The Traditional Values Coalition

Traditional Values Coalition Opinion Editorial For publication on or after Tuesday, December 4, 2001

Senator Daschle Must Remove 'Leaky Leahy' From Judiciary Committee

By Rev. Louis P. Sheldon Chairman, Traditional Values Coalition

Washington, DC - Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), head of the Senate Judiciary Committee is probably one of the most powerful men in the Senate. He may also be one of the most unreliable and a threat to our national security. Senator Tom Daschle should remove Leahy from heading any Senate committee and prohibit him from sitting on any committee handling intelligence information.

Surely, Majority Leader Daschle knows about Leahy's sad history of leaking classified information, yet he placed him as head of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Leahy gained notoriety in 1987 for his role in leaking classified information in 1986 about a covert operation by the Reagan Administration against Libyan dictator Moammar Gaddhafi.

Leahy, at the time, was on the Senate Intelligence Committee. Leaky Leahy was quoted in the Washington Times as saying he thought this effort "was the most ridiculous thing I had seen, and also the most irresponsible." Apparently he felt obligated to leak this intelligence information to the press-and the plan was aborted. One can only wonder how many innocent civilians have died since then because of Gaddhafi's terrorist activities.

Leahy also leaked intelligence information in 1985 dealing with the terrorist attack on the cruise ship Achille Lauro. The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that this leak apparently cost the life of at least one Egyptian operative who was working on the case. When Leahy leaks, people die.

The Senate conducted an internal investigation of Leahy's penchant for leaking classified information, and he was allowed to save face by resigning from the intelligence committee.

Thanks to Tom Daschle's committee assignments, Leaky Leahy is currently stonewalling President Bush's judicial nominees and recently held the first of several hearings to grill Attorney General Ashcroft and Justice Department officials on their efforts to fight terrorism here and around the world. Last week's hearing conducted by Leaky Leahy was called "Department of Justice Oversight: Preserving Our Freedoms While Defending Against Terrorism."

Leahy claims to be concerned about civil liberties and our national security, but his track record is dismal. He has previously compromised U.S. national security for partisan political purposes. There is little to make us confident that he will not again jeopardize national security by leaking future classified information to the press if it suits his political agenda.

Senator Daschle is ultimately responsible for this situation. He determines who will head Senate committees. He should remove Leahy immediately for the sake of national security. The unfortunate truth is that Leaky Leahy is the one who deserves to be investigated, not Attorney General John Ashcroft or the Justice Department. Providing classified information to Senator Leahy constitutes a potential security breach and American operatives may die as a result.

Sen. Daschle must understand this fact and act now to relieve Leahy of his duties.

Traditional Values Coalition is an interdenominational public policy organization representing more than 43,000 churches across the United States. For more information, contact Emily Davis at 202-547-8570. TVC's Web site is: www.traditionalvalues.org.