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Washington, D.C. --- Rep. Rush Holt (NJ-12) today introduced legislation to make it easier to prosecute political appointees or elected officials who disclose the identities of American covert operatives for partisan political purposes.
“No public official should be able to ‘out’ a member of our Clandestine Services and get away with it,” said Holt. “If this bill becomes law, it will make it easier for prosecutors to get convictions on those who would dare to expose the identity of a covert agent for political purposes.”
Holt offered the bill in response to the unauthorized disclosure of Valerie Plame Wilson’s CIA employment and cover status by such Bush administration officials as Karl Rove, Richard Armitage and I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, Vice President Cheney’s former chief of staff. Libby goes on trial today for alleged acts of perjury and obstruction of justice in the Plame leak investigation, which has been led by U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald.
Holt’s bill would amend the Intelligence Identities Protection Act (IIPA), which was enacted in 1982 response to concerns of members of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees and others in Congress about efforts by some individuals—including rogue former intelligence officers—to disclose the names of covert intelligence agents. If passed into law, Holt’s bill would:
- Require that any inquiry for information on an intelligence community employee or contract by a non-intelligence community executive branch official—career, appointed, or elected—be reported to the Attorney General and the Congressional intelligence committees within 24 hours of such a request.
- Mandate that a report on the request for information include the requester’s name, the department, agency, or office making the request; the name of the officer, employee, or agent about whom information is requested; the type of information sought; the cover status of the officer, employee, or agent; and the date of the request.
- Exempt such reports from disclosure under the Freedom of Information or Privacy Acts.
- Exclude routine, human resources-related requests from the reporting requirement.
- Eliminate the loophole that potentially allows the identities of covert agents who have not traveled outside of the United States for more than five years to be revealed without criminal penalties for such leaks.
Holt called for swift action on the bill.
“Our national security is jeopardized every time a covert agent is exposed. It’s bad enough when a hostile intelligence service does it. It’s arguably an act of treason when one of our own people does it,” said Holt. “By passing this bill, Congress will be sending a clear message to our intelligence professionals that we will do whatever is necessary to protect them and their networks from being compromised by sleazy political operators.”
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