Whereas over the past few weeks, several publications have
been released that cite several highly sensitive United States military and
intelligence counterterrorism plans, programs, and operations;
Whereas these publications appear to be based in
substantial part on unauthorized disclosures of classified information;
Whereas the unauthorized disclosure of classified
information is a felony under Federal law;
Whereas the identity of the sources in these publications
include senior administration officials, participants in these reported plans,
programs, and operations, and current American officials who spoke anonymously
about these reported plans, programs, and operations because they remain
classified, parts of them are ongoing, or both;
Whereas such unauthorized disclosures may inhibit the
ability of the United States to employ the same or similar plans, programs, or
operations in the future; put at risk the national security of the United
States and the safety of the men and women sworn to protect it; and dismay our
allies;
Whereas under Federal law, the Attorney General may
appoint an outside special counsel when an investigation or prosecution would
present a conflict of interest or other extraordinary circumstances and when
doing so would serve the public interest;
Whereas investigations of unauthorized disclosures of
classified information are ordinarily conducted by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation with assistance from prosecutors in the National Security
Division of the Department of Justice;
Whereas there is precedent for officials in the National
Security Division of the Department of Justice to recuse itself from such
investigations to avoid even the appearance of impropriety or undue influence,
and it appears that there have been such recusals with respect to the
investigation of at least one of these unauthorized disclosures;
Whereas such recusals are indicative of the serious
complications already facing the Department of Justice in investigating these
matters;
Whereas the severity of the national security implications
of these disclosures; the imperative for investigations of these disclosures to
be conducted independently so as to avoid even the appearance of impropriety or
undue influence; and the need to conduct these investigations expeditiously to
ensure timely mitigation constitute extraordinary circumstances; and
Whereas, for the foregoing reasons, the appointment of an
outside special counsel would serve the public interest: Now, therefore, be
it
That it is the sense of the Senate
that—
(1)the Attorney
General should—
(A)delegate to an
outside special counsel all of the authority of the Attorney General with
respect to investigations by the Department of Justice of any and all
unauthorized disclosures of classified and highly sensitive information related
to various United States military and intelligence plans, programs, and
operations reported in recent publications; and
(B)direct an outside
special counsel to exercise that authority independently of the supervision or
control of any officer of the Department of Justice;
(2)under such
authority, the outside special counsel should investigate any and all
unauthorized disclosures of classified and highly sensitive information on
which such recent publications were based and, where appropriate, prosecute
those responsible; and
(3)the President
should assess—
(A)whether any such
unauthorized disclosures of classified and highly sensitive information damaged
the national security of the United States; and
(B)how such damage
can be mitigated.