no longer undercover. You disagreed but I forget about what and ya’ll didn’t get to discuss the matter because of a station-break. Can you now address Larson’s statement that Ms. Plame was NOT undercover?- did you disagree about the 5 yr limit or that Ms. Plame HAD been out of the country within the 5 yrs previous to the leak. thx!
John Conyers is unstoppable, self-confident and always on the job. A shame the president isn’t.
Conyers keeps the pressure when others are scratching their heads!!!
@Medium Right (Re: #4)
This isn’t about left-right. This is about corruption and treason issues. – We can’t help it that republicans are found whereever the corruption is, maybe they can answer that for you (but i doubt it).
btw.. testimony by reporters under oath and copies of their emails, etc… isn’t a ‘conspiracy theory’… it’s evidence… evidence of corruption that you refuse to acknowledge.
"Medium Right" is supposed to be a clever reference to the political spectrum, i.e., a person a bit on the conservative side of center.
But "right" has more than one meaning in English. It also means "correct." Thus, our friend can be said to be "medium correct," or partly right. He’s right that nothing has been proven yet, wrong that liberals are liars.
If John Conyers gets nowhere with his resolutions, it won’t prove anything more than that Republicans control Congress and were able to block them. But truth has dominion beyond partisanship…and that’s not a "medium right" statement.
#7 DKD:
Here’s a link I found — Brad may have more or different information to help with your question, but this article at Media Matters is pretty good:
USA Today relied on unsupported reading of law in report suggesting that outing Plame was likely not a crime
Friday July 15, 2005
If U had access to surveillence cameras after hours capturing the robots in CONGRESS, you would probably find half the so called Democrats holding hands with arch rivals of the corporate stratosphere, the Bushit Republicans. This accounts for the weak and the willing. Finally you get down to a few proud bulldog Democrats trying to do the right thing in the best interests of the AMERICAN PEOPLE. This is a very small group of John Wayne/Clint Eastwood spagehetti-western style fighters. Keep in mind though that this elite group of Congressional men and women are so severely out numbered that unlike in the movies, good rarely prevailes. The ugle winner of CONGRESSIONAL VOTES in the House and the Senate collectively is more of the same Bushit spun out around lies, disinformation, and right wing corporate self interests characteristic of the Bushit administration. So in the end it really doesn’t matter if it’s live or if it’s memorex. If the bastards are still in the White House instead of jail where Rove and the rest of the lying murderers in the Bushit family of terror belong, CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES AND HEARINGS are a load of political posturing. Bushit history dictates that when someone in the Bush camp gets accused of a wrong doing they get a promotion. Admittingly this is difficult when corporations own the media and the government dictates the content of what is said. Rove could be appointed the next head of FEMA. Did FEMA do a better job with their official 911 investigation or reacting to impending hurricane Katrina? Suppose FEMA did a good job considering it is not an investigative agency, it consisted of UN volunteers, they were not allowed access to ground zero, it was not allowed at the Pentagon crash site until October, it reported WTC building #7 collapsed for unknown reasons, and all the steel was completely disposed of before the report was released. Rove could already secretly be directing FEMA so make BUSHIT official. Good Luck Johnny.
M3 # 10
Damn straight!
The events that are unfolding now have percolated under the surface for 5 yrs. It has nothing to do with party so much as it as to do with integrity. Now that things are beginning to bubble to the top we can let our system begin to work for the people again. Our elected officials from both sides of the aisle need to take a good long look into their souls (for those who haven’t sold them).
Call and e mail to voice your support. Remind the media they can start reporting current events any time now.
Right on.
http://www.LiberalUnderground.org
#12
Thanks Kira – I believe Brad’s and Larson’s diagreement WAS over whether Ms. Plame had or had not been out of the country during the previous 5 yrs. Was she assigned overseas or did she just take trips? Is "taking trips" sufficient to qualify for coverage under the IIPA? Sure hope so. (gonna take a while to digest it!) Would be a shame for political hacks to endanger our country and walk on a technicality. Again, thx for the info.
Go Rep Conyers. You never give up.
I, on the other hand, get distracted by the current blow by blow new evidence of Bushco’s corruption.
Vote fraud, lieing about Iraq, then the quagmire, the aweful truth of seeing Americans die in NOLA for lack of fucking water-while the world watched.
And thank God for Cindy Sheehan and Bradblog.
I just hope that–the other Americans–will see the truth before my son has to to Iraq. Each day that passes, more are destroyed in Iraq.
Thanks for listening.
DKD – The "not out of the U.S. in the past five years" is a classic wingnut/apologist canard. Fairly well described in the link that Kira pointed to.
I don’t have time now to go into the details, but I’ve spoken with several CIA folks about it. And of course, as the article Kira linked to mentions, it was the CIA themselves that requested the criminal investigation. That, and her employment description as of 1999 as working for the CIA front company Brewster Jennings.
Try looking up Larry Johnson’s writing on this (posted in several places)
The wingnuts will attempt to outslick Slick Willie in parsing all of everything related here. Anything to avoid taking responsibility.
ALSO PLEASE NOTE the "Update" I’ve posted to this item above, in re: the purposes for these forced resolution votes in the House.
You’re welcome DKD! The actual wording of the Code —
US Code collection
(4) The term covert agent means:
(A) a present or retired officer or employee of an intelligence agency or a present or retired member of the Armed Forces assigned to duty with an intelligence agency
(i) whose identity as such an officer, employee, or member is classified information, and
(ii) who is serving outside the United States or has within the last five years served outside the United States; or
(B) a United States citizen whose intelligence relationship to the United States is classified information, and
(i) who resides and acts outside the United States as an agent of, or informant or source of operational assistance to, an intelligence agency, or
(ii) who is at the time of the disclosure acting as an agent of, or informant to, the foreign counterintelligence or foreign counterterrorism components of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; or
(C) an individual, other than a United States citizen, whose past or present intelligence relationship to the United States is classified information and who is a present or former age
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The exact wording of the code doesn’t make any mention of how much time one has to be out of the country serving in this capacity.
