June 26, 2007
Waxman Slams White House & Cheney Over Classified Material
House Government and Oversight Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., has shot another flaming arrow at the White House, this time accusing the White House of being careless in its handling of classified material and ignoring flagrant breaches of security.
"There is evidence that both the White House and the Office of the Vice President have flaunted multiple requirements for protecting classified information," wrote Waxman in a letter to White House counsel Fred Fielding. The letter is the latest move in Waxman’s escalating investigation of Vice President Dick Cheney’s handling of classified documents.
Waxman said he has been contacted by "current and former White House security personnel" who say they were ignored when they reported breaches, such as "a report that a White House official left classified materials unattended in a hotel room" or reports that "White House officials left classified information on their desks." The security officials were prevented from "conducting unannounced inspections of the West Wing," such as those allowed by previous administrations, wrote Waxman, who called White House security practices "dangerously inadequate."
A Waxman aide said congressional investigators have been quietly talking to current and former members of the little-known White House Security Office, which oversees security at the White House itself.
In his letter, Waxman demanded that he be allowed to depose "White House officials with knowledge of these security matters" or he will issue subpoenas for them on Thursday.
The Gate has a PDF of the full text of Waxman's letter.
Posted at 1:21 PM
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Bush Administration, Congress, Dick Cheney, House, President Bush
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