Irresponsible rumor of the day: Panetta resigning as CIA chief?
posted at 4:25 pm on August 26, 2009 by Allahpundit
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There’s just enough circumstantial evidence to make this postworthy, but even so … I don’t buy it.
I’m hearing a very credible rumor that Leon Panetta has dispatched a resignation letter to Barack Obama on vacation.
Panetta is said to be extremely angry about the possible prosecution of CIA officers doing their job and has decided to resign in protest.
Exhibit A: His credibility at the agency was already damaged by his idiotic overreaction to the Al Qaeda assassination program. Now that Obama’s sided with Holder over him in going after CIA personnel, his authority’s destroyed. Might as well quit. Exhibit B: Big media’s already reported screaming matches at the White House between him and Holder. If he’s that angry, resigning’s not unthinkable. Exhibit C: For an administration that would be looking to bury this as much as possible in order to minimize the political fallout, there are worse times to compel a resignation letter than on the day Ted Kennedy died.
And yet. Would The One really have pulled the trigger on CIA prosecutions without getting an assurance from Panetta first that he won’t resign? To have his own spy chief (with impeccable Democratic credentials) quit in disgust would be politically catastrophic for Holder’s investigation, a de facto declaration of civil war on the left. Notwithstanding his many mistakes in selling ObamaCare, I can’t believe Obama would be so amateurish as to stumble into an unforced error like that. And besides, Panetta and the CIA have known for ages that a witch hunt was possible; unless The One privately guaranteed before he offered him the job that no one would be prosecuted, why would Panetta be so shocked and upset as to suddenly bolt? Smart money’s on Weigel on this one: “This report is false, wrong and bogus.”
Update: Unsatisfied with Holder’s limited inquiry and tantalized by the thought of tight command and control over interrogations by the Bush administration, our friends on the left naturally demand as enormous a political clusterfark as possible:
“The abuses that were officially sanctioned amounted to torture, and those at the very top who authorized, ordered or sought to provide legal cover for them should be held accountable,” said Sen. Russell Feingold (D-Wis.), a senior member of the intelligence and judiciary panels…
Liberal legal scholars and activists also said Holder did not go far enough in pushing the investigation, leaving off the hook top Bush advisers as well as Justice Department lawyers whose legal memos created the foundation for the harsh techniques employed in the interrogations.
“It’s pretty clear that his intention is not to investigate the lawyers and Cabinet-level officials who approved the program in the first place,” said Georgetown University law professor David Cole, referring to Holder. “If that’s what’s done, then it’s really a matter of scapegoating rather than true accountability.”
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Denied by CIA
Vashta.Nerada on August 26, 2009 at 4:26 PM
yes I think he would have done it without assurances from Pannetta. This admin has new policies by the day.
rob verdi on August 26, 2009 at 4:28 PM
Change.
Dr.Cwac.Cwac on August 26, 2009 at 4:29 PM
Hillary building her team. She’ll give Barry heartburn right after the midterms.
Game on.
Limerick on August 26, 2009 at 4:29 PM
The Obama “administration” fiasco can never be underestimated.
There is no matter so small or simple that they can’t screw up.
I have faith.
NoDonkey on August 26, 2009 at 4:29 PM
I can’t imagine taht Panetta would have the testicular fortitude to ever go against Obama or Pelosi.
UltimateBob on August 26, 2009 at 4:29 PM
Oh I do believe in CIA spooks, I do believe in CIA spooks, I do I do I do believe in CIA spooks! *crosses fingers*
Orange Doorhinge on August 26, 2009 at 4:29 PM
I heard a rumor that Eric Holder is resigning but I don’t buy that one either…just a rumor.
d1carter on August 26, 2009 at 4:29 PM
Just heard this is now being denied…seems someone was just drawing inferences from the screaming match Panetta had at the WH.
http://www.redstate.com/erick/2009/08/26/breaking-rumors-surface-that-leon-panetta-is-resigning/
AUINSC on August 26, 2009 at 4:30 PM
Do it for Teddy, Panetta…….
