Marcy Wheeler has made an excellent catch. When Bradley Manning was caught with a computer full of classified (but not Top Secret) cables, they threw the book at him. Hell, they threw a bookmobile.
So why didn't they do the same to Robert McFarlane, the former national security adviser to Ronald Reagan? McFarlane was found with a whole buncha Top Secret -- not just classified: Top Secret -- documents about Sudan. And sure, the feds are investigating him -- but only to find out if he has been lobbying on behalf of the Sudanese government.
Why didn't McFarlane get the Manning treatment?
My fellow oldsters may recall that McFarlane was deeply involved with Iran Contra. He tried to commit suicide. His testimony was so bizarre -- so slow and soporific -- that many people wondered if he had been given drugs.
The same double standard applied then. Nobody tried to indict anyone on the Reagan team for the basic crime of selling arms to the Iranian government. At the time, anyone else helping the Iranians would have gone to the pokey.
5 comments:
It's a sonofabitch trying to keep up with all the selective prosecution, Joseph.
The correct formula is; get a government post, vacate to a lobbying firm, and voila'.
Greenwald has a prescription....
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/mar/21/barrett-brown-persecution-anonymous
Ben
IMPROPER HANDLING OF CLASSIFIED INFORMATION BY
JOHN M. DEUTCH
(1998-0028-IG)
February 18, 2000
"... John M. Deutch held the position of Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) from May 10, 1995 until December 14, 1996. Several days after Deutch's official departure as DCI, classified material was discovered on Deutch's government-owned computer, located at his Bethesda, Maryland residence.
2. (U/ /FOUO)* The computer had been designated for unclassified use only and was connected to a modem. This computer had been used to access [an Internet Service Provider (ISP)], the Internet, [Deutch's bank], and the Department of Defense (DoD)....
...Deutch used five government-owned Macintosh computers, configured for unclassified purposes, to process classified information. At least four of these computers were connected to modems that were lacking cryptographic devices and linked to the Internet, [an ISP], a DoD electronic mail server, and/or [bank] computers. As a result, classified information residing on Deutch's computers was vulnerable to possible electronic access and exploitation....
...He was also listed by true name in [the ISP's] publicly available online membership directory. This directory reflected Deutch as a user of Macintosh computers, a scientist, and as living in Bethesda, Maryland. Similarly, Deutch's online identity associated with CIA was:
johnd@odci[Office of DCI].gov[Government]
and with DoD, as:
deutch.johnd@odsdpo[Office of Deputy Secretary of DefensePostOffice].secdef[Secretary of Defense].osd.mil[Military]. ...
... On April 14, 1999, Attorney General Janet Reno sent a letter to DCI Tenet [declining prosecution.] [The letter stated in part:]
The results of that [OIG] investigation have been reviewed for prosecutive merit and that prosecution has been declined. As I understand that Mr. Deutch currently holds a Top Secret security clearance, I suggest that the appropriate security officials at the Central Intelligence Agency review the results of this investigation to determine Mr. Deutch's continued suitability for access to national security information...."
http://www.fas.org/irp/cia/product/ig_deutch.html
*(U/ /FOUO) Unclassified/ / For Official Use Only
My point being: If you are a made member of the drug dealing banking intelligence mafia, your bad deeds will never be punished.
If you do get caught, your deeds will be ignored by the so-called Justice Department. You will get a get out of jail free card, a pardon, or a commutation. Witness Scooter Libby, Rudy Deckker, Wally Hilliard, Neil Bush, Luis Posada Carriles, and on and on...
Remember Valerie Wilson (nee) Plame?
No republican operative or member of government was ever prosecuted for revealing her status as a CIA employee.
1521 days of Obama with 0 Wall Street campaign contributor arrest.
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