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View Full Version : Yet another ethical lapse from the white house



RandomGuy
04-07-2006, 09:18 PM
WASHINGTON - The revelation that President Bush authorized former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby to divulge classified information about Iraq fits a pattern of selective leaks of secret intelligence to further the administration's political agenda.

Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and other top officials have reacted angrily at unauthorized leaks, such as the exposure of a domestic wiretapping program and a network of secret CIA prisons, both of which are now the subject of far-reaching investigations.

But secret information that supports their policies, particularly about the Iraq war, has surfaced everywhere from the U.N. Security Council to major newspapers and magazines. Much of the information that the administration leaked or declassified, however, has proved to be incomplete, exaggerated, incorrect or fabricated...


Full leght article... as if anybody will read it. (http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/politics/14291966.htm)

In yet another sad example of the lack of ethics and honesty in this administration, we finally have some concrete proof that supporters can't wish or spin away.

In China, everything that has to do with the government or the nation is deemed classified, from simple sociological studies to government corruption at the party level. If you try to publish anything that might remotely embarass the government, the police will swoop in and you will have a long time in a small room to think about how badly you want that information to be public.

This administration has taken steps along this path in obvious and disturbing parallels.

EVERYTHING is classified, because somewhere, someone might use information to embarass the administration, unless of course there is political gain to be had. Then this information unsurprisingly finds its way to light.

This is NOT good government, nor is it a sign of a government that trusts the people it alleges to represent. Voters need to have information to make informed choices, and when you limit that information, you limit the ability of the people who really own government to make good decisions.

The sad thing is that a guy that many have argued as being a decent guy has turned out to be (SURPRISE!) just as slimy as those same people say Clinton was.

Bush had thumbed his nose at the rule of law, used national security classification as a political tool, and proven that he has no ability to pick competant people to run things.

He is touted as a holder of an MBA who brings a corporate style of governing to the white house. But any good executive knows how to surround himself with talented people. This guy can't even do that. "Good job Brownie" is just the tip of the political-appointee-over-talent-iceberg.

RandomGuy
04-07-2006, 10:07 PM
The scary thing is that there are hints that we are not being told about all the spying that is going on, including warrantless wiretaps where both callers are in the U.S.

This basically nullifies constitutional protections at a wave of the hand, simply because the president thinks he knows better than the rest of us. Scary.

gtownspur
04-08-2006, 01:42 AM
So, Random.

Are you gonna bet your house that past democrat administrations and democrat politicians have not disclosed classified info?

Nbadan
04-08-2006, 01:46 AM
It is scary RG, the implications are that the Executive Branch has put itself above the law it is supposed to help represent. Meanwhile, the Senate and Congress, under Republican tullage, has chosen to sit this most important battle involving our Constitutional freedoms on the sidelines by not calling for a serious non-partisan investigation. This, I believe, is the greatest betrayal of our representative system since the creation of our country.

Nbadan
04-08-2006, 02:06 AM
The pot is cooking..

Libby Prosecutor
Outlines Effort
At High Levels

Fitzgerald Aims to Show
An Organized Plan Led
To Leak of CIA Agent's Name

By ANNE MARIE SQUEO
April 8, 2006; Page A6


WASHINGTON -- The special prosecutor trying the case against former vice presidential chief of staff I. Lewis Libby will try to show that the leaking of a CIA agent's name grew out of a highly organized administration effort that commanded high-level attention, a court filing this week shows.

Pretrial filings by Mr. Libby's defense team indicate they intend to argue that any misstatements made in Mr. Libby's testimony to investigators and a grand jury were innocent mistakes because of his focus on more pressing national-security issues. They are seeking a wide array of classified and sensitive information they say is necessary for trial, including secret daily intelligence briefings given to the president.

This week's filing by Patrick Fitzgerald, the special prosecutor, was intended to convince the judge to deny the defense's latest request for information. In doing so, the prosecutor also attacked Mr. Libby's bad-memory defense by introducing new information about the attention -- including by President Bush -- placed on responding to Joseph Wilson, a former ambassador and critic of the Iraq war.

