[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 141 (Wednesday, October 8, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H9364-H9365]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           ETHICAL AND MORAL QUAGMIRE FOR THE ADMINISTRATION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Murphy). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, it is clear to me that the administration 
has fallen into an ethical and moral quagmire with regards to its 
policies in Iraq and its efforts to paper over its deceits.
  Yesterday, I asked the political director, Mr. Karl Rove, to step 
down for his role in the outing of Ambassador Wilson's wife. Last week, 
I asked the Attorney General to appoint a special counsel, in large 
part due to the possible conflicts the investigation of Mr. Rove would 
cause.
  I reached these conclusions because of the following. It was just 
reported in Newsweek that after the initial leak, Karl Rove sought to 
give the leak wider dissemination by contacting Chris Mathews and 
stating that Mr. Wilson's wife and her undercover status were ``fair 
game.'' It was also reported that a White House source confirmed that 
Mr. Rove had been working the press on the story but had merely told 
the press it was reasonable to discuss who sent Wilson to Niger.
  It is very possible that his actions were illegal under title 18 
United States Code 793. If one knows that national security information 
has been leaked, the person is required to report it to authorities, 
not to further disseminate it, as Mr. Rove has done.
  But even if he has not broken the letter of the law, Mr. Rove's 
actions are morally indefensible. He has used his influence to smear 
and intimidate a whistleblower, an ambassador to the United States 
Government, and to further publicize Mrs. Wilson's name, in fact, a CIA 
covert operative, and to impugn the Wilsons' integrity. As a matter of 
fact, according to the New York Times, a Republican congressional 
staffer said the administration strategy for dealing with the Wilsons 
was to slime and defend.
  There is a clear conflict when one is investigating the White House 
staff; and as a matter of fact, it has been reported in Time magazine 
that Attorney General Ashcroft over the years has paid Mr. Rove 
$746,000 for campaign consulting in his political races. It has also 
been reported that Mr. Rove was the driving force behind Ashcroft's 
nomination as Attorney General. ``How the religious right pushed for 
Ashcroft's nomination,'' written in the New York Times, January 7, 
2001, by David Johnson and Neil Lewis.
  We also know that Mr. Rove was reportedly fired from the campaign of 
President George H.W. Bush over a leak to Robert Novak. ``Why are these 
men laughing,'' published in Esquire magazine, written by Ron Suskind, 
January 2003.
  Wayne Slater, a Karl Rove biographer, notes a pattern of unethical 
behavior. He says, ``I don't know who leaked what to whom. Most people 
don't know the facts here. And both Bob Novak and Karl Rove have said 
it didn't happen. But I have to say that it certainly was consistent 
with the Karl Rove that I know. If he didn't do this, he certainly has 
a pattern of activity over the 15 years, 20 years that I've known him 
where he has done similar things.'' See CNN, October 1, 2003.
  Another Rove biographer, James Moore, thinks that he must have known 
about the leak and says, ``After having watched Mr. Rove for all of 
these years, I know full well, and anybody who knows the way he works, 
that something of this nature does not happen without Karl checking the 
yes box. I'm saying that if Mr. Rove is not involved, I'll eat the 
paperback copy of my own book because this is a guy who controls 
everything, and he has a history of putting a layer of protection 
between himself and other people, using other operatives to get things 
done.'' Buchanan and Press, MSNBC, October 1, 2003.
  Finally, let us not forget that many have received information that 
Mr. Rove is the source of the initial illegal leaks themselves. 
According to the London newspaper, The Guardian, on October 1, several 
journalists have confirmed off the record that Mr. Rove is the source 
of these leaks. We know from The Washington Post that fully six 
journalists were called with the initial leak.
  The above information is all publicly available. I do not possess a 
team of investigators. All one needs to do to gather this information 
is read the New York Times, Newsweek, The Washington Post, Time 
magazine.
  I will insert my full statement at this point.
  Mr. Speaker, it is clear to me that the Administration has fallen 
into an ethical and moral quagmire with regards to its policies in Iraq 
and its efforts to paper over its deceits.
