[House Report 108-413]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
108th Congress
2d Session HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Report 108-413
Part 4
_______________________________________________________________________
REQUESTING THE PRESIDENT AND DIRECTING THE SECRETARY OF STATE, THE
SECRETARY OF DEFENSE, AND THE ATTORNEY GENERAL TO TRANSMIT TO THE HOUSE
OF REPRESENTATIVES NOT LATER THAN 14 DAYS AFTER THE DATE OF THE
ADOPTION OF THIS RESOLUTION DOCUMENTS IN THE POSSESSION OF THE
PRESIDENT AND THOSE OFFICIALS RELATING TO THE DISCLOSURE OF THE
IDENTITY AND EMPLOYMENT OF MS. VALERIE PLAME
__________
ADVERSE REPORT
of the
COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
on
H. RES. 499
February 27, 2004.--Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be
printed.
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES
One Hundred Eighth Congress
DUNCAN HUNTER, California, Chairman
CURT WELDON, Pennsylvania IKE SKELTON, Missouri
JOEL HEFLEY, Colorado JOHN SPRATT, South Carolina
JIM SAXTON, New Jersey SOLOMON P. ORTIZ, Texas
JOHN M. McHUGH, New York LANE EVANS, Illinois
TERRY EVERETT, Alabama GENE TAYLOR, Mississippi
ROSCOE G. BARTLETT, Maryland NEIL ABERCROMBIE, Hawaii
HOWARD P. ``BUCK'' McKEON, MARTY MEEHAN, Massachusetts
California SILVESTRE REYES, Texas
MAC THORNBERRY, Texas VIC SYNDER, Arkansas
JOHN N. HOSTETTLER, Indiana JIM TURNER, Texas
WALTER B. JONES, North Carolina ADAM SMITH, Washington
JIM RYUN, Kansas LORETTA SANCHEZ, California
JIM GIBBONS, Nevada MIKE McINTYRE, North Carolina
ROBIN HAYES, North Carolina CIRO D. RODRIGUEZ, Texas
HEATHER WILSON, New Mexico ELLEN O. TAUSCHER, California
KEN CALVERT, California ROBERT A. BRADY, Pennsylvania
ROB SIMMONS, Connecticut BARON P. HILL, Indiana
JO ANN DAVIS, Virginia JOHN B. LARSON, Connecticut
ED SHROCK, Virginia SUSAN A. DAVIS, California
W. TODD AKIN, Missouri JAMES R. LANGEVIN, Rhode Island
J. RANDY FORBES, Virginia STEVE ISRAEL, New York
JEFF MILLER, Florida RICK LARSEN, Washington
JOE WILSON, South Carolina JIM COOPER, Tennessee
FRANK A. LoBIONDO, New Jersey JIM MARSHALL, Georgia
TOM COLE, Oklahoma KENDRICK B. MEEK, Florida
JEB BRADLEY, New Hambshire MADELEINE Z. BORDALLO, Guam
ROB BISHOP, Utah RODNEY ALEXANDER, Louisiana
MICHAEL TURNER, Ohio TIM RYAN, Ohio
JOHN KLINE, Minnesota
CANDICE S. MILLER, Michigan
PHIL GINGREY, Georgia
MIKE ROGERS, Alabama
TRENT FRANKS, Arizona
Robert S. Rangel, Staff Director
C O N T E N T S
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Page
Purpose and Summary.............................................. 1
Background....................................................... 2
Legislative History.............................................. 3
Committee Position............................................... 4
Committee Cost Estimate.......................................... 4
Oversight Findings............................................... 4
Constitutional Authority Statement............................... 4
Statement of Federal Mandates.................................... 4
Record Votes..................................................... 4
108th Congress Rept. 108-413
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session Part 4
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REQUESTING THE PRESIDENT AND DIRECTING THE SECRETARY OF STATE, THE
SECRETARY OF DEFENSE, AND THE ATTORNEY GENERAL TO TRANSMIT TO THE HOUSE
OF REPRESENTATIVES NOT LATER THAN 14 DAYS AFTER THE DATE OF THE
ADOPTION OF THIS RESOLUTION DOCUMENTS IN THE POSSESSION OF THE
PRESIDENT AND THOSE OFFICIALS RELATING TO THE DISCLOSURE OF THE
IDENTITY AND EMPLOYMENT OF MS. VALERIE PLAME
_______
February 27, 2004.--Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be
printed
_______
Mr. Hunter, from the Committee on Armed Services, submitted the
following
ADVERSE REPORT
[To accompany H. Res. 499]
[Including Committee Cost Estimate]
The Committee on Armed Services, to whom was referred the
resolution (H. Res. 499) requesting the President and directing
the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, and the
Attorney General to transmit to the House of Representatives
not later than 14 days after the date of the adoption of this
resolution documents in the possession of the President and
those officials relating to the disclosure of the identity and
employment of Ms. Valerie Plame, having considered the same,
report unfavorably thereon without amendment and recommend that
resolution not be agreed to.
