[Page: H8727]
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Combest] is recognized for 60 minutes.
Mr. COMBEST. Mr. Speaker, there has been a considerable amount of time spent by the gentleman from Texas, the chairman of the House Banking Committee, in the investigation of United States/Iraq relations prior to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. During this process, he has intentionally and systematically made unauthorized disclosures of classified and top secret State Department and CIA documents into the Congressional Record. This clear violation of House rules and possibly Federal law has been ignored by the Speaker, leaving no other option but to file this resolution asking for an immediate investigation by the House Ethics Committee.
Although Chairman Gonzalez has denied the disclosure of any classified material, some of the documents that he has inserted in the Congressional Record in their entirety, still bear the classifications of `secret' or `confidential' on their faces. Furthermore, the chairman has stated on the floor `the American people have a right to know them [the facts], and piddling, phony charges about national security won't stop me.'
Mr. Speaker, I want to set the record straight and provide letters for the Record that establish a chronology of events that will provide the complete story that Mr. Gonzalez has not told. I want to make it very clear that I do not question the authority of the gentleman from Texas in his role as chairman of the Banking Committee to investigate to the full extent concerns he may have that come under the prerogative of his committee. I support the ability of investigators to receive the necessary information from the administration to complete full investigation. I am not questioning his investigation; I am questioning the intentional and unauthorized release of classified and top secret material. Clause 7 of House rule 48 prohibits the disclosure of such information in the Intelligence Committee's possession without a vote of the committee. This provision mandates an investigation by the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct and a report of its finding and recommendations. Under rule 48, those recommendations specifically may include censure, removal from committee membership, or expulsion from the House.
Like Chairman Gonzalez, I do not always agree with the classification of material we on the Intelligence Committee review and from time to time I feel we have too much material classified. But the decision to ignore that classification is not up to me or any other Member. There is a clear process that members must go through in an attempt to declassify material.
If a Member truly believes an issue is important enough that the House should debate it, and some of the information he deems necessary for debate remains classified, the Member can invoke rule 29. The House can then consider the matter, and the classified information involved, freely in an executive session. Pursuant to this rule, the House may vote to make all or part of the transcript of those secret proceedings public. I believe that any leaks of classified information should be strongly dealt with. Furthermore, in these instances more harm is done than is often apparent on the surface.
Mr. Gonzalez cavalierly dismisses concerns that the documents he placed in the Record `in no way harmed the national security.' Of course, it is practically impossible for laymen to grasp all of the possible ramifications which may result from the disclosure of classified information just from looking at its face, let alone the impact of releasing numbers of sensitive documents.
After classified information had been made public by the gentleman from Texas, the minority leader, Mr. Michel, expressed his concerns in a letter to the Speaker on May 15, 1992. I quote from that letter.
[Page: H8728]
Chairman Gonzalez is publicly disclosing classified information in the Congressional Record during the course of delivering those orders. This information was made available by executive branch agencies to the Banking Committee in cooperation with a committee investigation. In some cases, he has inserted in the Record documents which clearly state that they are classified `secret' or `confidential.'
In a letter to our colleague, Congressman Shuster, the State Department indicated that as of April 24, Chairman Gonzalez had `inserted in the Congressional Record the full texts of at least fourteen classified documents generated by the Department of State.'
The documents have not been declassified. Moreover, when the State Department gave the committee access to these documents, it was the Department's understanding that access would be restricted to persons with appropriate security clearances, that they would not be duplicated and that the documents would be returned when the committee completed its relevant legislative activities.
To date, that letter has not been answered or acknowledged. The Republican leader wrote to the Speaker again on July 24, 1992 and has yet to receive a response. In a letter to Chairman Gonzalez on July 24, 1992 the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Robert Gates said:
We also have determined that your statement in the Congressional Record on 7 July 1992 included information from a top secret compartmented and particularly sensitive document dated 4 September 1989 to which we gave your staff access. Because of the sources and methods underlying that information, I will ask for a damage assessment to determine the impact of the disclosure.
I regret that you chose to discuss information from classified documents without attempting to determine if we could work out a way to satisfy both our need to protect intelligence sources and methods, as well as your need to make public information concerning the development of U.S. policy toward Iraq.
