10/5/01: Bush Pulls Security Clearances From 92 Senators

[LiviaOlivia]

10/5/01: Bush Pulls Security Clearances From 92 Senators
thinkprogress.org
07/26/05

“We can’t have leaks of classified information. It’s not in our nation’s interest.” - President George W. Bush, 10/9/01

President Bush’s defiant statement came in the immediate weeks following 9/11, as the administration clamped down on the information it provided to Congress. President Bush issued an order limiting access to classified intelligence only to 8 members of Congress — the Speaker of the House, House Minority Leader, Senate Majority Leader, Senate Minority Leader, and chairmen and ranking members of the House and Senate intelligence committees.

What precipitated this course of action?

Gannett News Service reported on 10/1/01 that Bush was restricting information because, “The Washington Post reported last week that various lawmakers had been told there would be more terrorist attacks if the United States retaliated.”

~snip~

So at this slightest whiff of evidence that information was being leaked, President Bush pulled classified intelligence access for 92 senators. There was no ongoing criminal investigation nor was there evidence that all the members who had their access limited had leaked information. And now he refuses to hold Karl Rove and Scooter Libby to anywhere near the same standard, despite confirmation of their involvement in the leak of an undercover CIA agent’s identity.

~snip~

http://thinkprogress.org/2005/07/26/bush-pulls-security/

[eleny]

1. What a great find!

[bushisanidiot]

2. AWOL Bush: a flip-flopping fool

what a dolt.

[cthrumatrix]

3. they didn't want soo many people looking into their crimes

[gman16]

4. Send this to

Olbermann

[bunny planet]

34. Just did.

[longship]

5. Send this to Helen Thomas.

She needs to amend her daily question.

Helen Thomas rules!


One of Helen's targets

[Freedomfried]

39. Helen's patriotism makes her beautiful

she's a very appealing lady.

[Sam_Lowry]

6. Agreed! Great catch!

Send it out to as many as you can!

:applause:

[Straight Shooter]

7. Has he let Rove & Libby know that leaks are not in our nation's interest?

Apparently not. But they certainly are in his interest. He doesn't really flip-flop in this situation, but he definitely holds a double standard: one for himself and his gang, another one for the rest of us.

edit: great catch, LiviaOlivia. :thumbsup:

[FreedomAngel82]

14. Exactly

Republicans now days believe they are above the law. Time to show them that isn't true.

[LiviaOlivia]

8. Congrats go to Faiz at thinkprogress.org

Great site.

Sadly our tool of a prez mouths off for the masses but as we all know he doesn't practice what he preaches.

[proud patriot]

9. LOL

flippity floppity

[Talismom]

10. Unbelievable! I'm just blown away by this! n/t

[screembloodymurder]

17. Yes, but is it true?

Does anyone have a legitimate link?

[jackstraw45]

19. It's TRUE! I remember this!

I had forgotten but now I do - Bushco was crying about members of congress who got classified briefings leaking info to the press.

I don't remember if they actually PULLED the clearances - I think they just threatened to.

[screembloodymurder]

21. Can't find anything on this.

Looks bogus to me.

[LiviaOlivia]

26. Why don't you take it up with the author ?

They have a feedback section.

[jackstraw45]

42. Memories are so short...here:

http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/10/09/ret.bush.secrecy/

I hate to link to CNN but basically this sums it up.

[Verve]

11. Wow! I hope the media gets a hold of this! Email to everyone! n/t

[mikelewis]

12. When were they reinstated?

If they only have filtered access to classified documents, this could explain a whole lot.

[Tennessee Gal]

13. Rampant hypocrisy!

But we have come to expect it.............

[progressoid]

15. Aaaa ha ha ha ha ha!!!

The policies of the most secretive administration in history bites them in the butt!

Maybe they shouldn't even allow themselves to read their own classified information!

[AtomicKitten]

16. Good To Know

Good job ferreting out info.

This piece is a real eye-opener.

[BamaBecky]

18. Well looky here! This is great! Thanks! Send it far and wide! n/t

[dmr]

20. WOW! And he also asks this excellent question -

http://thinkprogress.org/2005/07/21/a-simple-question

Way back in 2001, White House press secretary Ari Fleischer went public with a declaration:

While a few senior aides are free to speak to media organizations if they alert the press office, others “should not talk to the press without authorization — it’s not their job.”

Furthermore, Fleischer claimed that the “policy Sept. 11, but it has more urgency now. ‘In a time of war, people are more concerned about nobody making mistakes,’ he said.”

So here’s a question: When Karl Rove leaked the identity of Valerie Plame, was he authorized to do so?

If no, then Karl Rove betrayed the trust of the White House.
If yes, and Rove’s actions were cleared through the press office, then the White House betrayed the trust of the American people and our nation’s security.

So, which one was it?

[Vinca]

22. What an amazing bit of info.

And yet the doughboy and his sidekicks are given total access.

[paineinthearse]

23. This would have had to have been done by executive order

Anyone have the order (and rescinding order) number(s)?

[annabanana]

24. friggen hypocrite.... . . n/t

[kimchi]

25. Kick for answers.

I'd like to know more also.

[BigBearJohn]

27. me too !! kick

[bajamary]

28. Oh no Mr. W strikes again

Lordy, oh Lordy.....what will they think of next?

[bleever]

29. Thank you so much. What a great, great find. And there are more jewels

buried all over the beach of 9/11 and the eighteen months that followed.

It's like we all have memory loss. Everyone was surprised about the delay between Gonzales telling the White House to preserve records. It was pretty much common knowledge to those of us following the news at that point, and we knew that the WH was aware of the big heads-up they got.

Now people are surprised that Gonzales called Card. The funny thing is, that call was unnecessary, but at this date makes a fine piece of incriminatory evidence.

[Patsy Stone]

32. So much to shred

and so little time... :hi:

[bleever]

36. Too bad the Clinton staffers didn't steal the "Delete" keys instead of "W"

:7

:hi: :toast: and...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=4196358&mesg_id=4196358

[bleever]

37. Also: if 18 and 1/2 minutes of tape can be erased by recording over

them seven or nine times...

isn't it a little harder to erase all the trails of all the emails?

Maybe they're still floating like ghosts of dead tadpoles on some server in Sweden, for all we know.

:)

[tuvor]

38. It's not memory loss.

It's bushco's ability to distract, and our not being able to take everything in.

I'll bet something else significant to the media happened after that news first came out. The terror level was raised to orange, or they discovered al Qaeda's number three man, or....

[ignatius 2]

30. Oh, so first Bush was against security leaks before he was for them..

what a jackass he is..of course he really is clueless, he is doing anything and everything Cheney,Wolfie,Perle,Poppy and Rumsfeld say.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

31. Herr Busch is going to love this when it gets blown back in his direction!

[journalist3072]

33. Kick ass thread of the day!

[Just Me]

35. Umm, wow. He did that? How did he have the power to do that?

Is this for real? He pulled security clearances for members of a separate branch of government back in 2001? Who were they?

This is wild.

[TNOE]

40. Interesting

:kick:

[bloom]

41. kick

:kick: