The politics of the CIA leak cases

My job has been so crazy lately that I’ve barely been able to keep half-an-eye on the first firing as a result of a leak from the CIA: that of Mary McCarthy, fired for allegedly leaking the existence of a CIA operation where suspected terrorists were interrogated in prisons in Eastern Europe to Dana Priest of the Washington Post.

Here are my quick thoughts on the issue:

Not surprisingly, Mary McCarthy has was a big donor to the Democrats, specifically John Kerry and the Ohio state Dems.

McCarthy also was a Clintonista, a protégé of Sandy Berger, who himself stole classified documents. She also had connections to Joe (Isuzu) Wilson.

McCarthy also worked in the CIA Office of Inspector General, where she was, among other things, supposed to prevent leaks.

The original story got the Post a Pulitzer, but little in the way of public support. Apparently, the public is not bothered by the CIA having its way with imprisoned al Qaida.

This should be only the first of the leak investigations. The media seems to think so, as they are defending McCarthy. There were other leaks, including the damaging leak about the NSA wiretaps to the New York Times. And this is where it gets really sticky for the MSM.

They have been so busy congratulating themselves over these stories that they have yet to notice that the public by and large supported the operations they exposed. They have yet to experience a full backlash from that disconnect.

McCarthy’s removal and possible prosecution could be the first in a trend – CIA employees with strong ties to the Democratic Party leaking classified information to the press, which publishes that information to the severe damage of US national security.

My guess is that there will be more McCarthys outed between now and the November elections. More stories, whether the MSM covers them or not, of Democrats taking it upon themselves to expose valuable intelligence gathering programs and place us at risk in a time of war for partisan advantage, with the gleeful support of the press.

And whether the MSM covers them or not, the stories will get out. A constant drumbeat of this stuff for six months.

You would have to be a real Kool-Aid drinker to think this is good for the Dems.