WASHINGTON - House Intelligence Chairman Peter Hoekstra has suspended a Democratic staff member because of concerns he may have leaked a high-level intelligence assessment to The New York Times last month.

In a letter obtained by The Associated Press Thursday night, Rep. Ray LaHood (news, bio, voting record), R-Ill., a committee member, said that an unidentified staffer requested the document from National Intelligence Director John Negroponte three days before the Sept. 23 story about its conclusions.

The staffer received the National Intelligence Estimate on global terror trends on Sept. 21.

"I have no credible information to say any classified information was leaked from the committee's minority staff, but the implications of such would be dramatic," LaHood wrote Hoekstra, R-Mich., late last month. "This may, in fact, be only coincidence, and simply 'look bad.' But coincidence, in this town, is rare."

[Read on.]

Hoekstra suspends House staffer over possible NIE leak
Allahpundit

We’ve been waiting for the Great Leak Crackdown of ‘06 since, literally, the day this site debuted. This ain’t it, but it’ll do for now:

House Intelligence Chairman Peter Hoekstra has suspended a Democratic staff member because of concerns he may have leaked a high-level intelligence assessment to The New York Times last month.

In a letter obtained by The Associated Press Thursday night, Rep. Ray LaHood, R-Ill., a committee member, said that an unidentified staffer requested the document from National Intelligence Director John Negroponte three days before the Sept. 23 story about its conclusions.

The staffer received the National Intelligence Estimate on global terror trends on Sept. 21.

Is this a “good” leak or, a la Plame, a bad one? The world waits with bated breath for Josh “I question the timing” Marshall to deliver his verdict.

House Intel Leaker Found?
Ed Morrissey

A number of CQ readers pointed out a report last night in the Los Angeles Times that indicates that the House Intelligence Committee may have found the New York Times' source for their national-security scoops. An unnamed Democratic staffer to the commitee has been suspended pending an investigation:

... The staffer received the National Intelligence Estimate on global terror trends on Sept. 21.

"I have no credible information to say any classified information was leaked from the committee's minority staff, but the implications of such would be dramatic," LaHood wrote Hoekstra, R-Mich., late last month. "This may, in fact, be only coincidence, and simply 'look bad.' But coincidence, in this town, is rare."

It's not just rare, it's almost non-existent. The NIE was the latest in a series of intelligence leaks that found their way onto the front pages of the NYT. It started last December with the revelation of the warrantless surveillance on international communications, and came up again in the spring with the Swift program exposure. The Department of Justice had pledged to investigate the leaks, but at this time it looks as if Congress may have solved the mystery.

With the election pending, the temptation would be to look at this as an electoral issue, but it's not going to have that kind of impact. Leaks do not generally come from one party or the other; they do usually have political motivations, though, and it's always been more likely to have been a Democrat than a Republican for a number of reasons.  ...

*** Update and bump. Original timestamp 00:33.

Bombshell: Democratic staff dripper?
Michelle Malkin

Like Tigerhawk (hat tip - Instapundit) and many other observers, I theorized that the illegal leak of the National Intelligence Estimate summary findings last month came from former or current CIA bureaucrats with an anti-Bush axe to grind. That assumption fit a well-worn pattern.

Now comes word that a Democratic staffer has been suspended over concerns he may have leaked a high-level intelligence assessment to The New York Times last month (hat tip - Allah):

House Intelligence Chairman Peter Hoekstra has suspended a Democratic staff member because of concerns he may have leaked a high-level intelligence assessment to The New York Times last month.

In a letter obtained by The Associated Press Thursday night, Rep. Ray LaHood, R-Ill., a committee member, said that an unidentified staffer requested the document from National Intelligence Director John Negroponte three days before the Sept. 23 story about its conclusions.

The staffer received the National Intelligence Estimate on global terror trends on Sept. 21.

Look who's not talking now:

An aide to California Rep. Jane Harman, the committee's top Democrat, did not have an immediate comment Thursday night.

The New York Times did not immediately answer a telephone message seeking comment.

The Dem staffer's suspension doesn't preclude the possibility that the Times received the NIE summary findings from more than one source or the possibility that CIA insiders constituted some of those sources. It simply underscores what many of us, including President Bush, assumed immediately (Bush remarks, Sept. 27, 2006, via WSJ:

Now, you know what's interesting about the NIE -- it was a intelligence report done last April. As I understand, the conclusions -- the evidence on the conclusions reached was stopped being gathered on February -- at the end of February. And here we are, coming down the stretch in an election campaign, and it's on the front page of your newspapers. Isn't that interesting? Somebody has taken it upon themselves to leak classified information for political purposes.

Who else is dripping, Democrats?

Will you report the news, New York Times?

Do tell.

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Democrat leak freak-out
Michelle Malkin

Well, well. The Dems are "appalled" and outraged. Not by the possibility that one of their own may have leaked classified info about the war to damage President Bush, of course. But by the suspension of an unnamed Dem staffer over concerns that he/she may have leaked National Intelligence Estimate summary findings to the NYTimes last month:

Democrats say the Republican head of the House Intelligence Committee had no grounds to suspend a staff member who's come under scrutiny for the leak of a secret intelligence assessment.

The unidentified staff member, a Democrat, was suspended this week by Chairman Peter Hoekstra, R-Mich., and is being denied access to classified information pending the outcome of a review, Hoekstra's spokesman, Jamal Ware, said Thursday.

The Intelligence Committee's top Democrat, Jane Harman of California, wrote to Hoekstra that she was "appalled" by his action, which was "without basis." ...

Here's a flashback to Harman's comments back in April in a debate with Rep. Hoekstra on Fox News Sunday regarding intelligence leaks ...

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Did the Democrats Leak the NIE?
John Hinderaker

One of the Democrats' several September Surprises was the highly selective, and highly misleading, leak of a small portion of the recently-completed National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq. The Associated Press reported today that House Intelligence Committee chairman Peter Hoekstra has suspended a Democratic committee staffer and denied him or her access to classified information, pending an investigation into whether that staffer was the source of the NIE leak.

As far as the AP's report indicates, the only evidence against the staffer is the fact that he or she "requested the document from National Intelligence Director John Negroponte three days before a Sept. 23 story by the Times on its conclusions." That could be a coincidence, of course; on the other hand, there may be more evidence of which we are unaware. ...