Thursday, July 21, 2005
Leakage
The Washington Post reported that the portion memorandum that had Valerie Wilson’s name had an "(S)" in front of it. That "(S)" means that the information contained in the sentence or paragraph following is classified Secret.
President George W. Bush signed Executive Order (E.O.) 12958 on March 25, 2003. In E.O. 12958, the "Secret" label "shall be applied to information, the unauthorized disclosure of which reasonably could be expected to cause serious damage to the national security that the original classification authority is able to identify or describe."
Classification authorities can only classify classified information. E.O. 12958 says the following are considered classification authorities:
According to E.O. 12958, “intelligence activities (including special activities), intelligence sources or methods, or cryptology;” Last time I checked, Valerie Plame was working on intelligence activities concerning the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
The information regarding Valerie Wilson was “declassified” by Rove (and others in the Bush administration). However, per E.O. 12958:
Clearly, Karl Rove (and other White House staff) failed to follow the following rule for safeguarding classified information:
Karl Rove (and those in the White House who leaked the name of Valerie Wilson) did not (as far as I know) have the declassification authority. According to E.O. 12958:
Karl Rove (and others in the White House) cause an “Unauthorized Disclosure” and a Violation. E.O. 12958 defines them as:
Penalties for leaking classified information under E.O. 12958 include:
What should have happened to Karl Rove (and the White House officials who leaked the classified information:
Karl Rove (and others in the White House) cannot even follow President George W. Bush’s Executive Order 12958. Then again, it has often been said President Bush works for Karl Rove, not the other way around.
The Washington Post reported that the portion memorandum that had Valerie Wilson’s name had an "(S)" in front of it. That "(S)" means that the information contained in the sentence or paragraph following is classified Secret.
President George W. Bush signed Executive Order (E.O.) 12958 on March 25, 2003. In E.O. 12958, the "Secret" label "shall be applied to information, the unauthorized disclosure of which reasonably could be expected to cause serious damage to the national security that the original classification authority is able to identify or describe."
Classification authorities can only classify classified information. E.O. 12958 says the following are considered classification authorities:
(1) the President and, in the performance of executive duties, the Vice President;
(2) agency heads and officials designated by the President in the Federal Register; and
(3) United States Government officials delegated this authority pursuant to paragraph (c) of this section.
(c) Delegation of original classification authority.
(1) Delegations of original classification authority shall be limited to the minimum required to administer this order.
...
Agency heads are responsible for ensuring that designated subordinate officials have a demonstrable and continuing need to exercise this authority.
(3) "Secret" or "Confidential" original classification authority may be delegated only by the President; in the performance of executive duties, the Vice President; or an agency head or official designated pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) of this section; or the senior agency official described in section 5.4(d) of this order, provided that official has been delegated "Top Secret" original classification authority by the agency head.
According to E.O. 12958, “intelligence activities (including special activities), intelligence sources or methods, or cryptology;” Last time I checked, Valerie Plame was working on intelligence activities concerning the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
The information regarding Valerie Wilson was “declassified” by Rove (and others in the Bush administration). However, per E.O. 12958:
Sec. 3.3. Automatic Declassification. (a) Subject to paragraphs (b)-(e) of this section, on December 31, 2006, all classified records that (1) are more than 25 years old and (2) have been determined to have permanent historical value under title 44, United States Code, shall be automatically declassified whether or not the records have been reviewed. Subsequently, all classified records shall be automatically declassified on December 31 of the year that is 25 years from the date of its original classification, except as provided in paragraphs (b)-(e) of this section.
(b) An agency head may exempt from automatic declassification under paragraph (a) of this section specific information, the release of which could be expected to:
(1) reveal the identity of a confidential human source, or a human intelligence source, or reveal information about the application of an intelligence source or method;
Clearly, Karl Rove (and other White House staff) failed to follow the following rule for safeguarding classified information:
(e) Persons authorized to disseminate classified information outside the executive branch shall ensure the protection of the information in a manner equivalent to that provided within the executive branch.
Karl Rove (and those in the White House who leaked the name of Valerie Wilson) did not (as far as I know) have the declassification authority. According to E.O. 12958:
(l) "Declassification authority" means:
(1) the official who authorized the original classification, if that official is still serving in the same position;
(2) the originators current successor in function;
(3) a supervisory official of either; or
(4) officials delegated declassification authority in writing by the agency head or the senior agency official.
Karl Rove (and others in the White House) cause an “Unauthorized Disclosure” and a Violation. E.O. 12958 defines them as:
(nn) "Unauthorized disclosure" means a communication or physical transfer of classified information to an unauthorized recipient.
