In last week’ s column, I noted how Attorney General Eric Holder has so far resisted calls to appoint an outside special counsel to investigate a series of recent leaks of classified material that has compromised our national security. 

Clearly there is reason to be concerned at the White House.  However, that has not changed the mind of the Attorney General who is content to let two Administration employees investigate the leaks. 

The Obama Administration’s nonchalant approach to these very serious security breaches continues to baffle me, especially in light of the fact that both President Obama and Vice-President Biden had called for similar independent investigations into leaks from the Bush Administration.  

Today, in an effort to keep the pressure on, thirty of my Senate colleagues and I sent the Attorney General a letter asking him to appoint an independent counsel to find who is responsible for the leaks and hold them accountable:

"We are not talking about a single, isolated instance of a leak; rather, we are looking at 'an avalanche of leaks' on national security matters.  On a matter of this seriousness, there is clear precedent to appoint an outside counsel when there is the potential for a conflict of interest, the specter of political influence, or other extraordinary circumstances.  As this is clearly the case here, we request that you appoint an outside special counsel immediately," our letter said.

No one is above the law.  Breaches of security of this magnitude have disastrous ramifications for our intelligence community and our troops on the front lines.  There is no way, other than an independent investigation, to ensure that we find out who is responsible, hold them accountable and prevent more leaks in the future.