……… Do it for Teddy!!!
Seven Percent Solution on August 26, 2009 at 4:30 PM
I have a better idea: Panetta can stay if Osama Obama and Shrillery resign.
MrScribbler on August 26, 2009 at 4:30 PM
So when will the next 9/11 happen? The
democratsliberalsprogressivesidiots will have no one to blame but themselves.txag92 on August 26, 2009 at 4:30 PM
Not happening! They would have worked it out over a couple of beers at the White House!
chickasaw42 on August 26, 2009 at 4:32 PM
I never thought I would miss Jimmy Carter.
Vashta.Nerada on August 26, 2009 at 4:32 PM
Incorrect. Obama will say that “this is the CIA I inherited.”
Dr.Cwac.Cwac on August 26, 2009 at 4:32 PM
FWIW, they also deny they have a phone number, while your talking to them on the phone.
Area 51? What’s that?
BobMbx on August 26, 2009 at 4:33 PM
Incorrect. Obama will say that “this is the CIA I inherited.”
Dr.Cwac.Cwac on August 26, 2009 at 4:32 PM
And I’ll ask, when were we attacked again after 9/11 under W’s watch?
txag92 on August 26, 2009 at 4:35 PM
Obama won…Obama doesn’t care about Panetta, he cares more for Holder.
He lips say no, but his eyes say yes…Obama wanted Holder to go after the CIA, you don’t think they discussed this in detail?
Panetta has no choice, to be a man he must resign…
right2bright on August 26, 2009 at 4:35 PM
Al Qaeda won’t have to do a single thing. This administration is bringing on an economic Armageddon all by themselves.
The leaders of Al Qaeda are just kicking back smiling, waiting for the bomb to go off. The fuse has been lit.
UltimateBob on August 26, 2009 at 4:35 PM
David Cole is about as liberal as Pat Leahy.
I.e., he’s not a liberal.
Panetta will stay on, it seems to me, unless the investigation turns into a farce. I wouldn’t be surprised if elements in DOJ try to extend it, broaden it; it’ll be up to Durham to keep things under control.
This could really get nasty. Leaks, et cetera.
SteveMG on August 26, 2009 at 4:35 PM
Dude, you need a vacation. Fill it with those Golan/Globus movies from the ’80s. If you find yourself pining for Carter, that will remind you why he is “The Worst President, evah”.
However, our Mocha Man is on pace take to steal that title.
BobMbx on August 26, 2009 at 4:36 PM
Dead on.
DrStock on August 26, 2009 at 4:36 PM
I just don’t think Panetta has the stones to do this…he’s already backed down to Pelosi once…career Democrat pols just don’t do the ‘matter of principle’ thing.
AUINSC on August 26, 2009 at 4:37 PM
Perhaps Pinetta and Obama could switch jobs.
Dave R. on August 26, 2009 at 4:38 PM
She’s the ONLY one in the Adminstration with big enough Balls to stand up to Obama. It’s pitiful that the only Dem with Testosterone is a woman. Mabe she will go after BO the way she had wanted to go after Bill.
Hillary’s a Free Agent!
This will be fun to watch!
SayNo2-O on August 26, 2009 at 4:38 PM
This is exactly right.
baldilocks on August 26, 2009 at 4:39 PM
Yeah. Only one screw up by Bush. No big deal — let him take a mulligan.
Bleeds Blue on August 26, 2009 at 4:40 PM
How disrespectful to Teddy.
Wait until next week Leon, BarryCare needs all the distractions it can get after the circus we’re about to see this week.
Knucklehead on August 26, 2009 at 4:40 PM
I wouldn’t want to piss off the CIA, know what I’m sayin?
Akzed on August 26, 2009 at 4:40 PM
The last DCI that had stones was Casey. Fortunately, his stones were big and powerful enough to last a few years after he died.
