Critics See White House Double Standard on Leaks
WASHINGTON — The Bush administration, which has responded swiftly and angrily to suspected leaks of classified information by officials in other branches of government, is under fire for being slow to react to an apparent breach by one of its own.
In numerous instances since Sept. 11, 2001, the Bush White House has been quick to condemn others for failing to safeguard national secrets. Officials have scolded lawmakers for their allegedly loose tongues, fired off memos to military commanders seen as too cozy with the media, and backed up those admonitions with calls for investigations or threats to curtail access to classified data.
Even as the FBI opened an investigation of the administration last week, lawmakers and staffers on Capitol Hill were entering their second year in the crosshairs of a separate FBI investigation launched after the White House complained that congressional sources were to blame for classified Al Qaeda communications finding their way into the media.
Given that track record, many in Washington have been mystified that the White House didn't respond publicly until last week to a leak dating to mid-July, when a syndicated columnist "outed" a clandestine CIA operative and attributed the information to "senior administration officials." It only reacted after news reports that the CIA had formally requested a criminal investigation.
President Bush last week condemned all leaks of classified information and ordered his staff to cooperate with the FBI inquiry, but by then the gesture was seen by critics as a belated attempt to contain the political fallout from a leak more than two months old.
The perceived disparity in the White House reactions has stoked criticism of the administration among members of Congress as well as current and former intelligence officials, who accuse the White House of applying a double standard when it comes to policing leaks to the media.
Many Democrats on Capitol Hill say that the White House has itself used selective leaks -- and selective outrage at the alleged leaks of others -- to advance its policies, particularly relating to the war in Iraq.
Some senior Democrats complain that they have been forced repeatedly to defend their stewardship of secret information and to fight to maintain access to it, even as the White House ignored an apparent violation by administration insiders.
