Discussion Questions
Aired October 8, 2003
A deadline has come and gone for White House staff members to turn over any information that could help the Justice Department find out who apparently blew the cover of a CIA secret agent. The agent's husband says someone in the Bush administration leaked his wife's name as payback for some criticism he made of pre-war intelligence regarding Iraq. On Tuesday, White House staffers relinquished all documents that could be pertinent to the Justice Department's criminal investigation.
1. Which government agency is responsible for investigating the CIA leak incident? How has President George W. Bush responded to the incident? What is the status of the investigation?
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2. Who is Scott McCellan? What is his position on the leak?
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3. What is the Justice Department's deadline for receiving all documents that could be pertinent to the leak probe? Why did White House council Alberto Gonzales set yesterday as an internal deadline for White House staffers to relinquish their documents?
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4. What criticism did Democrats make about the Bush administration's response to the investigation? How did White House aides respond to this criticism? According to the video, under what circumstances might the White House invoke executive privilege to shield classified information from investigators? What are the potential pros and cons of invoking this privilege for the White House and the public?
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5. Why do you think this leak is being taken so seriously?
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Related Links
CNN.com: White House staffers face deadline in CIA leak probe (http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/10/07/leak.main/index.html)
CNN.com: Administration vows cooperation in probe of intelligence leak (http://cnnstudentnews.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/09/29/wilson.cia/index.html)
CIA Homepage for Kids (http://www.cia.gov/cia/ciakids/index.shtml)
Intelligence Identities Protection Act of 1982 (http://foi.missouri.edu/bushinfopolicies/protection.html)
Keywords
Central Intelligence Agency, operative, leak, criminal probe, White House, investigation, executive privilege, national security
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