[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 18]
[House]
[Page 24267]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   INDEPENDENT PROSECUTOR NECESSARY TO INVESTIGATE LEAK REGARDING CIA

  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, there are two matters that I bring to the 
attention of the Members of the House. One is whether or not the outing 
of a CIA operative calls for a special counsel. I would like to 
enlighten Members that the need to investigate the leaked name of a 
Central Intelligence Agency operative is one that requires a special 
counsel.
  There are three factors required. The Justice Department has 
promulgated these regulations under several circumstances. The Attorney 
General is required to appoint a special counsel when a criminal 
investigation of a person or matter is warranted; or, two the 
investigation would present a conflict of interest for the Department; 
or, three, that it would be in the public interest to appoint an 
outside special counsel to assume the responsibility.
  All three factors appear to be present here. The Justice Department 
answers the first question for us. It has opened a criminal 
investigation into charges of disclosing the name of a covert agent.
  Second, that the investigation would present a conflict of interest 
for the Department would then be another basis for a special counsel. 
Here there is a clear conflict of interest. The Department of Justice 
investigation focused largely on the White House, which has already 
been directed to preserve all relevant records. The trail may lead to 
the Chief of Staff, Karl Rove, who is reported to be responsible for 
John Ashcroft's very appointment and was a consultant in several of his 
political campaigns.
  Either way, it is inconceivable that such an investigation of the 
office that heads our entire government could not present a conflict of 
interest for a subordinate agency. That requires the appointment of a 
special counsel.
  The third reason, of course, for a special counsel is that it is in 
the public interest.
  So I am delighted to bring this important matter once more to the 
attention of the Members of Congress, because on October 5, 2003, Time 
magazine reveals that Attorney General Ashcroft paid Mr. Karl Rove 
$746,000 for his work on three campaigns. I refer you to Duffy, 
``Leaking With a Vengeance,'' Time Magazine, October 5, 2003.
  Mr. Speaker, this evening I want to report that I have sent the 
following letter to the Senior White House Adviser, Mr. Karl Rove, 
seeking his resignation.
  ``I write to ask you to resign from the White House staff. Recent 
reports have indicated that, while you may or may not have been the 
source of the Robert Novak column which revealed the status and the 
name of a covert operative, the wife of Ambassador Joseph Wilson, you 
were involved in a subsequent effort to push this classified 
information to other reporters and give it even wider currency. This 
itself may be a Federal crime, but regardless of that fact, your 
actions are morally indefensible. In my view, it is shameful and 
unethical that an administration that promised to govern with `honor 
and integrity' and `change the tone' in Washington has now a 
representative of your rank engaged in an orchestrated campaign to 
smear and intimidate truth-telling critics, placing them in possible 
physical harm and impairing the efforts and operations of the Central 
Intelligence Agency.
  ``Recent reports indicate that you told the journalist, Chris 
Matthews, and perhaps others, that Mr. Wilson's wife and her undercover 
status were `fair game.'''
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. 
Conyers) has expired.

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