Madam Speaker, it is time for someone in the Bush administration to be held accountable for the leaking of the identity of a covert CIA operative. Washington Republicans are already attempting to minimize in advance the special prosecutor's findings. Anyone who does not believe leaking a CIA operative's identity is a serious breach of national security should listen to the words of our President's father, who served not only as President but as director of the CIA.
During a speech at the CIA in 1999 he said, ``I have nothing but contempt and anger for those who betray the trust by exposing the names of our sources. They are, in my view, the most insidious of traitors.'' That is the President's father, a former Republican President himself.
While his son's administration is working in secret to destroy Joseph Wilson's name, it was the former President Bush who sent a letter to Wilson congratulating him for his service to his country and sending his sympathies that his wife's identity had been made public. President Bush should listen to his father. He should not condone these outrageous actions, should fire anyone involved, and hold them in utter contempt.