|
Hypocrite Lawmakers Refuse Lie Detector Tests
Friday, Aug. 2, 2002
Lawmakers Refuse Lie Detector Tests
Members of the House-Senate panel probing intelligence breakdowns are refusing FBI requests that they take lie detector tests to reveal the source of a leak about the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
"I don't know who among us would take a lie detector test," said Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama, the ranking Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee. "First of all, they're not even admissible in court, and second of all, the leadership [of both parties] have told us not to do that."
The chairmen of the intelligence committees, Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., and Rep. Porter J. Goss, R-Fla., asked the FBI to investigate after the White House complained that the leaks were "alarmingly specific" and could compromise the war on terrorism, the Washington Post reported today.
But now the probe's "unprecedented scale has angered some lawmakers, according to people close to the investigation. The lawmakers are unhappy that the FBI, an agency they oversee, is investigating them."
Shelby fumed to the Associated Press today, "Here we are investigating the FBI for huge failures, and now we're asking them to investigate us."
The probe violates the government's separation of powers, he said. "You know the Senate and, I assume the House, has always investigated their own."
'Grave Concerns'
Senate plurality leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., voiced similar concerns. He has "grave concerns about the congressional separation of powers issues raised by having one branch of government asking to polygraph employees of another branch," a spokesman told the Post.
Shelby said he thought the FBI had questioned all 37 members of the House and Senate intelligence committees. Agents have also grilled 60 congressional staff members and officials at the CIA, the Defense Department and the National Security Agency, the Post reported.
"Now the FBI can open dossiers on every member and staffer and develop full information on them. It creates a great chilling effect on those who would be critical of the FBI," Charles Tiefer, a University of Baltimore law professor and former House deputy general counsel, told the Post.
"The FBI, with their great boots, are tramping around on ground that is privileged and privileged for good reason, to preclude intimidation of members."
'Ironic'
But Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., found his colleagues' complaints amusing.
"I do think it's ironic that an investigation has been requested into this particular leak that you are referring to by the bipartisan leaders of the Ethics Committee. And then when the investigation goes forward, at the request of the committee themselves. Then people start complaining about, 'Oh, my goodness, they're asking us questions,'" he told Fox News.
The FBI is trying to discover who disclosed information to CNN about communications in Arabic that hinted at an attack on the United States. The NSA intercepted the messages Sept. 10 but did not translate them until Sept. 12.
AP has reported that the communications included the phrases "Tomorrow is zero hour" and "The match is about to begin."
The intercepts were not translated until Sept. 12.
"It's a very akward situation for the FBI and members of Congress, and again I think it's a little silly," said Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., a member of the committee.
'If We Can't Trust
Our Nation's Leadership ...'
"I've said before if you've got to go around and give your members of Congress polygraph tests, then we've got a more serious problem than just leaking sensitive information out. If we can't trust our nation's leadership with sensitive information, then we ought to go back and start all over again."
But some lawmakers have shown they can't be trusted. Perhaps the most notorious is Sen. Patrick "Leaky" Leahy, D-Vt.
|
|
|
Email This to a Friend
