If a DEM had done what Huskster did, God, there would have been a motion to censor in the House already. And it probably would have passed with bipartisan votes.

Did Hoekstra break the law? If so he should be prosecuted to the fullest extent. And I agree with estamm: imagine the scorched-earth outrage if a Dem had done this.

"Agency officials will no doubt respond to Hoekstra's remarks as evidence of why lawmakers can't be trusted with secrets, and they'll have a point."

Lawmakers could be trusted if the law was enforced. Hoekstra should be prosecuted.

Where are the voices of Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck raining down condemnation when there really are security leaks?

The Right Wing Boys must have set a "GOP hands-off" precedent after Dick Cheney leaked about Valerie Plame and got the kid glove treatment.

Why can't you trust lawyers?

(because even when they're dead they lie still)

I say no secrets to any law-maker unless they pledge an oath of silence.

And I think there should be a scorched earth policy w/regard to Hoekstra, even if he is not censured/prosecuted. Why should Democrats act as if Republican's errors, no matter how heinous, deserve no more than a polite, "that is not a team building activity"?

In addition to what estamm said, I'm sure R's come preinstalled with teflon sheathing.

From the desk of The Honorable Peter Hoekstra:

In these perilous times, our country faces the greatest threat since its founding. The threat to the continued existence of the United States is at risk.

During these dangerous times, it is important that all patriots realize that this is a war that must be won. It must be fully realized that all means possible must be used to overcome this threat to our future way of life. If it requires releasing classified materials to win this war, we must do what we must do!

It should be fully understood that WWII is dwarfed in comparison to the current threat. It should be fully understood that the War of Northern Aggression was a minor threat compared to today's great worries.

Again, it must be stressed that this war is so important that any and all means will be used to win!

Indeed, in a historical perspective, the only possible worse crisis for the United States would be if the current president was a black woman!

People make honest mistakes sometimes.

But Hoekstra isn't honest.

Corrected.

Yeah, well, I just called Boehner's office (202- 225-4000) to complain about Hoekstra not being removed from the "intelligence" committee.

People make honest mistakes sometimes.

But Hoekstra isn't honest.

Corrected again. Guess that damn Preview button is there for a reason ...

While this episode certainly highlights Hoekstra's hypocrisy, the fact that a radical muslim cleric was the subject of an NSA tap shouldn't be news. The capabilities of the NSA to tap telecommunications have been discussed openly in the press. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, even in its pre-2008 form, allowed the NSA to target the communications of foreign nationals who might be seen as a threat to the US.

The lesson I think we should be taking from this is how convenient the use of secrecy is for silencing critics, and, at the same time, using that claim of special knowledge to make a point.

I sent an email to Nancy Pelosi about this. I sent another one to Steny Hoyer and one to Silvestre Reyes, chairman of the Intelligence Committee. I also sent one to Alcee Hastings, the ranking member and Patrick Murphy, who is on the same committee. I also contacted my Senators and Rep. and I called Diane Feinstein's office. In the letters I demanded a criminal investigation of this guy and at the very least to strip him of his security clearance. It would be a great idea for us to generate an uproar over this and embarrass that shithead. They would do it to us. Let's dish some of it out for change. C'mon Fighting Dems!

Your afternoon rhetorical question

With republicans like this...
who needs foreign enemies?

It's not just that he leaks, but most of his leaks are in the process of trying to score cheap political points, or show off. If he leaked because he had serious policy concerns or something, that might be different. He just pointlessly shoots his mouth off.

Where is the condemnation from Wolf? He clearly is guilty of a crime and should be summarily prosecuted...no defense required in this case.

Not on this breach but another . . .

At a church in Michigan one evening last week, speaking on behalf of an adoption agency in his district, Hoekstra talked about pushing Congress to make the Adoption Tax Credit permanent. (He's campaigning for governor in the state.)

I know it's murky ground, and so far there are only general newspaper accounts of the church meeting and no known recording or transcript, but does this sidestep the separation of church and state?

At regular intervals we hear about his "mistakes" in revealing top-secret information. If he were in another party, he'd have been skewered by now.

It's well known among those (of us) who work as staff in a government agency that giving information to an elected official is the same as leafletting the city with it. Maybe nobody will notice, but...

In the letters I demanded a criminal investigation of this guy and at the very least to strip him of his security clearance.

He holds no clearance and therefore committed no crime. No elected official holds a clearance.

Can't he go back to Baghdad and once again tweet his personal coordinates? Ah, if only he wouldn't be taking down his innocent military escort with him.

He holds no clearance and therefore committed no crime. No elected official holds a clearance.

He was, however, required to take a secrecy oath, which he has now violated.