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Boxer, Ruppersberger condemn release of sensitive information on Libya attack
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.) are the latest congressional Democrats to condemn the release of sensitive State Department cables related to the deadly Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya.
The public release, issued by House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), is part of an ongoing congressional probe by Issa's panel into the attack, which left four Americans dead, including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens.
Boxer, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, characterized Issa's decision to release the State Department cables as "reprehensible and deeply irresponsible."
“A member of Congress should never treat sensitive diplomatic information recklessly, especially when our national security is at risk and lives are on the line,” Boxer said in a statement issued Monday.
The move "shows a blatant disregard for safety and appears to put politics ahead of the security of our nation, which could have damaging and deadly results," Ruppersberger, the ranking member on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said in a statement issued the same day.
The Romney camp has slammed the White House for its shifting account of the consulate attack in Benghazi, accusing officials of taking too long to identify the attack on the compound as an act of terrorism and questioning why more security precautions were not taken before the assault.
However, during the second presidential debate last Tuesday, Obama argued he did characterize the Benghazi raid as an act of terror.
On Sunday, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) said the disclosure was an "obvious [attempt] to make political hay out of this tragedy" and was another step by Issa's office "in advancing his partisan goals."
“While I don’t see how Congressman Issa’s will succeed ... what is clear is that the reckless release of the names of Libyans who have worked with us could jeopardize the lives of those individuals and damage U.S. interests," Levin said in a statement.
Issa came under immediate scrutiny from the Obama administration, even before the committee officially released the cables last Friday.
On Oct 9, David Adams, State assistant secretary of legislative affairs, warned Congress the communications "contains classified and other sensitive information, including information about the security of U.S. diplomatic missions overseas, foreign government information, and personal privacy information."
"The unauthorized release of [that information] could cause damage to national security and foreign relations," he wrote in a letter to the House Oversight panel.
On Sunday, Issa fired back at Democrats, claiming the disclosures had not endangered lives and that the administration was seeking to deflect tough questions about the consulate attack.
“President Obama should be ashamed of yet another example where his administration has been caught trying to mislead the American people about what happened in Libya,” he said in a statement.
“Obama administration officials and their surrogates are clearly reeling from revelations about how the situation in Benghazi was mishandled and are falsely politicizing the issue in a last-ditch effort to save President Obama’s reelection effort,” Issa added.
