"The National Journal's Murray Waas on Monday served up another sizzling exclusive, describing previously secret elements of President Bush's interview in June 2004 with CIA leak investigation special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald.
According to Waas's sources, Bush told Fitzgerald that he had directed Vice President Cheney in the summer of 2003 to counter damaging allegations being made by former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV, and gave Cheney permission to disclose highly classified intelligence information to do so."
This is news?....
"Bush did not admit any connection to the act at the center of the criminal investigation. "Bush also said during his interview with prosecutors that he had never directed anyone to disclose the identity of then-covert CIA officer Valerie Plame, Wilson's wife," Waas writes. "Bush said he had no information that Cheney had disclosed Plame's identity or directed anyone else to do so."
Ok so?
"Publicly, Bush has consistently portrayed himself as not only uninvolved with the leak of Plame's identity, but utterly in the dark about it -- and determined to punish any wrongdoers.
But Waas's story suggests that Bush was directly responsible for the sequence of events that resulted in that leak.
As it turns out, there were two major byproducts of Bush's charge to Cheney to counter Wilson's ultimately substantiated charge that the White House had misrepresented intelligence in the runup to war in Iraq: Cheney's top aide, Scooter Libby, distributed highly classified but nevertheless disproved and inaccurate information to reporters; and Libby and White House political guru Karl Rove outed Plame in a specious attempt to suggest that Wilson's trip was a junket arranged by his wife."
Phew! I thought Waas was the master of stretch, Froomkin is amazing....
"Utimately substantiated charge" - My ass. Wilson's trip proved nothing except that he knows crap about sweet mint tea. Ulimtately it was proven he was - and is - a liar with an agenda.
......"attempt to suggest that Wilson's trip was a junket arranged by his wife". It was. If Froomkin would read his own newspaper he'd know that, but then again, anger and hate makes the head foggy.
What is known is that Plame and the rest of the rogues thought the whole thing up, to do one thing, thwart Bush in invading Iraq and when that didn't work plan B was the bogus leak investigation in hopes of derailing Bush's reelection bid.
Of couse which is why the most under reported fact of this case was that she was immediately relieved of duties, put on administrative leave and then "fired".
Waas can continue to spin all he wants along with Froomkin, but the fact is that:
1. Plame wasn't covert - otherwise Fitz-Fizz could have charged someone with that. He didn't because she wasn't. End of story.
2. There is nothing, no law against defending the policies of our Nation against malcontents and rogues who spread false information. Exposing a liar for being a liar is no crime. The fact that a liar like Wilson can still get his mug on TV (howbeit on the only marginally watched Hardball) is the real crime.
judith miller valerie plame karl rove Valerie Plame PlameGate john hannah cheney libby joe wilsonwoodward bob woodward Karl Rove
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