[House Report 109-228]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
109th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session 109-228
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REQUESTING THE PRESIDENT 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 RELATING TO THE
DISCLOSURE OF THE IDENTITY AND EMPLOYMENT OF MS. VALERIE PLAME
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September 21, 2005.--Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be
printed
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Mr. Hoekstra, from the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence,
submitted the following
ADVERSE REPORT
together with
ADDITIONAL AND MINORITY VIEWS
[To accompany H. Res. 418]
The Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, to whom was
referred the resolution (H. Res. 418) requesting the President
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 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 the resolution not be agreed to.
COMMITTEE STATEMENT AND VIEWS
A. Purpose and summary
H. Res. 418 is a resolution of inquiry requesting the
President to transmit to the House of Representatives not later
than 14 days after its enactment all documents in his
possession relating to the disclosure of the publicly alleged
identity of Ms. Valerie Plame as an employee of the Central
Intelligence Agency. The resolution requests documents during
the period beginning May 6, 2003 and ending on July 31, 2003.
B. Background
A resolution of inquiry may be adopted by the House as a
means of obtaining documents from the Executive Branch for
investigative purposes. Clause 7 of rule XIII of the House of
Representatives provides for specific procedures regarding
resolutions of inquiry in the House, including that a motion to
discharge a committee from its consideration shall be
privileged if not reported to the House within 14 legislative
days after its introduction. H. Res. 418 was introduced on July
29, 2005. Including recess days, the Committee adversely
reports H. Res. 418 to the House within 14 legislative days of
its introduction in the House.
The resolution seeks documents that relate to the
disclosure of the alleged identity of Ms. Valerie Plame as an
employee of the Central Intelligence Agency. On December 30,
2003, then-Attorney General John Ashcroft publicly announced
that he had appointed Patrick Fitzgerald, United States
Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, as Special
Counsel to investigate this matter. The Special Counsel's
investigation remains ongoing. On September 14, 2005, the
Department of Justice advised the Committee by letter that
``Mr. Fitzgerald has advised that production at this time of
the documents responsive to H. Res. 418 * * * and any
attendant hearings, would interfere with his investigation.''
\1\ The Department requested that the Committee adversely
report H. Res. 418.
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\1\ Letter from Assistant Attorney General William Moschella to
Chairman Peter Hoekstra, September 14, 2005 (included in record of
Committee business meeting of September 15, 2005).
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Under the precedents of the House, a Committee may choose
to adversely report a resolution of inquiry when it concludes
that it competes with other investigations that are regarded as
more appropriate.\2\ In 1980, the Judiciary Committee adversely
reported H. Res. 571,\3\ noting the opposition of the
Department of Justice, which centered on the concerns that
disclosure of evidence to the House would jeopardize the
Department's ability to successfully conduct grand jury
investigations and to prosecute any indictments, and that the
release of unsifted and unevaluated evidence would injure the
reputations of innocent persons.\4\
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\2\ See Fisher, ``House Resolutions of Inquiry,'' Congressional
Research Service Report for Congress RL31909, at 14 (May 12, 2003).
\3\ H. Rpt. 96-778, 96th Cong., 2d Sess. (February 20, 1980).
\4\ Fisher, supra note 2, at 15.
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More recently and more directly relevant to the immediate
resolution, four Committees of the House in 2004 adversely
reported a resolution of inquiry requesting documents relating
to the same subject matter as H. Res. 418. In the 108th
Congress, H. Res. 499 requested the President and directed the
Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, and the Attorney
General to provide documents in their possession relating to
the disclosure of the identity and employment of Ms. Valerie
Plame. The resolution was adversely reported by the Permanent
Select Committee on Intelligence,\5\ the Committee on
International Relations,\6\ the Committee on the Judiciary,\7\
and the Committee on Armed Services.\8\ Each Committee
expressed its view that the pending criminal investigation was
the most appropriate avenue for determining the facts of the
case and any wrongdoing that may have occurred.\9\
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\5\ H. Rpt. 108-413, Part 1, 108th Cong., 2d Sess. (February 3,
2004).
\6\ H. Rpt. 108-413, Part 2, 108th Cong., 2d Sess. (February 27,
2004).
\7\ H. Rpt. 108-413, Part 3, 108th Cong., 2d Sess. (February 27,
2004).
\8\ H. Rpt. 108-413, Part 4, 108th Cong., 2d Sess. (February 27,
2004).
