Blackwater lawyer pleads with Waxman to keep secrets from terrorists

An attorney for Blackwater USA has asked Congressman Henry Waxman to conduct his October 2 hearing in a way that will protect operational secrets from falling into the hands of terrorists in Iraq.

According to press reports, Blackwater is under tight rein by its State Department clients not to reveal sensitive information about its operations in Iraq to protect American diplomats and other "high value targets" from terrorist attack.

Waxman and his staff are notorious for leaking information to the press to further their political goals.

Warren Strobel of the McClatchy Newspapers reports that Stephen M. Ryan, a Blackwater attorney for McDermott, Will & Emery, wrote to Waxman, in Ryan's words, "to ask that the committee and its members refrain from asking questions during the hearing that might reveal sensitive operational and technical information that could be utilized by our country's implacable enemies in Iraq."

Let's see if Waxman and his colleagues have the will to do it.