SCHAKOWSKY: BUSH ADMINISTRATIONS MISSTATEMENT OF THE DAY SAFETY OF US INTELLIGENCE OFFICERS AND BUSH WHITE HOUSE

SEPTEMBER 29, 2003

SCHAKOWSKY: BUSH ADMINISTRATION'S MISSTATEMENT OF THE DAY -
SAFETY OF US INTELLIGENCE OFFICERS AND BUSH WHITE HOUSE

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) issued today's "Bush Administration's Misstatement of the Day" on the safety of U.S. Intelligence officers.

The Washington Post reported on Sunday, September 28, 2003, that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has asked the Department of Justice to investigate whether the White House leaked to the press the name of a CIA operative in order to discredit or punish her husband, former US Diplomat Joseph C. Wilson IV. Wilson discovered that Iraq did not attempt to buy uranium from Niger and shared his finding in 2002 with Bush Administration officials. However, that claim was made by President Bush during his State of the Union address, but later recanted by the White House.

Today's edition of the Washington Post reported that President "Bush has no plans to ask his staff members whether they played a role in revealing the name of an undercover officer who is married to former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV, one of the most visible critics of Bush's handling of intelligence about Iraq."(Washington Post, 9/29/03)

However, President George H.W. Bush, speaking at the CIA in 1999, said:

"I have nothing but contempt and anger for those who betray the trust by exposing the names of our sources. They are, in my view, the most insidious of traitors." (President George H.W. Bush, 4/29/99, CIA)

Schakowsky said, "President Bush should share his father's contempt and anger and demand to know who in his White House may have committed this crime instead of hiding behind an inquiry by Attorney General John Ashcroft."