I must also take strong exception to your statement in the Record that, `the lack of CIA cooperation with the prosecutors in Atlanta was a calculated administration effort to conceal the true nature of the BNL scandal and to hide the level of Iraqi government complicity in the scandal. In fact, the CIA has cooperated completely with the prosecutors in Atlanta. We received and responded to several Department of Justice requests for information beginning in late summer 1990 providing, among other things, directorate of intelligence finished intelligence reports; raw intelligence reports; copies of articles from the foreign press; and foreign broadcast information service reports. We also provided special briefings for senior Department of Justice attorneys and have provided additional responsive information as it has become available. Although we are unable to determine the value of CIA information to the prosecutor, the facts will show that we have been completely responsive to all requests we have received.
This agency's consistent policy has been to cooperate when requested to do so, with all Department of Justice prosecutions. If evidence to the contrary has come to light during the course of your investigation, I ask that you provide me with facts sufficient to permit inquiry into whether a violation of agency policy has occurred. If no such evidence exists, I urge that the Record be promptly corrected.
In a July 28, letter to Mr. Gonzalez from Acting Director of Central Intelligence, Admiral Studeman, he wrote:
As director Gates' response to your letter of 7 July indicates, we have been making every effort to cooperate with your requests for access to intelligence reports available for you to use in public statements. We are prepared to work with you to continue reviewing our reports to determine what may be made available to the public.
We have reviewed your statements published in the Congressional Records of 21 and 27 July. We have determined that portions of your statements were drawn from classified intelligence documents, some of which are top secret, compartmented, and particularly sensitive. I have asked the Office of Security of the Central Intelligence Agency to undertake a review of your statements in order to determine the impact of the disclosures of intelligence information on intelligence sources and methods.
The lack of a response and further disclosures of classified information led Mr. Michel to introduce House Resolution 539 on August 4, 1992, and in addition to that resolution, I also include his statement at this time which reads: in part:
Mr. Speaker, I introduce this resolution with great reluctance. But quite frankly I don't know what else to do. Over two and a half months ago, in an effort to keep this above politics, I quietly wrote the speaker about my concerns over the unauthorized disclosures by chairman Gonzalez, urging quick and decisive action. I got no response * * *.
Today I am introducing House Resolution 572 directing the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct to conduct an investigation regarding the possible unauthorized disclosure of classified information.
As had been referenced in Director Gates' letter, Chairman Gonzalez indicated there was an effort to hide behind classifications and not produce the documents. I want to read portions of an August 28, letter to Intelligence Committee Chairman Dave McCurdy in which Assistant Attorney General W. Lee Rawls outlines a proposal to submit all of the requested information to the House Intelligence Committee.
I am writing on behalf of the administration to advise you that the administration will be delivering or, consistent with established security procedures, making available to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence copies of classified documents that are responsive to the requests for information set forth in the subpoenas that were recently served on a number of departments and agencies by the House Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs.
The administration is compelled to respond in this manner because of Chairman Gonzalez's disclosures of classified information on the floor of the House of Representatives and in the Congressional Record.
On May 15, 1992, the attorney general wrote to Chairman Gonzalez to advise him that the administration would not provide him or the Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs with any more classified information until specific assurances are received from the chairman that classified information provided to him and the committee will receive such security protection. Because we have not received such assurances from Chairman Gonzalez, the administration is following the procedure set forth in the attorney general's May 15, 1992 letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
The Speaker declined that offer. [letter submitted] Following that decline, Assistant Attorney General Rawls wrote this September 4, letter to members of the Banking Committee.
This letter concerns the requests for information set forth in the subpoenas that the committee recently served on a number of departments and agencies and, specifically, the protection of classified documents responsive to those requests.
The administration is compelled to address this issue because of Chairman Gonzalez's disclosure of classified information on the floor of the House of Representatives and in the Congressional Record.
On May 15, 1992, the attorney general wrote to Chairman Gonzalez to advise him that the administration would not provide him with any more classified information until specific assurances were received from the chairman that classified information provided to him and the committee would receive such security protection. To date, we have not received such assurances.
Therefore, in a further effort to meet the legitimate needs of the committee, consistent with the administration's constitutional and statutory responsibilities, the administration intends to comply with the requests by permitting individual members of the committee, other than the chairman, and their appropriate staff with requisite security clearances to view responsive, classified documents in their offices or at the offices of the appropriate department or agency.
The administration remains committed to providing the committee with the information it needs to perform its legislative responsibilities. We can only do so, however, if the provision of that information does not undermine the administration's constitutional and statutory responsibilities to protect classified information from unauthorized disclosure.
Mr. Speaker, I think the record is clear. There is every indication that the administration is making every effort to comply with Chairman Gonzalez' investigation, and if not, let us see the list of things that have been requested that have been flatly denied. Let the investigation continue but, Mr. Speaker, the intentional leaks must stop.