  Yesterday I asked Karl Rove to step down for his role in the outing 
of Ambassador Wilson's Wife. Last week, I asked the Attorney General to 
appoint a special counsel, in large part due to the possible conflicts 
in the investigation of Mr. Rove.
  I reach these conclusions because of the following:
  It was just reported in Newsweek that after the initial leak Karl 
Rove sought to give the leak wider dissemination by contacting Chris 
Mathews and stating that Mr. Wilson's wife and her under cover status 
were ``fair game.'' It was also reported that a White House source 
confirmed that Mr. Rove had been working the press on the story, but 
had merely told the press ``it was reasonable to discuss who sent 
Wilson to Niger.''
  It's very possible that his actions were illegal. Under 18 USC 793 if 
you know national security information has been leaked, you are 
required to report it to authorities, not to further disseminate it, as 
Mr. Rove has done.
  Even if Mr. Rove hasn't broken the letter of the law, his actions are 
morally indefensible. He has used his influence to smear and intimidate 
a whistle-blower. It is quite obvious he has sought to further 
publicize Mrs. Wilson's name and to impugn the Wilsons' integrity. As a 
matter of fact according to the New York Times, a Republican 
congressional staffer said that the Administration's strategy for 
dealing with the Wilson's was to ``Slime and Defend.''
  There is a clear conflict whenever you are investigating White House 
staff. As a matter of fact, Time Magazine has reported that AG Ashcroft 
paid Mr. Rove $746,000 in the 1980's and 1990's for campaign consulting 
on his Senate and Governor's races.
  It has also been reported that Mr. Rove was the driving force behind 
Ashcroft's nomination as Attorney General. ``How the Religious Right 
Pushed for Ashcroft's Nomination,'' David Johnston and Neil A. Lewis, 
New York times, January 7, 2001.
  We also know that Rove was reportedly fired from the campaign of 
President George H. W. Bush over a leak to Robert Novak. ``Why Are 
These Men Laughing?'', Ron Suskind, Esquire Magazine, January 2003.
  Wayne Slater, a Karl Rove biographer notes a pattern of unethical 
behavior: ``I don't know who leaked what to whom. Most people don't 
know the facts here. And both Bob Novak and Karl Rove have said it 
didn't happen. But I have to say that it certainly was consistent with 
the Karl Rove that I know. If he didn't do this, he certainly has a 
pattern of activity over the 15 years, 20 years that I've known him 
where he has done similar things.'' (``Paula Zahn Now,'' CNN, Oct. 1, 
2003).
  James Moore, another Rove biographer thinks he must have known about 
the leak: ``After having watched Mr. Rove for all of these years, I 
know full well, and anybody who knows the way he works, that something 
of this nature does not happen without Karl checking the yes box . . . 
I'm saying that if Mr. Rove is not involved, I'll eat the paperback 
copy of my own book because this is a guy who controls everything, and 
he has a history of putting a layer of protection between himself and 
other people, using other operatives to get things done.'' (``Buchanan 
& Press,'' MSNBC, Oct. 1, 2003).
  Finally, let us not forget that many have received information that 
Mr. Rove is the source of the initial illegal leaks themselves. 
According to the London Newspaper the Guardian on October 1, several 
journalists have confirmed off the record that Mr. Rove is the source 
of these leaks. We know from the Washington Post that fully six 
journalists were called with the initial leak.
  The above information is all publicly available. I don't have a team 
of investigators. All you need to do to gather this information is read 
the Washington Post, the New York Times, Newsweek, Time and the like. 
Its not rocket science, and its all public information. If you add it 
up, it's an overwhelming case for resignation and the appointment of a 
special prosecutor.
  President Bush promised to return ``honor and integrity'' to the 
White House and ``change the tone in Washington.'' Instead, Mr. Rove's

[[Page H9365]]

actions are akin to the type of abuse and vendettas we saw during 
Watergate.
  When it comes to ethics, this is an Administration that has gone to 
extremes to avoid independent scrutiny. Whether it is investigating the 
President's friend Ken Lay or his Secretary of the Army Thomas White 
for their involvement in the Enron Fraud; Vice President Cheney for his 
involvement in financial fraud by Halliburton; or the involvement of 
top Republican legislators in trading campaign contributions for 
legislative favors on behalf of Westar, in the instances the Attorney 
General has not seen fit to open a single independent investigation.

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