… Franklin disclosed classified information repeatedly to journalists it appears, long before anything was public information in a news article.
Point of clarification: He did not disclose to journalists; he allegedly disclosed to members of AIPAC (the American Israel Public Affairs Committee).
What you can glean from the indictment of Franklin is that:
1. Unauthorized disclosure of classified information is a crime under the Espionage Act;
2. It makes no difference whether the information is in the “public domain.” If the information has not been declassified it is a crime to reveal such;
3. If the person who is privy to classified information, is unsure whether the information is classified, that person is required to confirm from an authorized official that the information is unclassified before he can disclose it.
The intersection with the Plame case is that while criminal prosecution under the Intelligence Identities Act is problematic, the Justice Department seems quite prepared to use the Espionage Act which has a different standard.
As noted above, under the Espionage Act, even if one accepts – for the sake of argument – that the information was in the public domain – all Rove could say would be “no comment” until such time he ascertained that the information was declassified. If – for the sake of argument – one believes the Time reporter’s statements that Rove said he believed that the information would be declassified soon, then he did know it was classified and is in trouble. If his defense is that (a) he never said that and (b) he didn’t know that information regarding Plame’s status was classified then the prosecution will surely argue that he had a duty of care to ascertain her status since he seems to have known she was CIA (unless of course he can pin it all on Novak).
As for connecting the dots, Franklin was a direct report to Douglas Feith.
en.wikipedia.org
Then we have the Chalabi connection.
FBI counterintelligence agents are investigating whether several Pentagon officials leaked classified information to Iraqi politician Ahmed Chalabi and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, according to a law enforcement official and other people familiar with the case.
informationclearinghouse.info
Chalabi leads to Judith Miller of the NY Times (since its pretty well known Chalabi was one of her primary sources on WMD stories) and Miller leads back to Rove, or Scooter Libby or some other “Senior Administration Official.”
And Fitzgerald has Miller in jail.
Now, if you so choose you can believe its all politics. But that belief would be belied by Fitzgerald’s instructions when he was appointed.
… “to investigate and prosecute violations of any federal criminal laws related to the underlying alleged unauthorized disclosure, as well as federal crimes committed in the course of, and with intent to interfere with, [his] investigation, such as perjury, obstruction of justice, destruction of evidence, and intimidation of witnesses,” see Letter from James B. Comey, Acting Attorney General, to Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney, Northern District of Illinois (Feb. 6, 2004)…
The career guys in Justice and the FBI counterintelligence branch are running this. It does make a difference. We'll see what falls out.
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...FRANKLIN further acknowledged that the burden was his to ascertain whether information is classified and who is authorized to receive it. FRANKLIN acknowledged that he had read and understood the provisions of the Espionage Act, including 18 U.S.C. § 793, 794 and 798.
On or about December 8, 1999, FRANKLIN signed a Classified Information Nondisclosure Agreement, a Standard Form 312 (SF312). In that document FRANKLiN acknowledged that he was aware that the unauthorized disclosure of classified information by him could cause irreparable injury to the United States or could be used to advantage by a foreign nation and that he would never divulge classified information to an unauthorized person. He further acknowledged that he would never divulge classified information unless he had officially verified that the recipient was authorized by the United States to receive it. Additionally, he agreed that if he was uncertain about the classification status of information, be was required to confirm from an authorized official that the information is unclassified before he could disclose it.
On or about June 5, 2001, FRANKLIN orally attested that be fully understood his responsibility to protect national security information and would adhere to the provisions of the SF-312. By doing so, FRANKLIN again acknowledged that be was aware that the unauthorized disclosure of classified information by him could cause irreparable injury to the United States or could be used to advantage by a foreign nation and that be would never divulge classified information to an unauthorized person. He again acknowledged that he would never divulge classified information unless he had officially verified that the recipient was authorized by the United States to receive it. Additionally, he again agreed that if he was uncertain about the classification status of information, he was required to confirm from an authorized official that the information is unclassified before he could disclose it. He again acknowledged that any unauthorized disclosure of classified information by him may constitute a violation, or violations of criminal laws, including 18 U.S.C. § 793, 794 and 798 and 50 U.S.C. § 783.
usdoj.gov |
