Citing 18 U.S.C. §793(d), Andrew McCarthy at NRO thinks it's a "straightforward case" for prosecution of Mary O. McCarthy (no relation), the Democrat CIA leaker.(Maybe he was reading the discussion on Flares over the weekend.)
UPDATE: James Taranto in his Best of the Web Today column, quotes Andrew McCarthy, and also adds:
"If Mrs. McCarthy leaked information that came her way as part of an inspector general's investigation, there also is no reason to assume that it--or the Pulitzer prize-winning story it helped produce--is true. Investigators often gather material that does not pan out or that turns out to be false or exaggerated."
And as to why there isn't yet a criminal prosecution, Taranto notes:
"The obvious answer is that she was fired based on an internal investigation, and the Justice Department, which would handle any prosecution, operates at its own pace."
5 comments:
Well, Vodkapundit presented an interesting tidbit for the story. It seems that back in 1998, McCarthy was hired by none other than Sandy Burglar Isn't it a small world?
The only con I can think of is that the press will make a martyr of her. Sad but true.
I just looked at strata-sphere and AJ says there is a bit of walk back on this. Did the press and the blogs jump the gun?
Terrye,
I'd say there was an anticipatory announcement to allow her to get her version out first in the event an indictment comes down. There are denials that she was a "source" but that is unsurprising.
The connections between her, Berger, Beers, Clarke and other Kerry players are real as are her donations to the Kerry campaign and the DNC. The press play that she is St. Mary of the Blessed Leak is understandable but I don't believe that it will hold up. Too many party connections.
An official DoJ announcement that she is the target of an investigation would be helpful.
Knuck,
Not ads. It would be a waste of money - the electorate can't hold a thought long enough to justify an ad buy. Hewitt, Limbaugh, Lucianne, American Thinker (which can feed all before) - that's where this will be developed. The corruption and security bit are small change for the mid-term, which is generally a GOTV problem for the base - not really issue driven ('94 being the exception).
Right now the kicker is OPEC and a possible summer boycott - economic rather than bomb terrorism. The oily Arab princes are making calculations on what effect a Dem Congress might have on their livelihoods and I don't particularly like the thoughts running through their greedy brains. $5 gas through the summer might affect the elections.
It might affect the mood of the populace concerning taking out Iraq and breaking OPEC for good, too.
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