PURPOSE AND SUMMARY
House Resolution 499, introduced on January 21, 2004, by
Congressman Rush Holt, requests the President and directs the
Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, and the Attorney
General to transmit to the House of Representatives not later
than 14 days after the date of the adoption of the resolution
all documents including telephone and electronic mail records,
logs and calendars, personnel records, and records of internal
discussions in the possession of the President and those
officials relating to the disclosure of the identity of Ms.
Valerie Plame as an employee of the Central Intelligence Agency
during the period beginning on May 6, 2003, and ending on July
31, 2003.
Clause 7 of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives provides for a committee to report on a
qualifying resolution of inquiry, such as H. Res. 499, within
14 legislative days or a privileged motion to discharge the
committee is in order. H. Res. 499 was introduced and referred
to the Select Committee on Intelligence, and in addition
referred to the Committees on Armed Services, International
Relations, and the Judiciary on January 21, 2004.
Under the rules and precedents of the House, a resolution
of inquiry is one of the means by which the House may request
information from the President of the United States or the head
of one of the executive departments. It is a simple resolution
making a direct request or demand of the President or head of
an executive department to furnish the House of Representatives
with specific factual information in the possession of the
executive branch. It is not used to request opinions or to
require an investigation on a subject.
BACKGROUND
On July 14, 2003, syndicated columnist Robert Novak wrote a
column questioning why Ambassador Joseph Wilson had been tasked
with gathering information for the Bush Administration. Novak
wrote, ``Wilson never worked for the CIA, but his wife, Valerie
Plame, is an agency operative on weapons of mass destruction.
Two senior administration officials told me his wife suggested
sending Wilson to Niger to investigate the Italian report. The
CIA says its counter-proliferation officials selected Wilson
and asked his wife to contact him.'' \1\ Novak refused to
identify his sources, but added additional detail about how he
had learned of Plame's employment in an October 1, 2003,
column:
\1\ Robert Novak, ``The Mission to Niger,'' Chicago Sun-Times, 14
July 2003, Editorial section, p. 31.
During a long conversation with a senior
administration official, I asked why Wilson was
assigned the mission to Niger. He said Wilson had been
sent by the CIA's counterproliferation section at the
suggestion of one of its employees, his wife. It was an
offhand revelation from this official, who is no
partisan gunslinger. When I called another official for
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confirmation, he said: ``Oh, you know about it.'' \2\
\2\ Robert Novak, ``Columnist Wasn't Pawn for Leak,'' Chicago Sun-
Times, 1 October 2003, Editorial section, p. 49.
According to press reports, the CIA referred the matter to the
Department of Justice after Novak's July 14, 2003, column based
on the possibility that the revelation of Plame's employment
status with the Central Intelligence Agency constituted a
violation of the Intelligence Identities Protection Act of 1982
(50 U.S.C. 421). This Act makes it a crime to intentionally
disclose the identity of a covert agent by persons with access
to classifiedinformation and foreknowledge that the government
sought to protect the identity of that covert agent.
According to press reports, the Department of Justice began
an investigation in September 2003, which the White House
spokesman confirmed on October 1, 2003. By that time, the
Justice Department had contacted the White House and asked it
to preserve and maintain documents under its control. On
October 3, 2003, a White House spokesperson indicated that the
Justice Department had asked the White House to produce
certain, more specific materials as part of the investigation,
including the kinds of materials that are the subject of H.
Res. 499.