OFFICE OF THE REPUBLICAN LEADER, U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
Washington, DC, May 15, 1992.
Hon. Thomas S. Foley,
Speaker, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
[Page: H8729]
Dear Mr. Speaker: As you may know, our colleague Henry Gonzalez, Chairman of the Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs, has taken a series of special orders regarding U.S. policy toward Iraq and the role of the Banco Nazionale de Lavoro.
Chairman Gonzalez is publicly disclosing classified information in the Congressional Record during the course of delivering those orders. This information was made available by Executive Branch agencies to the Banking Committee in cooperation with a committee investigation. In some cases, he has inserted in the Record documents which clearly state that they are classified `Secret' or `Confidential.'
In a letter (see attached) to our colleague Congressman Shuster, the State Department indicated that (as of April 24), Chairman Gonzalez had `inserted in the Congressional Record the full texts of at least fourteen classified documents generated by the Department of State.' According to that letter, those documents `contain classified information involving sensitive diplomatic discussions and * * * disclose sensitive high-level internal deliberations.' The Treasury Department has also expressed concern about publication of classified documents it provided to the Banking Committee.
The documents have not been declassified. Moreover, when the State Department gave the Committee access to these documents, it was the Department's understanding that access would be restricted to persons with appropriate security clearances, that they would not be duplicated and that the documents would be returned when the Committee completed its relevant legislative activities.
It is my understanding that the Banking Committee has never voted to disclose publicly any of these sensitive classified documents. These repeated, unilateral disclosures of classified information raise serious questions of possible violations of House Rules, at least Clauses 1 and 2 and Rule XLIII (Code of Official Conduct). Also, these actions appear to violate the spirit and the letter of Clause 2(k)(7) of Rule XI. I do not know whether the Committee voted to subpoena these documents in executive session. However, the information in these classified documents is required by Executive Order to be protected from disclosure to unauthorized persons, which would certainly seem to include the public. When a Member or committee wishes to bring classified Executive Branch information before the House, Rule XXIX provides the vehicle of a secret session to do so. The information so imparted must continue to be protected unless the House votes to disclose it. Similarly, classified information sent by a committee to the Archives is protected from public disclosure by Clause 5(a) of Rule XXXVI.
Even if the classified documents at issue here were not technically requested in executive session, they should be considered to be de facto executive session information requiring, at a minimum, that the committee authorize their public disclosure. To take the contrary view and accept the implication that any member may unilaterally disclose classified information received by a committee outside of executive session would be blatantly inconsistent with the protective treatment of classified information under Rules XXIX and XXXVI. Clearly, no Rule of the House authorizes such unilateral disclosures.
Two of the Executive Branch departments involved, State and Treasury, have indicated in writing that these unauthorized disclosures have significantly damaged the spirit of close cooperation between the Executive and Legislative Branches. The State Department has expressed its concern about the adverse effects such disclosures have on our ability to conduct our foreign relations. They also noted the grave concerns expressed by our Ambassador to Italy as to the chilling effects these disclosures may have on our relations with that close ally.
My level of concern is further heightened by my understanding that the Banking Committee has also been given access to some sensitive intelligence information. If this trend of disclosing classified information continues, it may be only a matter of time until that information is published in the Record, potentially compromising sensitive intelligence sources and methods. To condone such a pattern of conduct could readily lead to widespread resistance by the Executive Branch to House requests for classified information and to disruptive confrontations in the courts.
Finally, I sincerely believe that the reputation of the House is being seriously damaged by this highly questionable practice. Therefore, in this connection and mindful of Rule XLVIII, I earnestly request and urge you, Mr. Speaker, to look into this serious situation immediately and take whatever corrective actions are necessary to resolve this troublesome matter.
Sincerely,
Robert H. Michel,
Republican Leader.
Central Intelligence Agency,
Washington, DC, July 24, 1992.
Hon. Henry Gonzalez,
Chairman, Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs, House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: In response to your letter of 7 July, we have reviewed the memorandum entitled `Iraq-Italy: Repercussions of the BNL-Atlanta Scandal' to determine whether it can be declassified. We have determined that nearly all of the document can be declassified, although we have had to make some very limited exclusions to protect sensitive intelligence sources and methods. The sanitized document is enclosed. We have done this as part of a continuing effort to cooperate with your committee.