(oo) "Violation" means:
(1) any knowing, willful, or negligent action that could reasonably be expected to result in an unauthorized disclosure of classified information;
(2) any knowing, willful, or negligent action to classify or continue the classification of information contrary to the requirements of this order or its implementing directives; or
(3) any knowing, willful, or negligent action to create or continue a special access program contrary to the requirements of this order.
Penalties for leaking classified information under E.O. 12958 include:
(c) Sanctions may include reprimand, suspension without pay, removal, termination of classification authority, loss or denial of access to classified information, or other sanctions in accordance with applicable law and agency regulation.
What should have happened to Karl Rove (and the White House officials who leaked the classified information:
(d) The agency head, senior agency official, or other supervisory official shall, at a minimum, promptly remove the classification authority of any individual who demonstrates reckless disregard or a pattern of error in applying the classification standards of this order.
(e) The agency head or senior agency official shall:
(1) take appropriate and prompt corrective action when a violation or infraction under paragraph (b) of this section occurs; and
(2) notify the Director of the Information Security Oversight Office when a violation under paragraph (b)(1), (2), or (3) of this section occurs.
Karl Rove (and others in the White House) cannot even follow President George W. Bush’s Executive Order 12958. Then again, it has often been said President Bush works for Karl Rove, not the other way around.
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Yesterday, John Aravosis of Americablog.com asked, "Someone who deals with security clearances, please contact me privately." So I did. I happen to have a security clearance. Though I am not an expert at it, I know a bit of what I needed to do to get a security clearance. I sent John two e-mails. The first was the Department of Defence (DoD) Regulation dealing with what clearances are issued, how they are issued, and under what conditions they can be revoked. The second e-mail I sent John was that I thought the process for obtaining a security clearance would be similar for White House staff, because they had to fill out a Standard Form-86, too.
At the time I sent the two e-mails, I did not have time to scour the regulation to determine under what conditions the security clearance should be revoked. Since John (and Americablog) has a rather large following, others pitched in. Later, I was able to read the DoD Regulation and pull out a few items for why Karl Rove should have his security clearance revoked.
From my experience, when someone is undergoing an investigation, his or her clearance is suspended pending the out come of the investigation. If the outcome of the investigation finds that the person was guilty of the offence, then the clearance is revoked. If the outcome of the investigation finds that the person was innocent of the offence, the clearance is re-instated.
At a minimum, Karl Rove should have his clearance revoked, pending the outcome of the investigation. With his clearance revoked, he would not be able to sit in on any classified (Confidential or above) briefings. He would be relegated to a White House ornament.
If Fitzpatrick does ultimately bring charges against Karl Rove, and if Karl Rove cannot wiggle out of them, he should be convicted. Karl Rove, directly or indirectly (it is not clear at this point) told reporters that Ambassador Joe Wilson’s wife was a CIA operative. Thanks to Karl Rove, now know she worked on preventing the spread of weapons of mass destruction. Karl Rove ruined the job she did. The contacts she had were exposed and her mission jeapoardised all because Karl Rove (and perhaps George W. Bush) wanted to get back at Ambassador Wilson for writing the New York Times Op Ed stating that Iraq never sought to buy yellow cake uranium from Niger.
We will just have to wait and see what happens…
At the time I sent the two e-mails, I did not have time to scour the regulation to determine under what conditions the security clearance should be revoked. Since John (and Americablog) has a rather large following, others pitched in. Later, I was able to read the DoD Regulation and pull out a few items for why Karl Rove should have his security clearance revoked.
From my experience, when someone is undergoing an investigation, his or her clearance is suspended pending the out come of the investigation. If the outcome of the investigation finds that the person was guilty of the offence, then the clearance is revoked. If the outcome of the investigation finds that the person was innocent of the offence, the clearance is re-instated.
At a minimum, Karl Rove should have his clearance revoked, pending the outcome of the investigation. With his clearance revoked, he would not be able to sit in on any classified (Confidential or above) briefings. He would be relegated to a White House ornament.
If Fitzpatrick does ultimately bring charges against Karl Rove, and if Karl Rove cannot wiggle out of them, he should be convicted. Karl Rove, directly or indirectly (it is not clear at this point) told reporters that Ambassador Joe Wilson’s wife was a CIA operative. Thanks to Karl Rove, now know she worked on preventing the spread of weapons of mass destruction. Karl Rove ruined the job she did. The contacts she had were exposed and her mission jeapoardised all because Karl Rove (and perhaps George W. Bush) wanted to get back at Ambassador Wilson for writing the New York Times Op Ed stating that Iraq never sought to buy yellow cake uranium from Niger.
We will just have to wait and see what happens…
