Oh, it just keeps getting better.
The Senate GOP is refusing to support the Senate Democrats' amendment that would make the disclosure of classified information by a government employee cause for losing a security clearance. This is the amendment:
No federal employee who discloses or has disclosed classified information, including the identity of a covert agent of the Central Intelligence Agency, to a person not authorized to receive such information shall be entitled to hold a security clearance for access to such information.Instead, the Republicans are proposing an amendment that would make you lose your clearance, basically, if any evil foreigners tried to use one of your statements for their own propaganda (it's a bit more complicated than that, but not by much). Now, you have to love that one, as George Bush would lose his clearance immediately, since pretty much everything he says and does has fueled Al Qaeda's resurgence in Iraq and worldwide.
But it gets better. They also want to yank Senators' security clearances if they reference a classified FBI report on the Senate floor. This is a swipe at Senator Durbin, over his criticism of the horrible conditions at Abu Ghraib. But ironically, the proposed law would also rip Senator Orrin Hatch's (R-UT) security clearance because he has in the past referenced judicial nominee's FBI files.
In addition, every Senator who participated in an Armed Services Committee hearing on Gitmo yesterday might lose their clearance because the FBI agents' comments were discussed. Those Republicans who participated in the hearing are:
* John Warner
* John McCain
* Pat Roberts
* Jeff Sessions
* Saxby Chambliss
* Elizabeth Dole
* John Cornyn
The length extremist Republicans will go to defend treason.
So when is George Bush going to fire Karl Rove, as promised, for leaking the name of a CIA agent?