I started ranting. Forgot my point . The legal issues aside, the Karl Rove/Bushco outing of Joe Wilson’s wife shows that their loyalty is to Bushco/Repugs. Not to the United States of America.
While as always I applaud Conyers for doing everything he possibly can, at the end of the day, what is this going to accomplish? Any good at all? Possibly. How?
Well, 2006 is coming. And those thugs who have to run for re-election, if they are unfortunate enough to live in a state where there is still fair voting, well, their opponents will be able to use this testimony against them. It will make some great campaign commercials. So it’s ammunition.
In the short term, it’s going to put the bastards on the spot and make ’em squirm. That’s good, too.
Can’t wait to see some more fake memo’s he can drag up and maybe do some more of those mock hearings in the basement.
Fake memos? Dude, you have been seriously drinking kool-aid. If you’re talking about the DSM, the British government acknowledged these memos were real. Not fake. Come towards the light, my brother.
Time also for a massive rebellion: Qué sera, sera
Sorry for the bum link, people: Qué sera, sera
Commander HOC and Medium Right,
You mean THESE memos and this hard evidence?
http://media.putfile.com/DeadWrong01
http://media.putfile.com/DeadWrong02
http://media.putfile.com/DeadWrong03
http://media.putfile.com/DeadWrong04
http://media.putfile.com/DeadWrong05
http://media.putfile.com/DeadWrong06
http://media.putfile.com/DeadWrong07
http://media.putfile.com/DeadWrong08
http://media.putfile.com/DeadWrong09
http://media.putfile.com/DeadWrong10
http://releases.usnewswire.com/...e.asp?id=53236
Oh gee that looks like a conspiracy theory to me…. YEAH, RIGHT!!!!
Hahahahaha I can’t wait to watch non-senselessbrenner the f*king jackoff make a fool of himself….
This is going to be funny to watch, I’m tuning in starting tomorrow. Its treason, you’re talking about right and wrong and crimes of treason….
Suuuure, lets let that slip on a technicality and just ignore the law.
Oh for those of you who don’t know yet, the most serious laws were broken in this case.
It’s time for everyone to read Citizen Spook’s reports from an expert.
Doug E.
Peg C: Its entirely possible too.
They could just vote for the resolution, the GOP leaders who do it would look "good" and buy some capital.
Then they could try to whitewash all the investigations, you know, lessen the criminal penalties…
Let Karl Rove fall on his sword like a freak so it takes the heat off the president. Let Karl Rove rot in jail. Of course, we’d have to force them all to throw Libby away for treason. Hell someone like Libby must HANG, and be forced to because of the serious breach of security.
Make no mistake, no matter how the GOP slugs or DLC spin it, the house floor vote will be bad for ’em. The * approval is down to the….well 20s, and its about time the f*ker resign so they’re either abandoning the ship or spinning like mad…
Doug
Doug,
Were you ever a Baathist? You sure sound like one.
اﻟﺒﻌﺚ
Medium Right re: #4 – Thanks for stopping by to say goodbye. Now, as my great-uncle would have said, "Don’t let the screen door hit ya where the good Lord split ya!"
*****
I hate to sound jaded, but I’ll believe these criminals are really finally busted when I hear the clank of the prison doors closing. (Yeah, I knowm that’s not going to happen LITERALLY – but y’all know what I mean)
It’s Wednesday 9/14/05 10:37 AM ET.
I keep getting "unsupported transport" error messages on that house international relations committee webcast….
anybody else?
First, I am SOOO glad to see MediumRight going bye-bye. I hate the time he causes intelligent people to take from their discussions to address his non-points (which, of course is the strategy, and the reason that these trolls exist in the first place — to DISTRACT us).
As for Rove, Cheney, Libby, and perhaps Card — we should be so lucky as to see them rot in jail, but I doubt they’ll get there. WHEN the indictments come down, the Republicans will THEN seem so surprised ("What? Illegal outing? Here in my establishment? I’m amazed.") and they will call hearings and grant immunity so they can "get the evidence" and then that immunity will be used to overturn the criminal convictions, just as it was in Iran/Contra and the perpetrators will go on to Congress and perhaps the Senate, or other positions of influence in future neo-con administrations (can you say Jeb Bush 2008?).
At this point, I expect nothing less than lock-step support of the Administration from the Republicans. It’s actually the DEMOCRATS I’m more interested in pressuring, to keep them from drifting into the realm of the darkness.
My Rep (Blumenauer, D-OR-3rd) doesn’t seem to know WHERE he is going to land (I think his mind and his staff are on summer vacation). He’s on the IR committee, but he hasn’t taken a position. I find this OFFENSIVE and CLOISTERED and representative of the "inside the beltway, the bloggers wear tin foil hats" mentality, and I will be happy to see him moved into retirement and a more worthy Democrat take his place.
Charlie L
Portland, OR
CLL2001@gmail.com
DE – It’s a dog chasing its tail. I’m hoping, rather, for a huge revelation which will make all these legal technicalities moot. Chase after Fitzgerald’s multiple investigations. And keep your teeth firmly clenched in the forked tail of this horror story.
Charlie:
Lockstep ay?
The resolution 375 failed by only one VOTE, your rep bluemenaur made the difference..
Next time you think of lockstep think of people like commander hoc and his idiocy. This is why R’s are jumping ship left and right. Can you get the democrats to stand to the same podium?
Doug E.