I wrote about this issue back in January then again in early February, complaining about the lack of attention it was getting in the mainstream media. Today, it’s appeared on the front of Washingtonpost.com:
A three-month investigation by the Senate’s top law enforcement officer found a systematic downloading of thousands of Democratic computer files by Republican staffers over the past few years as well as serious flaws in the chamber’s computer security system.
The report released yesterday by Senate Sergeant-at-Arms William H. Pickle noted that two former Senate GOP staff members — including the Republicans’ top aide on judicial nomination strategy — were primarily responsible for accessing and leaking computer memos on Democratic plans for blocking some of President Bush’s judicial nominations.
Pickle and his investigators said forensics analyses indicated that 4,670 files had been downloaded between November 2001 and spring 2003 by one of the aides — “the majority of which appeared to be from folders belonging to Democratic staff” on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Chairman Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) said at least 100 of his computer files were also accessed by the GOP aides.
… Some Republicans on the committee — and many conservative groups on the outside — said the Senate should have probed the contents of the memos, which they contended demonstrated the collusion between Democrats and liberal advocacy groups, rather than how the memos ended up in Republican hands.
Really, guys… do you want an investigation into the contents of your memos, or are you saying that you cover your collusion better than the Democrats?
