After his arrest for cocaine possession – Rep. Radel interacts with other members of Congress and has access to classified information. Neither the Congress or the FBI seem to have a problem with that.
An elected official of the House of Representatives convicted of drug charges who returned to Congress this past week was one of hundreds who took the “oath of secrecy” to access classified information.
Rep. Trey Radel (R-Fla.) says he’s looking forward to representing his southwest Florida constituents in Washington again after taking a leave of absence and undergoing treatment in a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center.
In November, Radel pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of cocaine possession and was sentenced to a year of probation. He admitted to purchasing 3.5 grams of cocaine from an undercover officer in Washington on Oct. 29.
Radel subsequently pleaded guilty to cocaine-possession charges last year but refused to resign. He now has positioned himself to access extremely sensitive and classified information.
See article: Fla Rep. busted on drug charges returns to Congress http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/fla-rep-trey-radel-return-congress-rehab-cocaine-arrest-article-1.1567439
Oddly no one in Congress or the press has raised any kind of objection to this?
People apparently still don’t understand that this poses a national security risk in many ways.
Last week we did a story on how members of Congress are not required to undergo any sort of criminal background check to access classified information. The only requirement is they take a “secrecy oath.”
On his website the Congressman is going about business as usual including recommending 28 persons to the various military service academies (source: http://radel.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=366478).
Trey was also apparently “selected” to be a member of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure as well as the Committee on Foreign Affairs – both Committee assignment give him access to classified information on a host of issues and topics.
In a statement he issued an apology for being busted with cocaine and said he suffers from the “disease” of alcoholism which led him to make irresponsible choices. http://radel.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=362300
We contacted the FBI office in Washington who stated they have “no comment” on this situation.