We also have determined that your statement in the Congressional Record on 7 July 1992 included information from a TOP SECRET compartmented and particularly sensitive document dated 4 September 1989 to which we gave your staff access. Because of the sources and methods underlying that information, I will ask for a damage assessment to determine the impact of the disclosure.
I regret that you chose to discuss information from classified documents without attempting to determine if we could work out a way to satisfy both our need to protect intelligence sources and methods, as well as your need to make public information concerning the development of US policy toward Iraq.
I must also take strong exception to your statement in the Record that, `The lack of CIA cooperation with the prosecutors in Atlanta was a calculated administration effort to conceal the true nature of the BNL scandal and to hide the level of Iraqi Government complicity in the scandal.' In fact, the CIA has cooperated completely with the prosecutors in Atlanta. We received and responded to several Department of Justice requests for information beginning in late summer 1990 providing, among other things, Directorate of Intelligence finished intelligence reports; raw intelligence reports; copies of articles from the foreign press; and Foreign Broadcast Information Service reports. We also provided special briefings for senior Department of Justice attorneys and have provided additional, responsive information as it has become available. Although we are unable to determine the value of CIA information to the prosecutor, the facts will show that we have been completely responsive to all requests we have received.
This Agency's consistent policy has been to cooperate, when requested to do so, with all Department of Justice prosecutions. If evidence to the contrary has come to light during the course of your investigation. I ask that you provide me with facts sufficient to permit inquiry into whether a violation of Agency policy has occurred. If no such evidence exists, I wage that the record be promptly corrected.
Sincerely,
Robert M. Gates,
Director.
OFFICE OF THE REPUBLICAN LEADER, U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
Washington, DC, July 24, 1992.
Hon. Thomas S. Foley,
Speaker, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Speaker: I regret that I have to write you again relative to our colleague Henry Gonzalez, Chairman of the Committee on Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs, who on July 7th and July 21st, disclosed during special orders classified information provided to the Banking Committee by the Executive Branch. Previously, as you may recall, he disclosed classified documents of the State Department and Treasury. On July 7th, he disclosed information purportedly from a classified Central Intelligence Agency document which he indicated is entitled `Iraq-Italy, Repercussions of the BNL-Atlanta Scandal.' On July 21st, he disclosed information from two top secret, compartmented CIA intelligence documents.
These unilateral disclosures are improper and neither authorized by, nor consistent with, the Rules of the House, as I pointed out in my letter of May 15, 1992. [See Attachment] It is not up to the capricious inclinations of one Member whether to disclose classified information made available by the Executive Branch to a House committee. Such conduct serves no legitimate legislative oversight needs. Instead, it strikes at the very heart of the mutual trust between branches which is crucial to effective oversight. This information was furnished to the Banking Committee in support of its oversight responsibilities and with the expectation that it would be properly protected from unauthorized disclosure.
This steady stream of leaks by a senior Member of this body reflects very badly on the public reputation and dignity of the House as an institution, quite apart from any consideration of the merits of Chairman Gonzalez's speculations on the meaning and significance of the information he has been disclosing. Moreover, for the leadership of the House to continue to countenance this highly questionable behavior has other far-reaching and disturbing ramifications. It feeds what I fear is a growing and very troubling perception of the relative ease with which any Member may disclose with impunity classified information in virtually any committee's files. Equally seriously, continued inaction on these habitual disclosures will have injurious effects on intelligence assets. Repeated disclosures of classified information are bound to make them more and more hesitant to risk their lives and safety by cooperating with U.S. intelligence agencies. I believe the July 7th incident is the first instance in which Chairman Gonzalez disclosed information from a CIA document he openly acknowledged to be classified. This disclosure, coupled with his leaks of July 21st, suggest an ominous trend. I say that because I understand that for nearly a year now the CIA has been giving Banking Committee staff access to many classified intelligence documents in cooperation with that committee's oversight inquiries.
Frankly, I am puzzled and disappointed that you have not yet responded to or acknowledged my original letter of May 15th on this egregious matter. It is time for action. Every day of inaction risks further disclosures and further damage to national security interests and to the vitality and effectiveness of the legislative oversight process. Mr. Speaker, I therefore urge you again to take whatever steps are required to put an end to these continuing, unauthorized, unilateral disclosures.
Sincerely,
Robert H. Michel,
Republican Leader.
Central Intelligence Agency,
Washington, DC, July 28, 1992.
Hon. Henry Gonzalez,
Chairman, Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs, House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
[Page: H8730]
Dear Mr. Chairman: As Director Gates' response to your letter of 7 July indicates, we have been making every effort to cooperate with your requests for access to intelligence information. We have appropriately declassified intelligence reports available for you to use in public statements. We are prepared to work with you to continue reviewing our reports to determine what may be made available to the public.
