Congressional Democrats Force Votes on PlameGate Coverup

Congressional Democrats are attempting to force House members to vote and go on record as to whether they support Karl Rove’s outing of Valerie Plame in four House committee meetings. Some of these committee meetings are available by webcast, with sites listed in this press release from Congressman Conyers:

For Immediate Release:
September 13, 2005

4 House Committees to Vote on Demanding CIA Leak Documents from Cabinet Departments

Watch and Listen Live on the Internet

Over the next week, 4 House Committees are expected to vote on resolutions requesting information on the outing of Valerie Plame Wilson in apparent retaliation for Ambassador Wilson’s truth-telling about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Most of these markups will be broadcast live on the Internet. The following is a listing of the expected markup times and Internet sites for webcasting:

1. House Judiciary Committee, Wednesday, September 14, 10 AM, ET, 2141 Rayburn Building. Simulcast at: http://judiciary.house.gov/.

2. House International Relations Committee, Wednesday: 10:30 AM, ET, Simulcast at http://wwwc.house.gov/international_relations/

3. House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence: Thursday, September 15, 1 PM ET. closed to public

4. House Armed Services Committee, Time TBA, Tuesday, September 20, Simulcast at http://www.house.gov/hasc/schedules/

Conyers stated: “This resolution is necessary because the Bush administration refuses to police itself in the midst of criminal and ethical misconduct. In July 2003, over two years ago, a Bush administration official committed one of the most serious breaches of national security in recent history by disclosing to the press the identity of an undercover CIA operative. Even worse, it likely was done for political reasons, to retaliate against the operative’s husband for successfully challenging the President’s claim that Iraq had sought nuclear materials in Africa.

“The purpose of this resolution is to get to the bottom of what happened and why the Justice Department slow-walked the investigation at the beginning. We know that, despite urgent pleas from the CIA for a criminal investigation into the leaker, the Justice Department and White House dragged their feet. Then-Attorney General Ashcroft insisted on private briefings on the status despite his long-standing ties to Karl Rove, a person involved in the investigation.

“It is time for Congress to exercise its duty to oversee the Executive Branch.”