That's exactly how Henry Waxman says he is approaching it.

It's because of the way the law is written. You have to know she was covert and then out her on purpose. That is very hard to prove, how do you prove what a person is thinking.

It's more than just Armitage. He was the first to tell a reporter her name and place of work. But there were 10 total leakers, all pretty much at once. And that shows a planned leak. IMHO.

But the law needs to be changed, so that this cannot ever happen again. The first time a CIA agent is outted in the history of our country, BY OUR GOVERNMENT must be the last time.

Congressional oversight is an investigative, not a judicial, role. Congress truly gets into a judicial role only once, and that's with impeachment. But by conducting oversight, they can determine if money is being spent appropriately (for example, contractors in Iraq), if laws are being followed (for example, warrantless electronic surveillance of US citizens), and so on. Such investigations can lead to the passage of new laws or indeed can lead to criminal prosecutions.

For people who have followed the actions of Congress closely over the last six years, Congressional oversight is a new concept ... but it's something that should have been happening all along, as an important part of our system of checks and balances.

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Curly

The people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in every country.

- Hermann Goering

Thats correct. Unless congress wants to try someone for impeachment, there is little they can do than investigate. But where is the oversight of congress? They do things politically unethical all the time, even criminal. Who is watching them?

Point is, it is not the job of congress to force executive branch employees to resign. If they dont like what Bush does with his people they should pass laws, or vote in the next election like the rest of us. All they are doing is wasting time and money with hearings.

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"To take from one, because it is thought his own industry and that of his father has acquired too much, in order to spare to others who (or whose fathers) have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association, "to guarantee to everyone a free exercise of his industry and the fruits acquired by it."

-Thomas Jefferson