Andrew McCarthy posted an article at PJ Media today about the recent fuss over leaks of classified information. Mr. McCarthy points out a few things about the appointment of a special counsel to investigate the leaks. First of all Mr. McCarthy points out that the sources of the leaks are named in the New York Times articles containing the leaks!
Mr. McCarthy points out:
At the very beginning of the 6300-word kill-list epic, it says: “In interviews with The New York Times, three dozen of [Obama’s] current and former advisers described Mr. Obama’s evolution since taking on the role, without precedent in presidential history, of personally overseeing the shadow war with Al Qaeda.” The account goes on to quote, for example, former White House chief-of-staff Bill Daley, who not only confirms the existence of a kill-list but describes the considerations behind adding names to it. Current and former national security officials are quoted, in many instances by name (e.g., national security adviser Thomas Donilon and former national intelligence director Dennis Blair). And when names are not given, the Times quotes, for example, “one participant” in the approximately weekly meetings — videoconferences run by the Pentagon but involving national security officials across the administration — who describes some of the criteria for adding or removing terrorists from the kill-list.
Attorney General Eric Holder has appointed two special prosecutors to investigate the security leaks–Ron Machen, the U.S. attorney for the District of Colombia, and Rod Rosenstein.
The article further points out:
…That is, everyone on the team reports to Holder and, ultimately, Obama — they are not independent. The attorney general has shrewdly moved with apparent speed and responsiveness to address congressional concerns. He will be portrayed as having assembled a team of well-respected investigators who will home in on corruption while being meticulously careful about the top-secret intelligence that must be sifted through and the First Amendment concerns attendant to leak cases. The existence of the well publicized investigation will stop the public flow of information, and the team will get back to you by, say, late 2013 or early 2014, with what they’ve discovered. Maybe we’ll still remember what they were investigating … but I doubt it.
Getting honest answers about anything from the Obama Justice Department has proved to be something of a challenge. I suggest we don’t hold our breath waiting for the results of this investigation. Unfortunately, if things run true to form, the reputations of two good men may be ruined in the process.
