Cheney told republicans what?

So there's a bit of a stir over the leak that the CIA has interrogation camps in some East Block country. Frist and Hastert were talking about an investigation, and the CIA yet again had to go to the Justice Dept. Scuttle has it that the camps are run out of old Soviet SS installations. Obviously, this isn't the best thing to announce to the world, that we're secretly holding ghost detainees in former Soviet camps. It's damaging, and it's damaging because it's an immoral action that we pay for with our tax dollars. Personally, I'm glad it was exposed. I hope they track down the perpetrator and I hope he/she can articulate why they leaked this information. I imagine it's because they didn't like the US committing atrocities with our tax dollars. I hope the responsible party is tried by a jury of his/her peers, and I hope those peers keep an open mind. Realistically, we'll probably have a situation where another reporter goes to jail.

But here's a new twist:

Earlier Tuesday, Republican congressional leaders asked for an investigation into the matter, and Sen. Trent Lott of Mississippi suggested his own GOP colleagues could be to blame for the possible leak.

Lott told reporters the information in the Post story was the same as that given to Republican senators in a closed-door briefing by Vice President Dick Cheney last week.

Let me get this straight...Cheney is sharing news of the US running CIA camps in Eastern Europe with a closed-door caucus of Republican Senators? What else are they privy too that our other elected officials are not? Are there other government atrocities they are aware of? Did they tell only Republican Senators before the war that there were no WMDs? What other ghastly secrets do they keep from the American people and their Democratic peers?

If it was a Republican leaker I hope it was one of my Senators. (realistically it was probably a staffer...under the direction of a senator) Standing up to torture would even get me to vote for Santorum (shudder). It's really that important to me to have transparency and accountability from our elected officials. Bush says the US does not torture. Then why do we need ghost sites in other countries? A prison in DC, or a military base in Nevada would work just as well. Of course nothing can be proven without leakers breaking the law, but these "black sites" scream shady. In the meantime, I hope more details (hopefully not classified ones) slip about who says what in these secretive meetings.

It remains to be seen how this plays out. If the Republicans have a rat, they'll want revenge. On the other hand, this is only going to underscore the secret US torture advocacy and that's ugly ground for Republicans. Says one:

"Never get into a pissing match with a skunk," said one senior House Republican, who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid crossing the leadership.

And then you have this from Chris Shays :

Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.) said investigating the prison leak would be acceptable, as long as Congress also investigates the secret prisons themselves. "If you want to investigate everything and not be selective, that would make sense," he said.

Shays is a blue-state republican best known for crying out against DeLay's ethics rule changes. Sounds like he's on the side of those who want some truth. Either he has true integrity, a chip on his shoulder, or an election strategy. He might well ride this consciencious Republican thing through elections next year. It works on me: I would vote for him.

And last but not least, we have a fine quotation from Senator Roberts, who up until last week had been stonewalling investigation of the pre-war intel.

Roberts said his committee "stands ready to be of service," but that he had "not received any marching orders from the leadership."

What a puppet. Stop sucking up and lead your committee. PS: it's your job. Roberts is an embarrassment, even to Kansas, which has new things to be embarassed about everyday.