WikiLeaks to face U.S. probe

Narayan Lakshman

Washington: As the United States' 112th Congress convenes for the first time on Wednesday, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives has plans for a far-reaching investigation into WikiLeaks, the whistleblower website that courted controversy by publishing secret State Department cables over the last few months.

According to a list of hearing topics obtained by Politico magazine, the House Oversight Committee headed by Representative Darrell Issa “is aiming to launch investigations on everything from WikiLeaks to Fannie Mae [a major bank that folded] to corruption in Afghanistan in the first few months” of the year.

The House Oversight Committee enjoys sweeping powers of summons and can demand testimonies from top officials through subpoena. According to the Guardian newspaper, the Committee could begin conducting hearings later this month.

In justifying his committee's investigation into WikiLeaks, Mr. Issa reportedly said it wanted “to get that right so the diplomats can do their job with confidence and people can talk to our government with confidence”. He said the new Congress would have to pass legislation to prevent similar acts of whistle-blowing.

In a television interview over last weekend he was quoted as saying, “If the President says, ‘I cannot deal with this guy [WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange] as a terrorist' then he has to be able to deal with him as a criminal, otherwise the world is laughing at this paper tiger we've become.”

While the investigation into WikiLeaks is regarded by some as a partisan action targeting U.S. Attorney-General Eric Holder for his “slow and too weak” reaction to the leaks, Mr. Issa's minority counterpart, Representative Elijah Cummings, was quoted as saying that Congress ought to “be careful with [oversight] power” and use caution and austerity in hearings.

In the mid-term Congressional elections held in November, Democrats lost control of the House and their majority was trimmed in the Senate.

President Barack Obama is likely to face an onslaught of challenges to numerous policies enacted last year, including healthcare reform across States, as well as to his 2011 policy agenda, which is likely to focus on job-creation and controlling the U.S.' deficit. On Tuesday, the Gallup Poll said surveys indicated for the first time in eight months Mr. Obama's approval ratings had jumped to 50 per cent.