\9\ The Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence concluded
``[b]ecause this resolution of inquiry may impede that investigation,
the resolution is reported adversely.'' Supra note 5, at 4. The
Committee on International Relations ``concluded that it would be
unwise to allow H. Res. 499 to jeopardize an ongoing criminal
investigation by the Department of Justice.'' Supra note 6, at 3. The
Committee on the Judiciary expressed its belief ``that the current
grand jury investigation is the more appropriate avenue for determining
the facts of the case and any criminal wrongdoing.'' Supra note 7, at
6. The Committee on Armed Services ``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.'' Supra note 8, at 3.
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The Committee believes that it is imperative that the
Congress and the Executive Branch continue to take aggressive
steps to protect classified intelligence and national security
information from unauthorized disclosures, whether it is the
identity of an individual, details of intelligence sources and
methods, or classified documents. Spurred by a number of recent
events, it is currently conducting a broad, substantive, and
evenhanded review dealing with legislative, policy, and
oversight issues arising from the overall problem of
unauthorized disclosures of classified information. These
events include the determination by the President's Commission
on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding
Weapons of Mass Destruction that ``a persistent inability to
protect human and technical collection [from disclosure] has
substantially damaged U.S. intelligence capabilities,'' \10\
recent criminal cases, media reports on sensitive intelligence
programs, and the matter that is the subject of H. Res. 418.
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\10\ Report to the President of the United States by the Commission
on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons
of Mass Destruction (March 31, 2005), at 380.
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To the extent that these events call for review of
legislative and policy issues, the House must focus on the
problem broadly rather than focusing solely on any specific
case. To the extent that any of these incidents implicate
potential criminal liability in individual cases, those issues
should be properly and more effectively dealt with by the
proper investigative authorities without interference from the
House. Accordingly, the Committee adversely reports H. Res. 418
to the House.
HEARINGS
The Committee held no hearings on H. Res. 418.
COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION AND VOTE
On September 15, 2005, the Committee met in open session
and ordered H. Res. 418 adversely reported, without amendment.
The Committee took the following recorded vote:
1. A motion by Mr. Hoekstra to report H. Res. 418 adversely
to the House was agreed to by a record vote of 11 ayes to 9
noes:
Voting aye: Mr. Hoekstra (Chairman), Mr. LaHood, Mr.
Cunningham, Mr. Everett, Mr. Gallegly, Ms. Wilson, Ms. Davis,
Mr. Thornberry, Mr. McHugh, Mr. Tiahrt, Mr. Renzi.
Voting no: Ms. Harman, Mr. Hastings, Mr. Reyes, Mr.
Boswell, Mr. Cramer, Ms. Eshoo, Mr. Holt, Mr. Ruppersberger,
Mr. Tierney.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
The resolution requests the President to transmit to the
House of Representatives not later than 14 days after its
enactment all documents in his possession relating to the
disclosure of the publicly alleged identity of Ms. Valerie
Plame as an employee of the Central Intelligence Agency. The
resolution requests documents during the period beginning May
6, 2003 and ending on July 31, 2003, and would apply to ``all
documents, including telephone and electronic mail records,
logs and calendars, personnel records, and records of internal
discussions in the possession of the President.''
The Committee adopted no amendments.
OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
In accordance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the House
of Representatives, the Committee reports that the findings and
recommendations of the Committee, based on oversight activities
under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the Rules of the House of
Representatives, are incorporated in the descriptive portions
of this report.
NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY AND TAX EXPENDITURES
Clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the House of Representatives
is inapplicable because this resolution does not provide new
budgetary authority or increased tax expenditures.
GENERAL PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
In accordance with Clause (3)(c)(4) of rule XIII of the
House of Representatives, the Committee's performance goals and
objectives are reflected in the descriptive portions of this
report.
UNFUNDED MANDATE STATEMENT
H. Res. 418 provides no federal mandates.
ADDITIONAL VIEWS
The report notes that the Committee is conducting a broad
review of issues arising from the problem of unauthorized
disclosures of classified information spurred by a number of
events, including recent criminal cases. I provide these
additional views simply to clarify a factual matter which arose
during the Committee's business meeting relating to the
criminal case of former National Security Adviser Samuel R
``Sandy'' Berger.