On December 30, 2003, the Attorney General recused himself
from the investigation to avoid an appearance of a conflict of
interest. Prior to his recusal, the Attorney General, in
discussions with Deputy Attorney General James Comey, concluded
that it was appropriate to appoint an investigator from outside
the Justice Department's normal chain of command in order to
oversee the investigation. That decision fell to Deputy
Attorney General Comey, who appointed U.S. Attorney for the
Northern District of Illinois, Patrick Fitzgerald, to
investigate the matter and act as a special counsel. Comey
simultaneously delegated all necessary authorities to
Fitzgerald to continue the investigation. As a sitting U.S.
Attorney, Fitzgerald's investigatory authority exceeds that of
a normal ``special counsel.'' He does not have to secure
approval from the Attorney General in making his prosecutorial
decisions and has all the investigatory tools normally
available to a U.S. Attorney at his disposal, including the
authority to interview witnesses, subpoena documents and
testimony, and convene a grand jury. A recent news article has
stated, ``Boxloads of documents have been forwarded to the FBI
team, including White House phone logs and e-mails. More
documents are being produced, as the contents of individual
items sometimes lead agents to request additional materials. *
* *'' \3\ According to press reports, Fitzgerald has since
convened a Grand Jury to consider evidence in the
investigation. In general, federal grand juries have sweeping
investigative authorities to subpoena witnesses and documents
identical to those identified in H. Res 499.
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\3\ Curt Anderson, ``Rove, McClellan among Officials Interviewed in
CIA Leak Probe,'' Associated Press Newswires, 23 October 2003.
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Justice Department officials have discussed the process
associated with the investigation on the record, but have
refused to discuss any details of the investigation itself in
order to preserve the integrity of a possible criminal
prosecution. Deputy Attorney General Comey told the media, ``I
can't tell you about the details of any criminal investigation
because our goal is to make sure that anyone we're pursuing
doesn't know what we're doing, and also, anyone who might not
be charged with a crime is not unfairly smeared.'' \4\
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\4\ U.S. Deputy Attorney General James Comey and Assistant Attorney
General Christopher Wray, Department of Justice Press Conference,
Washington, D.C., 30 December 2003.
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In light of the ongoing criminal investigation, the
committee concluded that transmittal of the materials
identified in H. Res. 499 would undermine the investigation and
possible criminal prosecution of any suspects believed to have
committed a crime in the Plame matter. Therefore, the committee
ordered the resolution to be reported adversely.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
As noted above, H. Res. 499 was introduced on January 21,
2004, and referred to the Select Committee on Intelligence, and
in addition to the Committees on Armed Services, International
Relations, and the Judiciary. On January 28, 2004, the Select
Committee on Intelligence reported adversely the resolution by
a record vote of 10 ayes, three noes, and one present. The
resolution was reported adversely by the Committee on the
Judiciary on February 25, 2004, by a record vote of 17 ayes and
8 noes, and by the Committee on International Relations on
February 25, 2004, by a record vote of 24 ayes to 22 noes.
On February 25, 2004, the Committee on Armed Services held
a mark-up session to consider H. Res. 499. The committee
reported adversely the resolution by a record vote of 30 ayes
to 23 noes.
COMMITTEE POSITION
On February 25, 2004, the Committee on Armed Services met
in open session and reported adversely the resolution H. Res.
499 to the House by a record vote of 30 ayes to 23 noes, a
quorum being present.
COMMITTEE COST ESTIMATE
Pursuant to clause 3(d) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the committee estimates the costs of
implementing the resolution would be minimal. The Congressional
Budget Office did not provide a cost estimate for the
resolution.
OVERSIGHT FINDINGS
With respect to clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, the committee reports that the
findings and recommendations of the committee, based on
oversight activities pursuant to clause 2(b)(1) of rule X, are
incorporated in the descriptive portions of this report.
With respect to clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives and section 308(a)(1) of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this legislation does not
include any new spending or credit authority, nor does it
provide for any increase or decrease in tax revenues or
expenditures.
With respect to clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, performance goals and objectives
can not be explained, because the resolution does not require
any new funding.
CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT
Pursuant to clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the committee finds that the rule
does not apply because H. Res. 499 is not a bill or joint
resolution that may be enacted into law.
STATEMENT OF FEDERAL MANDATES
Pursuant to section 423 of Public Law 104-4, this
legislation contains no federal mandates with respect to state,
local, and tribal governments, nor with respect to the private
sector. Similarly, the resolution provides no unfunded federal
intergovernmental mandates.
RECORD VOTES
In accordance with clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, the committee sets forth the
following record vote that occurred during the committee's
consideration of H. Res. 499.