Panetta. Soudns like an appetizer at Olive Garden.
BobMbx on August 26, 2009 at 4:41 PM
These guys make Wile E. Coyote look competent!
search4truth on August 26, 2009 at 4:41 PM
Bah!
Aquateen Hungerforce on August 26, 2009 at 4:42 PM
Yep. Can you imagine a what damage Barry’s SecState can do?
She’ll need do nothing more than threaten to write a book to get rats of every size to jump off of the Titanic.
Limerick on August 26, 2009 at 4:43 PM
Holder is a better basketball player than Panetta. He’ll back up Holder cuz Holder is “The Judge” on the court. Panetta ain’t got no game yo, so he’s under the bus with daschle et al.
ted c on August 26, 2009 at 4:43 PM
AP, you’re overthinking this. It’s easy to predict how Obama will behave. Just ask yourself, “Given the same situation, what would Manuel Zelaya, Hugo Chavez or Benito Mussolini do?”
Daggett on August 26, 2009 at 4:44 PM
Let me guess… Bush ignored the PDB, right?
Chuck Schick on August 26, 2009 at 4:45 PM
Nothing this administrations screws up surprises me.
johnsteele on August 26, 2009 at 4:45 PM
“The abuses that were officially sanctioned amounted to torture, and those at the very top who authorized, ordered or sought to provide legal cover for them should be held accountable,” said Sen. Russell Feingold (D-Wis.), a senior member of the intelligence and judiciary panels…
So we can hold Feingold and the rest of the Dems responsible when the lack of good intellegence leads to another catastrophic terrorist attack, right?
SouperConservative on August 26, 2009 at 4:47 PM
1. Not having an intelligence background
2. His failure to defend his agency from Pelosi
3. Not having an intelligence background
4. His failure to defend his agency from DNI
5. Not having an intelligence background
6. Failing to defend his agency from the seditious attacks of the Congressional Progressive Caucus
7. Being a clintonista partisan hack
8. Not having the background to run an intel agency at a time of war.
9. Failing to defend his officers from the White House
10. and now failing to defend his officers from the DOJ
That about covers it. He had very little credibility to begin with. He needs to go.
elduende on August 26, 2009 at 4:47 PM
Only if you get their permission…otherwise, it will revert to the default..it’s Bush’s fault.
AUINSC on August 26, 2009 at 4:48 PM
As I recall, 9/11 occurred because Clinton didn’t have the b*lls to go after the terrorists who bombed the WTC the first time…
SouperConservative on August 26, 2009 at 4:49 PM
You may be right that this is going nowhere, but some assumptions are shaky. Specifically:
As if he’s never done that before?
As if this were one promise that didn’t come with an expiration date?
bgoldman on August 26, 2009 at 4:49 PM
Don’t forget Ed. Obama has also taken away the CIA’s detainee interrogation duties hasn’t he? He formed that new unit that reports to the NSC.
Why wouldn’t you resign if your boss gives you a job heading a department and then your boss’s political allies commence witch-hunts on your turf. Panetta can’t just roll over for the AG, or he loses all credibility in the CIA, and he can’t push back too hard against Obama, because he owes his current job to him. Panetta is stuck between a rock and a hard case. He’s been given a thankless job, that he’s not really qualified to do, and the entire left wing of the democratic party is starting to breathe down his neck to deflect attention from the President’s failures.
If this were “mythbusters” I think it would be plausible.
Mord on August 26, 2009 at 4:49 PM
Why not hold him accountable now for not doing his job by providing oversight of the CIA activities in GITMO?
If such prosecutions are in order for CIA and Executive branch appointees, they are also in order for members of Congress. This “problem” is so intertwined between political parties and branches of government, one could reasonably conclude that it was okay to get the information the way they did, or that everyone at the top is simply and completely incompetent.
