Leakgate: Did Julie Myers Leak Obama Aunt’s Immigration Status?
Myers, last Halloween, posing with the employee in blackface whose costume she’d awarded “most original.”
Someone in the Bush administration improperly leaked the immigration status of Obama’s Kenyan aunt.
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office is now conducting an internal investigation to determine the source of the leak.
A reasonable hypothesis, based on my own experience as a reporter, is that this off-the-record source had a previous relationship with one of the reporters — and like as not had earlier spoken to one of them on the record.
A Nexis search of previous stories by Eileen Sullivan and Elliot Spagat and Immigration and Customs Enforcement from 2008 turns up four potential “law enforcement official” suspects:
Spoke to Sullivan:
ICE assistant secretary Julie Myers (October 1)
Scott Hatfield, unit chief of the Human Smuggling division at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (July 7)
Spoke to Spagat:
Mike Unzueta, special agent in charge of investigations at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in San Diego. (October 22)
Joe Flores, group supervisor for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. (January 12)
From this list of three careerist immigration officials and one deeply controversial political appointee the choice of a prime suspect isn’t difficult.
Julie Myers.
Myers is a loyal Bushie whose appointment was a clear case of nepotism — she is both the niece of Gen. Richard Myers and is married to John F. Wood the chief of staff for the homeland security secretary, Michael Chertoff.
Myers was such a controversial pick that she was initially installed at ICE in 2006 via a recess appointment, and she was not confirmed by the Senate until last December.
Her nemesis in the appointment process was one Claire McCaskill, who tried to block Myers with a “hold” last year. The Missouri Senator is a co-Chair of Barack Obama’s campaign.