Lawyers say in a high-profile legal battle like this, where the judge already has warned both sides not to try their case in public, pretrial motions become a critical element in the public-relations campaign.

"Mr. Libby's defense, as we understand it, is that because of his 24-7 national-security responsibilities, he just forgot his conversations with reporters," says Scott Fredericksen, a Washington defense attorney and former prosecutor. "And what Mr. Fitzgerald is telling the judge here is that Mr. Libby was expressly authorized to go have these conversations with reporters by the vice president and authorized to release classified information by the president. That is a unique situation and not very forgettable."

WALL STREET JOURNAL (http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB114443407090120247-e9XMcD7TTAyKnsZ5CRdxjcZIA_E_20060507.html?mod=tff_ main_tff_top)

gtownspur
04-08-2006, 02:35 AM
"Fitzgerald Aims to Show
An Organized Plan Led
To Leak of CIA Agent's Name"

:lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao

wow talk about old news.

gtownspur
04-08-2006, 02:37 AM
Tandem Guy, You're full of it.

You are full of dog shit.

You mean to tell me that if an administration would have leaked classified info about a previous admin's war crimes, that you would be against it.

Does the means justify the ends?

Are you against all leaks, wether good or bad......


:lmao

RandomGuy
04-08-2006, 09:07 PM
Tandem Guy, You're full of it.

You are full of dog shit.

You mean to tell me that if an administration would have leaked classified info about a previous admin's war crimes, that you would be against it.

Does the means justify the ends?

Are you against all leaks, wether good or bad......


:lmao

Man, please re-read my post. Your reply very obviously indicates that you didn't understand what you read.

gtownspur
04-09-2006, 03:03 AM
Man, you're post had no real point whatsoever. SOmehow you tied classified leaks to prove that the admin is corrupt, you then used an example of how the Bush admin appointed the wrong people as how corrupt the admin is.

So in essence, your point was;

The bush admin leaks classified info because they appoint the dumbest people which makes the admin look corrupt.

see...... no point whatsoeverl.

Vashner
04-09-2006, 08:25 AM
More like a staffing mistake.. Libby turned out to be a talking bitch.

If this was Soprano's he would of been whacked by now (jk for humor**).

RandomGuy
04-10-2006, 11:41 PM
Man, you're post had no real point whatsoever. SOmehow you tied classified leaks to prove that the admin is corrupt, you then used an example of how the Bush admin appointed the wrong people as how corrupt the admin is.

So in essence, your point was;

The bush admin leaks classified info because they appoint the dumbest people which makes the admin look corrupt.

see...... no point whatsoeverl.

The funniest part about this post is that you actually used the contraction "you're" but you used it in the wrong-ass place.

The second funniest thing, is that you still don't make any sense.

My point was this:

This administration condemns other governments use of torture, until it suits them.

This administration condemns leaks, until it suits them.

This administration condemns holding prisoners without trials, until it suits them.

Hypocrisy anyone?

Trainwreck2100
04-10-2006, 11:45 PM
How can it be a lapse if it's not there to begin with?

RandomGuy
04-10-2006, 11:45 PM
So, Random.

Are you gonna bet your house that past democrat administrations and democrat politicians have not disclosed classified info?

Once again you miss the forest for the trees, dude.

Sure democratic politicians have leaked things that benefitted them.

It is the culture of secrecy in this administration that bothers me. If it is embarrassing in the slightest, it will FOR PURELY POLITICAL reasons bury it under unnecessary classification, just like the Chinese totalitarian government does.

When it is criminal for the US people to know what their government is REALLY doing, doesn't that worry you just a LITTLE?

RandomGuy
04-10-2006, 11:47 PM
"Fitzgerald Aims to Show
An Organized Plan Led
To Leak of CIA Agent's Name"

wow talk about old news.

It won't be old when they indict Cheney, will it?