BobMbx on August 26, 2009 at 4:52 PM
They’ll need something to chant as they’re being dragged up the steps of the gallows, “it’s Bush’s fault” is as good as anything else.
NoDonkey on August 26, 2009 at 4:54 PM
I would resign. First of all, taking any position in govermnent is for fools, these days.
It simply leads to having to hire a lawyer to defend oneself.
Resign now. That’s smart.
AnninCA on August 26, 2009 at 4:54 PM
What about the Intel center he started at Cal State Monterey?
baldilocks on August 26, 2009 at 4:56 PM
AP Are you forgetting Cash for Clunkers already??
PappaMac on August 26, 2009 at 4:57 PM
If Mr. Panetta goes, Mr. Obama will put someone in his place with even less respect for the organization. Can you imagine working for the CIA or the FBI under this president? I would love to know the number of people who are retiring.
Cindy Munford on August 26, 2009 at 4:57 PM
He’s already tied, at only eight months.
Vashta.Nerada on August 26, 2009 at 4:58 PM
Will be converted to Hillary’s campaign headquarters.
Knucklehead on August 26, 2009 at 4:58 PM
If Mr. Panetta goes, Mr. Obama will put someone in his place with even less respect for the organization. Can you imagine working for the CIA or the FBI under this president? I would love to know the number of people who are retiring.
Cindy Munford on August 26, 2009 at 4:57 PM
SouperConservative on August 26, 2009 at 4:59 PM
Who cares whether Panetta or Mickey Mouse is running the CIA – they are all just stooges to Rahm “The F-Word” Emmanuel and Soros pulling the strings. I laugh every time I see in or on the MSM that the “recession” is over – baby, tie your underwear on tightly because it hasn’t even started yet. When it starts coming on down the pike………..better have your Winchester with some extra shells and a few bucks hidden in the mattress………….Obama wants to bring America to its knees and he’s going to have that Greek Temple up one of his orifices when it happens………….you heard it here first………….
Cinday Blackburn on August 26, 2009 at 5:00 PM
Not to mention H……
Johan Klaus on August 26, 2009 at 5:00 PM
Blaming the previous administration, eh?
Sorry, your recollection is incorrect.
Bleeds Blue on August 26, 2009 at 5:01 PM
You included that he has no intelligence background but missed that he has no intelligence.
Rod on August 26, 2009 at 5:01 PM
I bet the story of the resignation was floated by WH insiders so that when Panetta eventually resigns it won’t come as such a surprise.
KG in Sask on August 26, 2009 at 5:03 PM
Or Joseph S…….. I am old so I need names to which I can relate.
Johan Klaus on August 26, 2009 at 5:03 PM
Fair enough. Nevertheless, a very thin intel resume to hang his hat on. Don’t tell me you think they picked him for his “intelligence experience” based on his work there.
There are about 50 people in left leaning think tanks around DC that have actual operational experience and a modicum of credibility who they could have sold to the agency.
elduende on August 26, 2009 at 5:04 PM
Just want the terrorists want. A rudderless CIA which is scared to to its job for fear of prosecution.
Terrific!
SouthernGent on August 26, 2009 at 5:04 PM
And why not? We’ve the learned the “blame Bush” mantra well from Barry. Two can play that game.
And you are incorrect, as usual.
Knucklehead on August 26, 2009 at 5:04 PM
Mord on August 26, 2009 at 4:49 PM
NSC or NBC?
Tremmy on August 26, 2009 at 5:05 PM
I’m no Clinton hater, but come on. The man did nothing- zilch to protect us from 9/11.
The 9/11 hijackers had graduated from flight school and awaiting orders before Bush was even elected.
Chuck Schick on August 26, 2009 at 5:05 PM
In September 2008, when Soros tanked the US economy.
And on Election Day 2008.
Del Dolemonte on August 26, 2009 at 5:06 PM
A Lenin desciple, I see.
