When is it NOT a crime to leak classified intelligence information? According to the Bush/Ashcroft Justice Department, it's not a crime if you happen to be a Republican senator from Alabama.
The Washington Post is reporting this evening that Sen. Richard Shelby first divulged classified intercepted messages to FOX News reporter Carl Cameron, who didn't use the info, and then to CNN reporter Dana Bash, who put it on the air some 30 minutes after she heard it from Shelby.
"Last month it was revealed that the Justice Department had decided to forgo a criminal prosecution, at least for now, and turned the matter over to the Senate Ethics Committee." Can't imagine why.
What did Shelby tell? The disclosure involved two messages that were intercepted by the National Security Agency on the eve of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks but were not translated until Sept. 12. The Arabic-language messages said 'The match is about to begin' and 'Tomorrow is zero hour.' "
When Shelby spilled these particular beans to the FOX & CNN reporters, he had just stepped out of a classified briefing by the CIA, where he had learned these nuggets. Shelby's motive? He wanted to underscore his belief that the intelligence services were incompetent. Fair enough. But he also underscored just what the CIA is (or was) able to gather on a daily basis, even if they can't seem to get the stuff translated fast enough.
Wednesday, August 04, 2004
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