We know the White House has blocked disclosure of several NSA intercepts requested by John Bolton, even though these intercepts were requested by Republican SFRC Chairman Richard Lugar. If the White House won't even let a fellow Republican see these documents, they must contain something pretty explosive. And they do.
The White House is trying to sweep the NSA intercepts under the rug because they prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Bolton commmitted perjury when he testified before the Foreign Relations Committee last month.
Bolton testified to the SFRC that he opposed the appointment of International Atomic Energy Director Mohammed ElBaradei to a third term simply because
the Bush Administration believes in term limits:
Bolton responded by saying that the potential of what the United Nations could be is undermined by its member states. He responded that he was very supportive of the International Atomic Energy Agency and his opposition to Director General ElBaradei's third term was based on the Bush administration's belief that no U.N. officials should serve more than two terms.
This is not news, nor should it be news to anyone that Bolton was lying. In fact, it is well-known that the Bush Administration carried out a bitter campaign against the reappointment of Dr. ElBaradei - a campaign they eventually lost. Indeed, it is well-known that the Bush Administration tapped ElBaradei's phone in an attempt to gather information that would undermine his nomination. However, there are lies you can prove, and lies you can't prove. Bolton himself has not been personally linked to this eavesdropping - until now.
Exclusive: Bolton was recipient of NSA intercepts of IAEA chief.
John R. Bolton, President Bush's designate to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, was one of more than a half dozen senior Bush administration officials who received highly classified NSA intercepts of conversations of private phone conversations of Mohammed ElBarbadei, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, according to government officials familiar with the matter. The IAEA is the United Nations' nuclear watchdog agency.
That the NSA was intercepting the phone calls of IAEA officers, particularly ElBarbadei, is in and of itself hardly big news. IAEA officials have known about the eavesdropping for more than a decade, and have made it a point not to conduct sensitive diplomacy over the telephone. An IAEA spokesman told reporters in Dec. of last year, for example: "We've always assumed that this kind of thing goes on. We wish it were otherwise, but we know the reality."
But Bolton differed from other consumers of the intelligence, according to two senior government officials familiar with the matter, in that when the intercepts proved all but useless to his cause to oust ElBarbadei from his IAEA post, he privately encouraged more aggressive intelligence gathering operations against the IAEA, the United Nations, and other international organizations.
The NSA intercepts, if made public, would clearly demonstrate that Bolton was involved in an unprecedented campaign to undermine ElBaradei - something that could never be justified by a mere "belief in term limits."
While it is hardly unusual for senior State Department officials to task intelligence agencies with specific requests for information, one official told me that the requests of Bolton and similar minded officials "stuck out like a sore thumb" because of Bolton's activist role in attempting to oust ElBarbadei. Moreover, the request appeared to target ElBarbadei in particular, while ordinarily intelligence information is sought concerning policy and issues. One official told me: "You don't request on individuals."
Thus, the NSA intercepts would unequivocally prove that Bolton committed perjury before the Foreign Relations Committee last month. Is it any wonder the White House won't even let a Republican Senator see them?
Bolton's committee vote is scheduled for Thursday. If these facts get wider play before that time, it could blow the lid off the entire situation. Stay tuned...