Johan Klaus on August 26, 2009 at 5:07 PM
Only problem with your “logic” is that the 9/11 attacks were supposed to happen on Clinton’s watch. bin Laden himself admitted so.
Del Dolemonte on August 26, 2009 at 5:08 PM
Yeah, kid, you’re right. Those attacks were conceived, planned and trained for in the 8 months after Chimpy took office.
Epic FAIL.
Del Dolemonte on August 26, 2009 at 5:09 PM
Ask these idiots how they would have had Chimpy prevent the 9/11 attacks. Then watch them change the subject.
Del Dolemonte on August 26, 2009 at 5:11 PM
a principled man would resign, loudly!
FloridaMike on August 26, 2009 at 5:24 PM
Or just stand there, dumbfounded, trying to think of something that could only apply to Bush, and not The Clenis.
Then start offering measures that were a part of the Patriot Act (but don’t mention the Act) that needed to be implemented to prevent future attacks. Once they agree with those things (like, phone taps and tracking financial transactions, etc.), then tell them it’s in the Patriot Act.
You think the photo in the circumsion post shows angst? Ha!
BobMbx on August 26, 2009 at 5:28 PM
Is this still more “change the subject”? Ohhh the drama…
dogsoldier on August 26, 2009 at 5:31 PM
Actually, Baldi, I just looked into it and it doesn’t look like an intel center at all. Its a public policy institute.
elduende on August 26, 2009 at 5:40 PM
To prevent 9/11, Bush would have had to
1. Racially profile
2. Use wiretaps
3. Take terrorists into custody before they had done anything.
Had he done so, the Democrats would immediately launch impeachment proceedings.
Former Bush intel advisor Jack Goldsmith, who briefly became a hero to the Left when he left the White House, stated in a speech in 2008 that Chimpy in reality under-reported to Americans the various terror threats.
In other words, he didn’t play the fear card as the Leftist idiots claim.
One Bush legacy is indisputable-no attacks after 9/11. That’s one thing his critics will never be able to take away from him, though they hate America so much they would dearly love for that to happen.
Del Dolemonte on August 26, 2009 at 5:42 PM
Obama- weakening America every day in every way.
Panetta needs to man up and say LOUDLY:
“Stop hampering our ability to fight this war, or I’m gone!”
profitsbeard on August 26, 2009 at 5:44 PM
Tremmy on August 26, 2009 at 5:05 PM
HA! good point.
Mord on August 26, 2009 at 5:46 PM
Anything is possible with these people.
Terrye on August 26, 2009 at 5:47 PM
BUT you might also consider: If this investigation “digs deeper” as that idiot Feingold wants, Panetta might well believe the time to get out is NOW.
Never UNDERESTIMATE Barry’s willingness to pander to the extreme left when he believes it won’t COST him anything.
GarandFan on August 26, 2009 at 5:56 PM
This, folks, is why this investigation will never stay as limited as this administration says it will:
For those who thought Holder’s just focusing on interrogators who strayed from the merely EIT side of W’s clearly drawn line and stepped into the abuse side. This administration believes the EIT program is illegitimate and illegal—and its members have said so. Hence, this limited investigation is just the camel’s nose under the tent…
ConScribe on August 26, 2009 at 5:57 PM
I can.
MarkTheGreat on August 26, 2009 at 6:09 PM
I have two thoughts …
If Panetta is a part of some grand scheme of Obama to disassemble the CIA – then Panetta won’t resign.
But if Panetta is, indeed, just a victim of circumstance – then he WILL resign – because he can’t effectively lead the organization anymore. This is due to his own incompetence partly – but mostly due to the fact that Obama is making it impossible for anyone to lead that organization. Panetta will realize this and beat feet.
Why would there be a systematic disassembling of the CIA? Well, I believe Barack Obama is a radical and sees America as most Marxists do – as an imperialist nation.
If that is true – then it’s the CIA that is the sabre of our imperialism.
