[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 88 (Tuesday, June 12, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Page S3982]

                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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   SENATE RESOLUTION 489--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE ON THE
 APPOINTMENT BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF AN OUTSIDE SPECIAL COUNSEL TO
 INVESTIGATE CERTAIN RECENT LEAKS OF APPARENTLY CLASSIFIED AND HIGHLY
SENSITIVE INFORMATION ON UNITED STATES MILITARY AND INTELLIGENCE PLANS,
                        PROGRAMS, AND OPERATIONS

  Mr. McCAIN (for himself, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. Wicker, Mr. Brown of
Massachusetts, Ms. Ayotte, Mr. Portman, Ms. Collins, Mr. Graham, Mr.
Cornyn, Mr. Burr, Mr. Roberts, Mr. Blunt, Mr. Coburn, Mr. Paul, Mr.
Boozman, Mr. Isakson, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Kirk, Mr. Chambliss, Mr. Rubio,
and Mr. Hoeven) submitted the following resolution; which was referred
to the Committee on the Judiciary:

                              S. Res. 489

       Whereas over the past few weeks, several publications have
     been released that cite several highly sensitive United
     States military and intelligence counterterrorism plans,
     programs, and operations;
       Whereas these publications appear to be based in
     substantial part on unauthorized disclosures of classified
     information;
       Whereas the unauthorized disclosure of classified
     information is a felony under Federal law;
       Whereas the identity of the sources in these publications
     include senior administration officials, participants in
     these reported plans, programs, and operations, and current
     American officials who spoke anonymously about these reported
     plans, programs, and operations because they remain
     classified, parts of them are ongoing, or both;
       Whereas such unauthorized disclosures may inhibit the
     ability of the United States to employ the same or similar
     plans, programs, or operations in the future; put at risk the
     national security of the United States and the safety of the
     men and women sworn to protect it; and dismay our allies;
       Whereas under Federal law, the Attorney General may appoint
     an outside special counsel when an investigation or
     prosecution would present a conflict of interest or other
     extraordinary circumstances and when doing so would serve the
     public interest;
       Whereas investigations of unauthorized disclosures of
     classified information are ordinarily conducted by the
     Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from
     prosecutors in the National Security Division of the
     Department of Justice;
       Whereas there is precedent for officials in the National
     Security Division of the Department of Justice to recuse
     itself from such investigations to avoid even the appearance
     of impropriety or undue influence, and it appears that there
     have been such recusals with respect to the investigation of
     at least one of these unauthorized disclosures;
       Whereas such recusals are indicative of the serious
     complications already facing the Department of Justice in
     investigating these matters;
       Whereas the severity of the national security implications
     of these disclosures; the imperative for investigations of
     these disclosures to be conducted independently so as to
     avoid even the appearance of impropriety or undue influence;
     and the need to conduct these investigations expeditiously to
     ensure timely mitigation constitute extraordinary
     circumstances; and
       Whereas, for the foregoing reasons, the appointment of an
     outside special counsel would serve the public interest: Now,
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
       (1) the Attorney General should--
       (A) delegate to an outside special counsel all of the
     authority of the Attorney General with respect to
     investigations by the Department of Justice of any and all
     unauthorized disclosures of classified and highly sensitive
     information related to various United States military and
     intelligence plans, programs, and operations reported in
     recent publications; and
       (B) direct an outside special counsel to exercise that
     authority independently of the supervision or control of any
     officer of the Department of Justice;
       (2) under such authority, the outside special counsel
     should investigate any and all unauthorized disclosures of
     classified and highly sensitive information on which such
     recent publications were based and, where appropriate,
     prosecute those responsible; and
       (3) the President should assess--
       (A) whether any such unauthorized disclosures of classified
     and highly sensitive information damaged the national
     security of the United States; and
       (B) how such damage can be mitigated.

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