Dayton not on the list of Dem Senators requesting hearing on Plame?

[MinnesotaMike31]

No sign of Dayton on this list???????????????

Email him! http://dayton.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm


Kerry, Senators Urge Congressional Investigation Into Leak of CIA Agent Valerie Plame’s Name
July 25th, 2005

For Immediate Release:

Today, Senator John Kerry; Senator Carl Levin, Ranking Member of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations; and 24 other Senators formally requested that Congress investigate the leak of covert CIA agent Valerie Plame’s identity — a leak a senior administration official described at the time as “meant purely and simply for revenge.”

“Americans deserve a Congress that holds Washington accountable for the truth about our national security. Can anyone argue with a straight face that Congress has time to look at steroid use in baseball but doesn’t have the will to provide congressional oversight of the leak of a CIA agent’s name? It’s long past time to stop putting politics ahead of the public good, get to the bottom of a national security breach and restore credibility to Washington,” said John Kerry, who authored the letter.

Below is the text of the letter sent today:

Dear Mr. Speaker and Mr. Majority Leader:

The press has reported on information strongly suggesting that senior Administration officials, including White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove and the Vice President’s Chief of Staff Lewis Libby, exposed the identity of American intelligence operative Valerie Plame, despite the repeated denial of the White House at the time.

The public revelation of Ms. Plame’s identity, whether it amounts to a crime or an irresponsible breach of security protocol that doesn’t meet the standard of criminal conduct, almost certainly compromised her intelligence networks and may have compromised the safety and welfare of anyone who had worked with her overseas. As a group of respected former intelligence officials wrote in 2004: “Any breach of the code of confidentiality and cover weakens the overall fabric of intelligence, and, directly or indirectly, jeopardizes the work and safety of intelligence workers and their sources.”

The United States Congress has a constitutional responsibility to provide oversight of the executive branch, whether a law has been broken or not. It is time for Congress to fulfill that constitutional responsibility in this matter by initiating a thorough investigation.

We recognize that a criminal investigation is underway and that a special prosecutor continues to present testimony before a grand jury. These actions in no way preclude Congress’ responsibility to provide oversight. We urge you to exercise your authority as Congressional leaders by requesting the appropriate committees to begin oversight hearings and an investigation immediately.

Sincerely,

Senators Kerry, Levin, Stabenow, Schumer, Lautenberg, Rockefeller, Reed, Feinstein, Dorgan, Harkin, Kohl, Durbin, Carper, Salazar, Boxer, Inouye, Corzine, Wyden, Mikulski, Obama, Murray, Bayh, Johnson, Clinton, Sarbanes, and Landrieu.

[LeftNYC]

1. Even Bayh is on there...nt

[JDPriestly]

2. Congress should not give anyone immunity to testify.

I realize there is no danger of a hearing since the Republicans have not yet faced the truth about the Bush administration. But, just in case . . . .

[Minnesota Raindog]

3. Dayton claims he signed onto the letter

This is his response to my letter:

Thank you for contacting me regarding the U.S. Department of Justice
investigation into the disclosure of a Central Intelligence Agency
officer's identity.

I will not comment directly on an ongoing investigation by the Department of Justice. However, I believe the person responsible for leaking the identity of a CIA operative may have violated federal law, compromised vital U.S. intelligence, and endangered that agent's life. If the investigation proves that a member of the Bush Administration is responsible for this breech of national security, I believe the President must keep his word and remove that person from his staff immediately.

On June 14, 2005, I voted in favor of an amendment to the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations bill that would have helped protect our nation's intelligence community. The amendment would have denied security clearance to any federal employee who disclosed classified information, including the identity of a covert agent. Unfortunately, the amendment failed by a vote of 44-53.

In addition, along with 26 of my colleagues I recently sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and Speaker of the House J. Dennis Hastert, urging them to exercise Congressional authority by initiating oversight hearings and a thorough investigation into the security breach immediately. Congress has a Constitutional responsibility to provide oversight of the executive branch, regardless of whether a law has been broken.

Please be assured that I will continue to monitor the situation closely, and I will make sure that anyone responsible for compromising the safety of any member of the U.S. intelligence community is held accountable.

Thank you for taking the time to be in touch with me. Please contact me again, if I can be of assistance in any way.

My best regards.

Sincerely,


Mark Dayton
United States Senator

[MinnesotaMike31]

4. I didn't see his name on the list......

Did I miss it? Or was his name left off the list by "accident"?

Maybe he is just saying he was one of the senators that signed onto it? I would hope he wouldn't say that if he didn't actually sign onto it.

Interesting, response from the senator. I have yet to get a response back yet :-(