Legal Watch Dog Group CREW Alleges Cheney Leaked Classified Information, Breaking Federal Law

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 28, 2004--Earlier today, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a non-profit legal watchdog group, sent a letter to President Bush asking that he call upon the White House Counsel to investigate Vice President Cheney's confirmation of leaked classified information in an interview with the Rocky Mountain News on January 9, 2004.

Federal law prohibits leaking classified information. Confirming information that has already been leaked is also prohibited. In his Jan. 9th interview, Mr. Cheney referred his interviewer to a story that appeared in The Weekly Standard's November 24, 2003 issue. The story, written by Stephen F. Hayes, discussed a 16 page memo written by Defense Department Under Secretary for Policy regarding raw data and reports describing possible links between Al Queda and Iraq.

“How can the American people trust this administration if they cannot handle classified information in a responsible and lawful manner? The American people deserve better.”

Mr. Cheney, responding to a question regarding the relationship between Iraq and Al Queda, called the Standard's story "the best information out there." Mr. Cheney provided this information despite the Pentagon's November 15, 2003 press release stating that news reports that characterized the contents of the memo were "inaccurate" and excoriated the leak as "deplorable and may be illegal." The Pentagon also stated that leaking such information does "serious harm to national security."

"Mr. Cheney's reference to classified information and the ensuing silence from the White House shows a distinct pattern: leaking classified information that the administration deems beneficial is Standard Operating Procedure," Melanie Sloan, Executive Director of CREW said today.

"The deliberate delay in investigating the outing of Valerie Plame and the immediate investigation into an alleged leak by former Secretary of the Treasury Paul O'Neill the morning after Mr. O'Neill's interview with 60 Minutes shows the contrast between investigations into leaks that help with President Bush's agenda and those that damage the administration's efforts."

"Perhaps even more disturbing, Mr. Cheney is continuing to rely on a discredited memo to buttress the administration's claim of a connection between Iraq and Al Queda as justification for the war in Iraq, completely contradicting both President Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell who have admitted that there is no evidence linking Iraq to the September 11th attack."

"The administration cannot play politics with classified information. First, it endangers national security and second, it encourages others to leak such information," Sloan said today. "How can the American people trust this administration if they cannot handle classified information in a responsible and lawful manner? The American people deserve better."

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is a non-partisan legal watchdog group. CREW brings legal cases exposing government officials who betray the public interest by serving special interests. CREW's cases target not only such officials, but also the special interests supporting them. http://www.citizensforethics.org/