BUDDING SCANDAL – AT 4:48 P.M. ET:  This warrants further investigation, because if Bond's accusations are correct, it could turn into a major security scandal.  From Fox News:

The White House strongly rejected assertions by Sen. Kit Bond on Thursday that administration officials defied an FBI request for secrecy when it held a briefing with reporters Tuesday about Christmas bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's cooperation with authorities.

In a letter to President Obama, Bond, R-Mo., scolded the White House for revealing the details of the interrogations, saying the administration is undermining national security by providing details the FBI specifically asked not be revealed.

"FBI officials stressed the importance of not disclosing the fact of his cooperation in order to protect ongoing and follow-on operations to neutralize additional threats to the American public," Bond, ranking member of the Senate Intelligence committee wrote.

"FBI Director Bob Muller (sic) personally stressed to me that keeping the fact of his cooperation quiet was vital to preventing future attacks against the United States," he continued.

COMMENT:  The key sentence is the last one.  It's highly unlikely that Bond, an experienced senator, would go out on a limb and claim that the FBI director told him something, if it weren't true. 

The briefing Tuesday raised a battalion of eyebrows.  Informing the public, and thus the enemy, that the terrorist was cooperating is a major blunder.  Al Qaeda will make reasonable judgments as to what Abdulmutallab knew and how well he knew it.  Plans can be changed, even codes. 

Does the administration care, or is it just in the reelection business?  Given that the president seems to prefer campaigning to governing, maybe the question answers itself.

February 4, 2010