We fully respect your obligation to discharge the oversight responsibilities assigned to your Committee. I hope that you understand our obligation to protect intelligence sources and methods through careful review of information before it is released to the public.
We have reviewed your statements published in the Congressional Records of 21 and 27 July. We have determined that portions of your statements were drawn from classified intelligence documents, some of which are Top Secret, compartmented, and particularly sensitive. I have asked the Office of Security of the Central Intelligence Agency to undertake a review of your statements in order to determine the impact of the disclosures of intelligence information on intelligence sources and methods.
Very respectfully,
W.O. Studeman,
Admiral, U.S. Navy, Acting Director of Central Intelligence.
Mr. Speaker, I introduce this resolution with great reluctance. But quite frankly I don't know what else to do. Over two and a half months ago, in an effort to keep this above politics, I quietly wrote the Speaker about my concerns over the unauthorized disclosures by Chairman Gonzalez, urging quick and decisive action. I got no response, even through Attorney General Barr indicated in a letter to the Speaker that because of Mr. Gonzalez' unauthorized disclosures, the administration must cease furnishing him classified information
Eleven days ago in another letter to the Speaker, I reiterated my concerns, and noted that since my original letter, there had been more unauthorized disclosures by Mr. Gonzalez that were drawn from very sensitive and highly classified CIA documents. These latest disclosures prompted letters to House Leaders from the Director of Central Intelligence, Robert Gates, and Admiral William Studeman, who is temporarily serving as the acting Director of Central Intelligence.
Both Gates and Studeman have indicated that Mr. Gonzalez has unilaterally disclosed classified Intelligence information. So have representatives of the State Department and Treasury Department with respect to classified information emanating from their agencies which they gave Chairman Gonzalez in a good faith effort to comply with this requests.
Mr. Speaker, the information that Mr. Gonzalez has been disclosing was furnished to him with the understanding that it be properly protected. The key to successful oversight of intelligence matters is trust. Without it, the whole process breaks down. Failure to act on this matter provides the Executive Branch with a legitimate reason to withhold information--information that is crucial to meaningful oversight.
Failure to address this problem immediately will also cause serious damage to our Intelligence activities overseas. Put yourself in the shoes of a friendly country or third parties who have been helping our Intelligence Officers carry out their mission. Letting this go on unaddressed creates the perception that Congress is a sieve and we are unconcerned about the security interests of our allies and the lives of our Intelligence Officers and their agents.
We must remember that in this highly interdependent world we can't go it alone. Terrorism is a case in point. Most terrorism against U.S. Citizens occurs overseas. To combat it, we need the cooperation of our allies. That kind of cooperation is going to dry up--if we continue to let leaks like this go unpunished.
Failure of the House to hold Mr. Gonzalez accountable places him above the law. Moreover, this steady stream of leaks by a senior member of his body reflects very badly on the public reputation and dignity of the House as an institution, quite apart from any consideration of the merits of Chairman Gonzalez' speculations on the meaning and significance of the information he has been disclosing. For the Leadership of the House to continue to tolerate this highly questionable behavior has other far-reaching and disturbing ramifications. It feeds what I fear is a growing and very troubling perception of the relative ease with which any Member can disclose classified information with impunity.
Mr. Speaker, every member of this institution must abide by our rules and procedures. When a member of a committee wishes to bring classified Executive Branch information before the House, Rule 29 provides the vehicle of a secret session to do so. That information must remain protected unless the House votes to disclose it. In short, I believe that Mr. Gonzalez' conduct does not reflect creditably on the House and violates Clause 1 of House Rule 43, which deals with Members' code of conduct. It also violates Clause 2 of House Rule 43, which enjoins all members to adhere to the spirit and the letter of the rules of this body.
It is against this backdrop, Mr. Speaker, that I introduce this Resolution today. Enough is enough. It is time for action. Every day of inaction risks further disclosures and further damage to national security interests and to the vitality and effectiveness of the legislative oversight process.
Office of Legislative Affairs,
Washington, DC, August 28, 1992.
Hon. Dave McCurdy,
Chairman, Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: I am writing on behalf of the Administration to advise you that the Administration will be delivering or, consistent with established security procedures, making available to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence copies of classified documents that are responsive to the requests for information set forth in the subpoenas that were recently served on a number of departments and agencies by the House Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs.