Quite frankly – if you’re going to put terrorist interrogations into the hands of one agency – I would think it would be the CIA. So there is a most definitive rebuke of the CIA in all this by the administration.
Let me tell you – I have been a part of military “teams” before and I don’t think the CIA is much different. The MORALE OF THE CIA HAS GOT TO ABSOLUTELY SUCK RIGHT NOW.
That does not bode well for you, me, and our kids.
HondaV65 on August 26, 2009 at 6:16 PM
(channeling Bleeds Blue and/or local moonbat)
Well, DUUH! Bushitler knew the attacks were goin’ to take place, so he didn’t have to jump the gun!!!11(!!1! And….and…he really was going to off Obama at the Inauguration but Ice-T/Triple-X foiled his and Willem Dafoe’s shizzle against the Brutha-Pizzle….yo.
Or something to that effect.
dmh0667 on August 26, 2009 at 6:20 PM
Dispense with the politics and fast forward to the firing squad.
chemman on August 26, 2009 at 6:28 PM
IIRC it’s public policy wrt intel…sounds like an oxymoron to me but there you go. Moneterey is the home of many intel-based and -related organizations, military and civilian, including DLI.
baldilocks on August 26, 2009 at 6:38 PM
Monterey
baldilocks on August 26, 2009 at 6:38 PM
Bama is on course to frag this country as hard as possible in as many ways as possible. Ineptitude and deceit are part of it, but this result is his MISSION. The continual crises that likely will develop will excuse more and more governmental supervision of citizens.
Why do you think townhall meetings are held in SEIU offices? Some pols already figure they know who is working for whom and don’t want to hear any dissent about it. Screw over the economy, private sector and basic financial structure that allows citizens to prosper without consent from the political class, and they will own the seething masses.
Bad people have plans for us. What to do when evil comes knocking?
Harry Schell on August 26, 2009 at 6:53 PM
Obama has big plans to move a radical communist tax evading organizer into the CIA so he can leak intelligence to the Russians and the Arabs.
Jeff from WI on August 26, 2009 at 7:19 PM
Remember, the adults are in charge now.
Del Dolemonte on August 26, 2009 at 7:40 PM
The solution to this problem is so simple (even if utterly impractical and illegal). We take two international terrorists and give them excellent flight training. We bring them to the US and give them legal visas to stay a bit. We provide them enough cash to live pretty much as they please wherever they want for the next 30 days. We give them an airplane loaded with high explosives with a gps navigational device pre-programmed for the capital building at whatever point would do the most damage to the house chambers and one-time clearance through the airspace to used anytime in the next week. We bring in another terrorist and have the first 2 tell him/her (don’t want to be sexist) all the details of their plot.
Now it gets interesting. We take all the lefties in the congress, put them in the house chambers with food, water, porta-potties, gauze, jugs, and the general type of equipment the CIA had in the field and the 3rd terrorist. We give them a general briefing on the situation and the danger and then we lock them in together for the next 7 days or until they can tell us the date and time the attack is to happen.
Anybody think that waterboarding and worse is NOT going to suddenly become a viable option?
deepdiver on August 26, 2009 at 7:56 PM
panetta knows they are disarming this country in all ways and will most likely get out before the stink gets on him.
workingforpigs on August 26, 2009 at 11:59 PM
Rats and a sinking ship. I can’t see him giving a real flip one way or another about the CIA. Panetta was like a plug and play accessory left over from the Clinton era.
No, he’s seeing the writing on the wall. Something happens and it will ruin him. Obama isn’t worth that.
Either that, or he maybe having a “Pat Caddell” moment. A conscience erupting after seeing the steel cold evil intent of the people in the administration?
archer52 on August 27, 2009 at 12:02 AM
If he had any stones.
notropis on August 27, 2009 at 4:20 AM
he is likely taking heat because most of the obama adminstration members cannot pass a security background check, most are criminals and tax dodgers.
workingforpigs on August 27, 2009 at 2:23 PM
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