Here are the text of the witness statements at today's hearing, “A Special Joint Oversight Hearing On The National Security Consequences of Disclosing the Identity of a Covert Intelligence Officer”, held jointly by the Senate Democratic Policy Committee and the House Government Reform Committee Minority. All are in pdf format:

• James Marcinkowski,
  Former CIA Case Officer
• Larry Johnson,
  Former CIA Analyst
• Ret. Col. W. Patrick Lang,
  Former Director, Defense Human Intelligence (HUMINT) Service
• Senator Byron Dorgan,
  Chairman, Democratic Policy Committee

Via Atrios, from Steve Clemons at The Washington Note:

TWN has just learned from a highly placed source -- and in the right place to know -- that John Bolton was a regular source for Judith Miller's New York Times WMD and national security reports.

The source did not have any knowledge on whether Bolton was one of Miller's sources on the Valerie Plame story she was preparing, but argues that he was a regular source otherwise.

by TChris

Morale at the nation's intelligence agencies can't be helped by the knowledge that the president won't fire Karl Rove for leaking Valerie Plame's identity unless Rove is actually convicted of a crime. Former intelligence officers testified today that the president's inaction is jeopardizing national security.

In a hearing held by Senate and House Democrats examining the implications of exposing Valerie Plame's identity, the former intelligence officers said Bush's silence has hampered efforts to recruit informants to help the United States fight the war on terror. Federal law forbids government officials from revealing the identity of an undercover intelligence officer.

"I wouldn't be here this morning if President Bush had done the one thing required of him as commander in chief -- protect and defend the Constitution," said Larry Johnson, a former CIA analyst. "The minute that Valerie Plame's identity was outed, he should have delivered a strict and strong message to his employees."

Johnson is a Republican, and he says he expects "better behavior out of Republicans." Don't we all? How long will it take the Rove machine to smear Johnson as a disgruntled bum? Or this retired colonel:

Sentencing Law and Policy reports on a new bill in Alabama that seeks mandatory castration for certain sex offenders. Here's the AP article.

The House passed a bill Thursday that would require mandatory castration of persons convicted of violent sex crimes against children under 12 and would require them to wear electronic monitoring devices for the rest of their lives after release from prison.

...A milder version of the legislation passed the Senate 35-0. The Senate version provides stiffer penalties for sex offenders, provides for electronic monitoring for at least 10 years and toughens requirements for them to report their location to police, but does not include the castration requirement or other tougher language added in the House.

....Either the House or Senate version must pass in the other chamber before the legislation can become law.

Over at Huffington Post, here is Larry O'Donnell's latest on Robert Luskin, Karl Rove's attorney.

by TChris

It sounded yesterday as if the government might endorse the boneheaded idea of encouraging civilians to patrol the nation’s borders, turning vigilante justice into a government policy. Today, saner heads have prevailed.

"There are currently no plans by the Department of Homeland Security to use civilian volunteers to patrol the border," spokesman Brian Roehrkasse said in a statement. "That job should continue to be done by the highly trained, professional law enforcement officials of the Border Patrol and its partner agencies."

No kidding. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Robert Bonner, who supported the useless and potentially dangerous Minuteman Project, apparently didn’t bother to ask around before floating the notion that Homeland Security should rely on volunteers to enforce immigation laws.

by TChris

More than 60 people gathered in Utica to talk about police insensitivity and racism following the police shooting of a black resident.

The Rev. Fred Daley, pastor of St. Francis De Sales, said city police and the district attorney's office -- which investigated Washington's shooting -- don't have credibility because of "a history of racism ... (in) the power structure."

Muhammed said "there was gross insensitivity" by police toward the Washington family. He said police would not tell the family the status of the investigation and the family was not even allowed to see Walter Washington's body. "Insensitivity opens the door to injustice," he said. "I want it investigated."

Residents questioned whether the district attorney's office engaged in a meaningful investigation before pronouncing the officer blameless.

With all the new articles mentioning grand jury testimony in RoveGate, here's some information I thought might be helpful for the non-lawyers analyzing the leaks by unnamed sources. It's not meant as legal advice, and I'm sure somewhere there will be a lawyer that can think of an exception, but generally, here's the deal on trying to figure out which side the leaks are coming from.

The key is Rule 6(e) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.

Here's another key: If someone says they reviewed a grand jury transcript of anyone's testimony, it's a leak from someone now or formerly on Fitzgerald's team.

If someone says they are familiar with, or were briefed on the testimony (but doesn't mention seeing reading the transcript) it's probably the defense or allied Republican lawyers trying to help their "Administration official" friends.

Here's Bloomberg's Update Two today on RoveGate. Tom Maguire parses it out.

TalkLeft's detailed post on Ari is here.

David Corn says Ari won't reveal who his lawyer is? How come?

Did anyone watch the hearing? Is there other news? Your turn.

How did your Congressperson vote? Here's the tally.

My congresswoman, the terrific Diana DeGette, voted against it. So did my other local favorite, Mark Udall.

Karl Rove One: I never disclosed Valerie Plame's identity.
Karl Rove Two: I never disclosed Valerie Plame's name
Karl Rove Three: I first heard it from a reporter, I can't remember which one.

Karl Rove's current version in today's New York Times:

People who have been briefed on the case said the White House officials, Karl Rove and I. Lewis Libby, were helping prepare what became the administration's primary response to criticism that a flawed phrase about the nuclear materials in Africa had been in Mr. Bush's State of the Union address six months earlier.

They had exchanged e-mail correspondence and drafts of a proposed statement by George J. Tenet, then the director of central intelligence, to explain how the disputed wording had gotten into the address. Mr. Rove, the president's political strategist, and Mr. Libby, the chief of staff for Vice President Dick Cheney, coordinated their efforts with Stephen J. Hadley, then the deputy national security adviser, who was in turn consulting with Mr. Tenet.