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Obama hits back at 'offensive' and 'wrong' leak allegations

President Barack Obama hit back today at critics who claim his White House deliberately leaked classified information for political gain.   The president

President Barack Obama hit back today at critics who claim his White House deliberately leaked classified information for political gain.   

The president says his administration has "zero tolerance" for the leaking of sensitive information. 

"The notion that my White House would purposely release classified national security information is offensive," Obama said at a news conference today.  

"It's wrong and people I think need to have a better sense of how I approach this office and of how the people around me approach this office," he continued.  "We're dealing with issues that can touch on the safety and security of the American people, our families or our military personnel or our allies, and so we don't play with that."  


Lawmakers are investigating recent leaks of sensitive information about the covert drone and cyber wars against terrorism.

Republican Sen. John McCain has accused the Obama White House of leaking the information to bolster the president's standing on national security in an election year.  

Of course, we're reminded of one of the most scandalous leaks in the history of our government, just nine years ago, known as the Plame affair.

That's when Valerie Plame Wilson was outed as a CIA covert officer as retribution for arguing that then-President George W. Bush misrepresented intelligence leading up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. 

Scooter Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, was convicted on four counts of perjury, obstruction of justice, and making false statements.  He was sentenced to 30 months in prison and fined $250,000 in the case.

The sentence was commuted in June 2007 by President Bush, voiding the prison term, but convictions still stand on the record.