I had this story on Congress toughening laws against leakers posted in the Fly By below, until I saw this little gem:

Critics described the potential penalties outlined in the measure as “draconian.”

“In a moment when the intelligence community should be looking forward toward what it does best, the arrest powers represent a step back toward the Nixon-era abuses,” said Jason Vest, an investigator with the Project on Government Oversight, a nonprofit watchdog group.

Nixon era abuses! Well, we all know Nixon’s minions broke laws for political gain in elections. So what do we have in this modern day issue that reflects the days of Nixon?

1. Well, we have a plan by US Senators from one party to use the Senate to gin up scandals against the opposing Party’s President, and when that fails simply use the media to float scandalous accusations.
2. We have a member of the previous administration’s National Security Council (NSC), who is also from the opposition party today, stealing historic national security files during the most important investigation this country has instituted in decades, and then destroying them to hide something from the public
3. We have another member of the opposition party and the previous administration’s NSC making false claims that the President of the United States knowingly fed forged intelligence to the American people as a justification to go to war. If true a very serious crime. But it turns out the former NSC member was also working for the opposition party’s presidential candidate at the time he made the charges. When it turned out the forgeries could never have been discovered by this former NSC member, he was fired from the opposition campaign. He also leaked a lot of classified information on methods and contacts in Niger.
4. We have another former NSC member from the opposition party who was working on the opposition presidential campaign who admits that he knew about the lother NSC member and the charges he was making, and knew his wife who was exposed to the media and her role in this. Somehow this former NSC member was never questioned on who he talked to about the matter. But he will show up again as the boss and friend of another former NSC member who broke the law in Nixonian style.
5. We have another former NSC member whose job it was to assess and monitor terrorist risks to this nation. His obsession with internet based attacks distracted him from more horrible options – like 9-11. He spent his last years trying to blame everyone else.
6. We have another former NSC member from the opposition party who has now been caught leaking national security information many times to many reporters. And she admits to it as well. She is not a whistle blower because she, among all others, knew the process to blow the whistle and had the high position to go to Congress and air her concerns.
7. We have the possibility that two or more US Senators from the opposition party leaked details of a seriously critical terrorist surveillance program to the media, tipping off terrorists on how to avoid detection here in the US. One of these Senators is the key author of ‘the plan’ mentioned above.
8. We have a member of the opposition party leak false documents to a pliant and gullible media that claims the President was derelict in his duties in the Air National Guard. The media was so hypnotized by this fantasy they still believe it to this day, even though the documents were proved to have been created 20+ years after the supposed interest using modern computer technology.

You know what, I see the connections to Nixon and his dirty tricks. Nixon would go to any length to win votes. The Democrats have taken Nixon’s example and gone to a whole new level of corrupt. The only question now is will the media call them on it or become a compliant accomplice.

Update:

I forgot a key item, Senator Jay Rockefeller’s self admitted trip to terrorist-backing Syria prior to the Iraq war where he admits tipping off Bashir (and therefore Saddam, et al) about the pending invasion.  While not exactly a dirty trick, it was possibly subversive to the ongoing efforts of the Government.  Either Rockefeller was sent by the administration to let Bashir and Saddam know this time the US was serious (and he thusly leaked classified information to Fox News) or he went on his own, unilateral mission, leaking insights to the enemy.  Either way, Rockie leaked.