Mr. Berger recently pled guilty to a federal misdemeanor
charge of unauthorized removal and retention of classified
material. At the Committee markup, Ms. Harman noted for the
record that the Justice Department had stipulated that no
original documents had been removed from the National Archives,
but instead copies of draft documents on which he had written
notes. I simply wish to clarify that the Factual Basis for Plea
in this case indicates that Mr. Berger removed five documents
from the National Archives, each different versions of the same
document, and only returned two documents to the Archives
staff. Mr. Berger has indicated that the other three documents
were cut into small pieces and discarded, although it is not
clear in the court record how or where this occurred, or
whether the materials were ever fully accounted for.
The court record further indicates that the 9/11
Commission received copies of each of the documents that were
removed trom the Archives in the normal course of production.
However, it is not stated whether Mr. Berger created additional
handwritten notes on the documents that were destroyed, or
whether Mr. Berger was aware that the destroyed materials were
duplicates.
John M. McHugh.
MINORITY VIEWS
Disclosing the identity of our intelligence operatives is a
serious breach of national security and dangerous to the men
and women who serve the United States. Revealing this
information provides our enemies with information about those
who risk their lives to work covertly with or for the U.S.
Government. It undermines morale among our intelligence
professionals at a time when the nation increasingly relies on
their dedication and expertise. And it compromises our ability
to conduct intelligence operations around the world.
Exploring the issue of leaks is an appropriate oversight
issue for this Committee. As Chairman Hoekstra recently stated
in a speech to the Heritage Foundation, ``We know the enemy
pays very close attention to open-source material--such as U.S.
newspapers and the Internet--in order to gain a better
understanding of our objectives and capabilities.''
To that end, the Committee is conducting a series of
hearings on leaks of classified information. This week, we held
our first hearing on this issue to assess the damage done by
leaks of classified information.
H. Res. 418, sponsored by Rep. Holt, would require the
Administration to provide documents and other materials to
Congress regarding the disclosure of the identity of a CIA
employee so that the Committee can exercise its oversight
responsibilities regarding the compromise of classified
intelligence information.
The Majority articulated two arguments against this
resolution, neither of which withstands scrutiny.
First, the Majority claimed that Congressional oversight of
this issue would interfere with the pending criminal
investigation. As an initial matter, Special Prosecutor Patrick
Fitzgerald has stated in court filings that the investigation
has been complete since October 2004. As the Resolution only
asks for documents from May 6, 2003, to July 31, 2003, it is
unclear how producing these documents to Congress would
interfere with an investigation that has been complete for
nearly a year.
More fundamentally, the existence of a criminal
investigation has never barred Congress from investigating
important public policy issues. For example, in the 1970s,
Congress investigated Watergate as criminal prosecutions were
being brought. In 1999, Congress investigated the Wen Ho Lee
matter while DOJ was conducting a parallel investigation. In
2002 and 2003, the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of
the House Energy and Commerce Committee investigated the
collapse of Enron, insider trading by Martha Stewart, and
accounting irregularities at HealthSouth at the same time as
the Justice Department was vigorously prosecuting individuals
connected to all three matters. This year, Senator John McCain
has led an intense investigation into the activities of
lobbyist Jack Abramoff, even as Mr. Abramoff has been the
target of multiple criminal investigations. And throughout the
1990s, Committees in both chambers investigated ``Whitewater,''
notwithstanding the fact that special prosecutors were
simultaneously investigating and prosecuting those same issues.
Second, the Majority claimed that H. Res. 418 is simply a
partisan resolution. We do not believe that protecting the
identities of intelligence professionals is--or should be--a
partisan issue. Indeed, President George H.W. Bush stated in a
speech to CIA employees in 1999 that those who leak the
identity of intelligence operatives are the ``most insidious of
traitors.'' The Majority's claim that a leak of a CIA officer's
identity should not be investigated by this Committee because
doing so would be ``partisan'' simply sidesteps the merits of
the issue and does a disservice to our intelligence
professionals.
The Committee must demonstrate to the public, as well as to
the dedicated men and women of the Intelligence Community, that
we understand the gravity of this security breach. It is our
duty to show our intelligence officers that we value their
service and will fight to protect them from reckless
disclosures. In adversely reporting out H. Res. 418, the
Committee missed a critical opportunity to exercise appropriate
and responsible oversight of this serious matter.
Jane Harman.
Alcee L. Hastings.
Silvestre Reyes.
Leonard L. Boswell.
Bud Cramer.
Anna Eshoo.
Rush Holt.
Dutch Ruppersberger.
John F. Tierney.