The Administration is compelled to respond in this manner because of Chairman Gonzalez's disclosures of classified information on the floor of the House of Representatives and in the Congressional Record. The executive order on national security information precludes us from disseminating classified information `outside the executive branch except under conditions that ensure that the information will be given protection equivalent to that afforded within the executive branch.' E.O. 12356, Section 4.1(c), 47 Fed. Reg. 14874, 14881 (1982). On May 15, 1992, the Attorney General wrote to Chairman Gonzalez to advise him that the Administration would not provide him or the Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs with any more classified information until specific assurances are received from the Chairman that classified information provided to him and the Committee will receive such security protection. Because we have not received such assurances from Chairman Gonzalez, the Administration is following the procedure set forth in the Attorney General's May 15, 1992 letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Consistent with the Administration's constitutional and statutory responsibilities, until such time as Chairman Gonzalez provides the executive branch with specific assurances that classified information will remain protected, the Administration intends to respond to subpoenas and other requests for information from Chairman Gonzalez or the Committee that call for the production of classified documents by delivering or, in appropriate circumstances, making such documents available to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. We are following this procedure on the understanding that the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence will act as the custodian of the classified documents in question, and that the Speaker will control access to the documents to ensure that they are disclosed only to persons who provide specific assurances that they will accord the documents security protection consistent with that afforded such documents within the executive branch, that is, protection from unauthorized disclosure, with access provided only to persons with appropriate security clearances and a need to know the classified information contained therein.
Enclosed are copies of the Attorney General's letters of May 15, 1992 and my letters to today's date to Chairman Gonzalez and the Speaker.
Sincerely,
W. Lee Rawls,
Assistant Attorney General.
House of Representatives,
Washington, DC, September 2, 1992.
Dear Mr. Attorney General: In an August 28 letter, Mr. Lee Rawls, the Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs, has written to inform me that copies of certain classified documents responsive to supoenas issued by the Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs are to be delivered or made available to the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. He further indicates that the Administration intends to continue to provide classified documents requested by the Banking Committee to the Intelligence Committee and ask that I, as Speaker, act to control access to such documents subject to security criteria set forth in his letter.
The Parliamentarian informs me that he knows of no precedent for the issuance of such a directive by the Speaker. Neither committee has requested this arrangement, nor was it the subject of any agreement between the Administration and me.
After careful consideration of Mr. Rawl's letter, and further consultation with the Parliamentarian, I have determined that I have no authority to impose the conditions the Administration seeks. I therefore suggest that the Administration discuss with the Banking Committee the manner in which it will comply with these subpoenas. It is my view that it is not appropriate for either the Intelligence Committee or me as Speaker to unilaterally interpose ourselves between the Banking Committee and the Administration with respect to what constitutes effective compliance with the Committee's subpoenas.
With high personal regard, I am
Sincerely,
Thomas S. Foley,
The Speaker.
Office of Legislative Affairs,
Washington, DC, September 4, 1992.
Hon. Henry B. Gonzelez,
Chairman, Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
[Page: H8731]
Dear Mr. Chairman: This letter concerns the requests for information set forth in the subpoenas that the Committee recently served on a number of departments and agencies and, specifically, the protection of classified documents responsive to those requests. In a letter dated September 2, 1992, the Speaker of the House of Representatives has advised the Administration that, under the circumstances, he has no authority to control access to classified documents placed in the custody of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence in response to requests for information issued by the Committee on Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs.
As the Administration has previously advised you, classified documents are subject to the binding restrictions set forth in the executive order on national security information, which precludes departments and agencies from disseminating classified information `outside the executive branch except under conditions that ensure that the information will be given protection equivalent to that afforded within the executive branch.' E.O. 12356, Section 4.1(c), 47 Fed. Reg. 14874, 14831 (1992). By letter dated May 15, 1992, the Attorney General informed you on behalf of the Administration that `in light of your recent disclosures [of classified information], the executive branch will not provide any more classified information to you until specific assurances are received from you that classified information provided to you and the Committee will receive the same security protection provided by the executive branch, that is, protection from unauthorized disclosure, with access provided only to persons with appropriate security clearances.' To date, we have not received such assurances.
Accordingly, the Administration will deliver or, in appropriate circumstances, make available to you responsive, classified documents only on the condition that you provide the Administration with specific assurances that classified information provided to you will receive the same security protection provided by the executive branch, that is, protection from unauthorized disclosure, with access provided only to persons with appropriate security clearances. If you provide the Administration with such assurance, the Administration will, consistent with its constitutional and statutory responsibilities, deliver or make available to you responsive, classified documents forthwith.
