Henry Writes a Letter to the White House Counsel About Multiple Security Violations

Jesse Lee at The Gavel reports: Chairman Henry Waxman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, who produced the initial report on Vice President Cheney’s disregard for rules governing the handling of classified information, has written has a letter to White House Counsel Fred Fielding indicating that contrary to the recent claims of White House spokesperson Dana Perino, there is evidence that the White House has repeatedly failed to investigate security violations, take corrective action following breaches, and appropriately protect classified information. In his letter (full text at link) Chairman Waxman details these particulars: • White House security officials have been blocked from inspecting West Wing offices for compliance with procedures for handling classified information. • The White House regularly ignored security breaches. • The President’s top political advisor received a renewal of his security clearance despite presidential directives calling for the denial of security clearances for officials who misrepresent their involvement in security leaks. • The White House has condoned widespread mismanagement at the White House Security Office. And he closes by noting the continued delays inhibiting efforts by the committee to interview White House staffers, which Fielding had himself proposed. I respectfully request that the interviews that the Committee has been seeking be scheduled without further delay. If this cannot be accomplished, I will recommend to the Committee the issuance of subpoenas at our next business meeting, which is currently scheduled for June 28.