March 06, 2004

Pickle Report Names Staff in Judiciary Files Scandal

The Senate Judiciary Committee named two Senate staffers in a report on the unauthorized use of its computer system. Both were in the office of Republican Senator Orrin Hatch. The report, in two parts here and here, documents the results of the investigation by Senate Sergeant-at-Arms William Pickle. Sen. Patrick Leahy called for a criminal investigation. (Read more ...)

The report found that the staffers' computers held some 4,670 unauthorized files, most of them Democratic strategy documents. The leaked memos had been publicly posted to the Internet by the conservative Coalition for a Fair Judiciary and at this writing were accessible here .

Senator Patrick Leahy, ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, called for a criminal investigation by the Department of Justice in a March 4 statement. In it, Sen. Leahy said, in part:

    "“There is much in this report that is new, incriminating and revealing about the stealing of these computer files. The evidence unequivocally confirms that some Republican staff conspired to spy on and steal from their Democratic colleagues. This report indisputably shows that this secret surveillance was calculated, systematic and sweeping in its scope.

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Judiciary Committee chair, said that "I am mortified that this improper, unethical and simply unacceptable breach of confidential files occurred," according to the New York Times. "There is no excuse that can justify these improper actions."

According to Jurist's Paper Chase on March 5, an unredacted version of the report was released to the press and identified the two individuals whose names were redacted from the official version intended for publication.

CNN quoted one of the two staffers, Manuel Miranda, earlier this year as saying he was not concerned about a criminal probe. "I am worried about absolutely nothing, and at least if it were to go to a criminal investigation, it would go to the hands of adults," he told CNN. Miranda resigned from the staff of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, (R-TN), when the story about the documents first broke, and CNN quoted him as saying that he violated no laws and that the documents in question were neither confidential nor classified.

Questions:

  • What other legislative, executive and judiciary branch information intended to be confidential are at risk in the security environment that allowed this situation to develop?
  • How should an investigation team be structured to avoid partisan political influence on its proceedings?
  • Is Mr. Miranda correct? Is there no law prohibiting the acts in question? If not, should there be?

Thanks to Jurist's Paper Chase, of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, for links to this data through its Legal Newsfeed for Websites and Intranets.

DougSimpson.com/blog

Posted by dougsimpson at March 6, 2004 06:39 AM | TrackBack
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