Until you provide such assurances, and consistent with the Administration's constitutional and statutory responsibilities, the Administration intends to comply with the requests for information set forth in the subpoenas by permitting individual members of the Committee and their appropriate staff with requisite security clearances to view responsive, classified documents in their offices or at the offices of the appropriate department or agency. Requests to view classified documents should be directed to departments and agencies that indicate that they have custody or control of classified documents responsive to the Committee's requests. Viewing arrangements will be made promptly, and will be carried out in accordance with established security procedures.
The Administration remains committed to providing the Committee with the information it needs to perform its legislative responsibilities. We can only do so, however, if the provision of that information does not undermine the Administration's constitutional and statutory responsibilities to protect classified information from unauthorized disclosure. We look forward to working with you to resolve this matter in a mutually satisfactory and responsible manner.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at 514-2141 or Faith Burton, Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General, at 514-1653.
Sincerely,
W. Lee Rawls,
Assistant Attorney General.
Office of Legislative Affairs,
Washington, DC, September 4, 1992.
Members of the Committee on Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs,
U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Committee Member: This letter concerns the requests for information set forth in the subpoenas that the Committee recently served on a number of departments and agencies and, specifically, the protection of classified documents responsive to those requests.
The Administration is compelled to address this issue because of Chairman Gonzalez's disclosures of classified information on the floor of the House of Representatives and in the Congressional Record. The executive order on national security information precludes us from disseminating classified information `outside the executive branch except under conditions that ensure that the information will be given protection equivalent to that afforded within the executive branch.' E.O. 12356, Section 4.1(c), 47 Fed. Reg. 14874, 14881 (1982). On May 15, 1992, the Attorney General wrote to Chairman Gonzalez to advise him that the Administration would not provide him with any more classified information until specific assurances were received from the Chairman that classified information provided to him and the Committee would receive such security protection. To date, we have not received such assurances.
Accordingly, on August 28, 1992, I wrote to Chairman Gonzalez to advise him that the Administration would deliver or, in appropriate circumstances, make available responsive classified documents to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. The Administration elected to follow this procedure on the understanding that the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence would act as the custodian of the classified documents, and that the Speaker of the House of Representatives would control access to the documents to ensure that the documents would be disclosed only to persons who would accord the documents security protection consistent with that afforded such documents within the executive branch, that is, protection from disclosure, with access provided only to persons with appropriate security clearances. On September 2, 1992, the Speaker of the House of Representatives wrote the Attorney General to advise him that, under the circumstances, he has no authority to control access to classified documents placed in the custody of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence in response to requests for information issued by the Committee on Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs.
Therefore, in a further effort to meet the legitimate needs of the Committee, consistent with the Administration's constitutional and statutory responsibilities, the Administration intends to comply with the requests by permitting individual members of the Committee, other than the Chairman, and their appropriate staff with requisite security clearances to view responsive, classified documents in their offices or at the offices of the appropriate department or agency. Requests to view classified documents should be directed to departments and agencies that indicate that they have custody or control of classified documents responsive to the Committee's requests. Viewing arrangements will be made promptly, and will be carried out in accordance with established security procedures.
The Administration remains committed to providing the Committee with the information it needs to perform its legislative responsibilities. We can only do so, however, if the provision of that information does not undermine the Administration's constitutional and statutory responsibilities to protect classified information from unauthorized disclosure.
Enclosed are copies of the Attorney General's letters to Chairman Gonzalez and the Speaker dated May 15, 1992, my letters to Chairman Gonzalez and the Speaker dated August 28, 1992, and the Speaker's letter to the Attorney General dated September 2, 1992. If you have any questions about this matter, please do not hesitate to contact me at 514-2141 or Faith Burton, Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General, at 514-1653.
Sincerely,
W. Lee Rawls,
Assistant Attorney General.
[TIME: 2220]
Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
Mr. COMBEST. I am happy to yield to the gentleman from California.
Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding to me.
I just wanted to say that I was in my office and listened to the gentleman's words and came over to the floor because I thought that what he was saying is extremely important.
I think too many of us begin to develop an idea about the people who are impacted and affected by the leaking or the displaying of classified documents that evidence the fact that we do not understand how absolutely critical it is that we maintain confidentiality and that the lives of people who work for the United States are affected and at times endangered because of the actions of Members of Congress who take it into their own hands to decide what will be classified and what will not be classified.
