<Attorney General John Ashcroft finally recused himself from the investigation of the leak this summer that exposed CIA agent Valerie Plame, wife of diplomat Joe Wilson. Wilson had earned the ire of the White House when he went public with information showing that President Bush had lied to the American people when Bush said that Saddam Hussein had tried to buy uranium ore from Niger.
Wilson had investigated this claim on behalf of the U.S. government, and had filed a report showing that claim was false, and that the documents in the case were crude forgeries. Joe Wilson has since endorsed John Kerry in the race for the Presidency.
Because of the highly politicized nature of this case, John Kerry called for the appointment of a special counsel earlier this fall.
Today, Attorney General John Ashcroft finally recused himself from the Palme case, but left other Justice Department officials in charge, in spite the inherent conflict-of-interest of having Justice investigate other Executive Branch officials.
John Kerry issued the following statement, calling again for the appointment of a special counsel:
"Today, John Ashcroft, after months of footdragging, acknowledged what he should have done a long time ago, that he has a conflict of interest and cannot properly conduct an investigation into the criminal leaks of classified information including the identiy of former CIA covert agent Valerie Plame. However, as usual,what the Bush Justice Department has done is a half measure and no where near good enough to restore public confidence in this tarnished agency.
“This leak was an extremely serious violation of federal law which potentially compromised our national security. Those responsible must be held accountable. President Bush ran on a platform of restoring honor and integrity to the White House, yet his Administration has continually behaved as if it is above the law.
“Deputy Attorney General Jim Comey or Chicago United States Attorney Pat Fitzgerald are both Bush political appointees and carry the same baggage as John Ashcroft. All three serve at President Bush's pleasure. That is what the appointment papers signed by the President say. None of the three is acceptable to conduct this investigation.. To put an end to John Ashcroft's failure to obey the law, the President must direct the immediate appointment of a Special Counsel who is not a political appointee and who is in no way beholden to the fortunes of his administration.
“This is yet one more reason I pledge to appoint as my Attorney General a person whose name is not John Ashcroft. It is time to end the culture of leaks and lies at the Justice Department. President Bush promised America an agency free from political influence. He has failed to live up to that promise. America should hold him accountable.">
http://blog.johnkerry.com/blog/archives/000946.html
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