NY Times: "Leaker Played By The Rules"

According to this NY Times article, Mary McCarthy played by the rules. Here's the money quote:
"We're talking about a person with great integrity who played by the book and, as far as I know, never deviated from the rules," said Steven Simon, a security council aide in the Clinton administration who worked closely with Ms. McCarthy.
She got caught red-handed. How on earth can Mr. Simon say that she played by the rules? If the evidence wasn't overwhelming, Ms. McCarthy wouldn't have gotten fired. The facts speak for themselves. Mr. Simon's comments sound more patronizing than anything else. They certainly don't sound like they're based in fact.
Ms. McCarthy, who began attending law school at night several years ago and was preparing to retire from the CIA, may have felt she had no alternative but to go to the press.
Why would she feel that? That's why they established the Whistleblower Protection Act . Here's the two main sections of the procedure:
Improper conduct

Improper conduct means:
  •  corrupt conduct;
  •  a substantial mismanagement of public resources;
  •  conduct involving substantial risk to public health or safety; and
  •  conduct involving substantial risk to the environment.
The Act requires that the above conduct would, if proved, be a criminal offence or constitute reasonable grounds for dismissal.

Making a disclosure under the Act

A disclosure is an allegation or report of improper conduct. A disclosure may be made verbally or in writing and may be made anonymously. If a disclosure is made anonymously, it is important that it includes sufficient details and evidence to enable the matter to be investigated.

Disclosures of improper conduct by the Department of Primary Industries or its employees may be made to either the Department's protected disclosure coordinator, protected disclosure officer or the Ombudsman.

Please refer to the Department's Whistleblower Procedures which provides a system for reporting and managing disclosures made pursuant to the Act.
Nowhere in there does it say that whistleblowers should contact the media. Furthermore, it gives the whistleblower the option to make the allegation anonymously so that they wouldn't have to fear retaliation. In other words, there's no logical reason why a whistleblower should feel the need to run to the media.
If in fact Ms. McCarthy was the leaker, Richard J. Kerr, a former CIA deputy director, said, "I have no idea what her motive was, but there is a lot of dissension within the agency, and it seems to be a rather unhappy place."
That "unhappiness" has gotten more apparent as the war has dragged on. The CIA has tried undercutting President Bush numerous times.
Larry Johnson, a former CIA officer who worked for Ms. McCarthy in the agency's Latin America section, said, "It looks to me like Mary is being used as a sacrificial lamb."
It appears to me that Mr. Johnson either is just whining or he doesn't think that leaking highly classified information is a big deal. Either way, his statement tells us he shouldn't be taken seriously.

Cross-posted at California Conservative

Posted Saturday, April 22, 2006 8:26 PM

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