I just wanted to say to the gentleman that the men and women of the nonuniformed services who work in our intelligence operations around the world, who risk their lives on a daily basis, who do not get praise when they come home, like our Desert Storm troopers, and who sometimes die in small and quiet places, have a real interest in what the gentleman is saying, and in this body adopting, and that includes all the Members, some of whom have betrayed that confidentiality and that trust, adopting a discipline, because if we do not adopt a new discipline, we are going to see lives lost.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for taking time from his busy schedule to come down and say the words he has given us today.
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Mr. COMBEST. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the comments of the gentleman.
Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
Mr. COMBEST. I am happy to yield to the gentleman from Florida.
Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding to me.
My remarks will be very circumspect, because I sit on the Ethics Committee, and the gentleman from Texas has called for action by that committee, so in order not to prejudge anything and be entirely fair, I will be very cautious in what I say; however, I could not let this opportunity pass without saying that I think it is necessary that some action come forward, because I think some critically essential principles are at stake in front of us.
I happen to come from the Sunshine State, the State of Florida, where we have government in the sunshine, we cherish the public's right to know and the public's access to information; but we also know that some matters are withheld from the public for security reasons, whether it is national security or other bonafide purposes, and they are out there.
Matters are classified according to degrees of sensitivity, subject to special procedures, rules of handling, we know that. We know these things. It is part of being a Congressperson.
Some quarrel with classifications, and I would agree there are times they should be challenged, whether a report or a document has got the right classification or is classified for the right reasons is debatable; but that is not the issue here in any way. There are procedures to deal with that.
I would say that in some very special circumstances, there are ways to get special access to classified material or waivers of classified material. Again,
those are not the issues here.
I do not know of a single event, not any event, and certainly there should be no event where there is any latitude for an individual Member of Congress to unilaterally and deliberately expose classified material. I do not see how any Member of Congress has the experience to make that judgment and substitute his or her preference over the judgment of professionals who have made the classification.
Now, on its face, based on what I have heard this evening, it appears that one Member of this body has willfully, repeatedly and significantly, released clearly classified information on several occasions, despite warnings to desist, if I have understood it properly.
I think it is alleged that damage has been done or may have been done to our national interests, to this institution and to the ability of this institution to work in a cooperative and friendly spirit with the executive branch, an efficient spirit; but for me tonight, and the reason I am speaking is not about this individual, it is about the principle involved, because it is a professional principle, and let me try this for a thought.
Were I a doctor or a lawyer, I believe that anybody would understand the client privilege between an attorney and his client. I think anybody would understand the special relationship between the doctor and his patient and the right to privacy. I think those are clear things.
Well, I happen to be a former intelligence officer. I will tell you that that profession depends on respect and privacy of sensitive matters, and they cannot be breached without serious effect.
It is a matter of professionalism. I would suggest that our professional intelligence efforts, on which we spend many hours, would be reduced to chaos and rubble if we tolerate unauthorized disclosure of privileged information by a Member of Congress because it is some kind of a right or privilege we afford to a Member of Congress.
Besides, we all know it is against the rules.
In fact, it turns out that matters are not quite finished in Iraq. We have got some very difficult decisions ahead in that country. We have got some
very difficult decisions ahead with our partners to get compliance with the U.N. resolution. Leaks, willful or otherwise about Iraq, will affect our Intelligence gathering capability negatively. It is not in our Nation's best interests, certainly not now, and certainly not about Iraq. This is serious business.
If all the things that I have heard are true, I would suggest that it would be prosecutable where it not perhaps there is a debate going on about whether a Member might be able to hide behind the speech and debate clause. I gather that is not resolved yet, anyway. There is some case law on it.
Some I know will say that this is all partisan politics. It is not so; anyway, not for me, it is not so. I have spoken from the well twice before on this issue. I have written an op-ed piece about it. I believe I have experience that is somewhat unique in this body as a former intelligence officer in the clandestine services; so I feel very strongly about it and this goes beyond partisan politics.
Unauthorized disclosure of classified information is wrong. It is harmful to our Nation's best interests, and I believe the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Combest] said it well when he said our first order of business is this must be stopped. Then perhaps we can get to the question of whether rules were broken, whether or not some punitive efforts are necessary; but meanwhile, I plead, Mr. Speaker, please stop the leaks now.
Mr. COMBEST. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the comments of the gentleman, and again emphasize that they come from the experience of the years that he spent as an intelligence officer and understands the pressure those people are under in a very sensitive and certainly very dangerous position.
Mr. Speaker, I have no further request for time or any further statement.
END