Foreign


No End in Sight for Obama’s ‘Leak-Gate’ Controversy


Stories provided by the global editorial resources of LIGNET


The White House is playing fast and loose with sensitive information.


T BY FRED FLEITZ


he gravity of the recent U.S. intelligence leaks fi nally appears to be hitting home with members of Congress.


There are rising calls, so far mostly by Senate Republicans, for an inde- pendent investigation. Some in the media, meanwhile, have tried to play down the signifi cance of a June 1 New York Times story revealing sensitive details about an alleged covert intelli- gence operation codenamed “Olympic Games.” The program’s alleged objec- tive: To sabotage the Iranian nuclear program by infecting its computer sys- tem with sophisticated viruses. Many in and out of Congress are


alarmed for two reasons. First, the leaks reportedly revealed very sensi- tive intelligence sources and methods that may now be useless. They also could endanger intelligence sources.


FRED FLEITZ


Fred Fleitz, a former CIA analyst and senior House Intelligence Committee staff member, is managing editor of LIGNET.com. For classification reasons, this article was cleared by the Central Intelligence Agency.


58 NEWSMAX | AUGUST 2012 Second, the leaks were attributed to


senior Obama administration offi cials. The New York Times story appears to come directly from senior presidential advisers who attended White House meetings. The story cited “members of the president’s national security team” and “three dozen of his current and former advisers.” President Obama and his top cam-


paign strategist, David Axelrod, insist the leaks did not come from “the White House.” But LIGNET has observed a subtle, pervasive eff ort to carefully parse precisely what that means. “The notion that my White House


would purposely release classifi ed national security information is off en- sive,” President Obama told the press on June 8. “It’s wrong.” It sounds like the president is ruling


out White House personnel — pre- sumably the president, the vice presi- dent, the national security adviser, and personnel who work in the White House complex. But the president is not categorically stating no adminis- tration offi cial was behind the leaks — only the offi cials working in the White House.


For now, Senate Intelligence Chair-


woman Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., appears to be running interference. She has opposed naming a special counsel to investigate the controver- sial leaks. But that could change as Feinstein’s committee proceeds with its own investigation of the leaks. Already, the CIA is refusing to coop-


erate with a House Intelligence Com- mittee’s leak investigation. It is very likely that the White House will refuse to fully cooperate with congressional inquiries into policy meetings at the White House involving the president. Usually, these strategy sessions


are considered covered by executive privilege. If the White House stone- walls Feinstein’s investigation, which LIGNET believes is likely, she may conclude that appointing a special counsel is the only viable option.


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Note: LIGNET provides global intelligence and forecasting from former CIA, U.S. intelligence, and national security of icers, drawing on an international network of ex- perts and sources. To sign up for LIGNET’s global intelligence reports online go to LIGNET.com/August


WHITE HOUSE WHITEWASH Obama says leaks didn’t come from “the White House.” But what about from other administration of icials?


OBAMA/AP IMAGES


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