The Washington Post decided that two days vacation from the Plame Affair was all we deserved, and splashed this upon the front page for inquiring minds:
The special prosecutor in the CIA leak probe has interviewed a wider range of administration officials than was previously known, part of an effort to determine whether anyone broke laws during a White House effort two years ago to discredit allegations that President Bush used faulty intelligence to justify the Iraq war, according to several officials familiar with the case.
Prosecutors have questioned former CIA director George J. Tenet and deputy director John E. McLaughlin, former CIA spokesman Bill Harlow, State Department officials, and even a stranger who approached columnist Robert D. Novak on the street.
In doing so, special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald has asked not only about how CIA operative Valerie Plame’s name was leaked but also how the administration went about shifting responsibility from the White House to the CIA for having included 16 words in the 2003 State of the Union address about Iraqi efforts to acquire uranium from Africa, an assertion that was later disputed.
Most of the questioning of CIA and State Department officials took place in 2004, the sources said.
Nothing says excitement like year-old Grand Jury testimony that still remains sealed! Why, there is room for endless speculation there- Was it Rove, in the study, with a cell phone? Libby, in the kitchen with a blackberry? Ari, in the press gaggle, with a text message?
In other Plame news, Tom Maguire observes that the NY Times has ‘discovered’ Ari Fleischer, and breaks down the coverage as of late.
Personally, I am just relieved the investigation has been this wide-ranging, and hope that when it is wrapped up, both sides of the political aisle will accept the results.
*** Update ***
Although, I am afraid that anything short of the hangman’s noose will be unacceptable in some quarters:
Bush gives his traitors a raise. That includes Rove, Hadley, and Scooter Libby.
Jeff Maier
From the left, I’ll accept Fitzgerald’s work pretty readily. More so, regardless of outcome, if there is some fair disclosure so that we ammunition to aim at rabid partisans.
Bernard Yomtov
Personally, I am just relieved the investigation has been this wide-ranging, and hope that when it is wrapped up, both sides of the political aisle will accept the results.
Personally, I’m hoping for a cancer cure and world peace, all by year-end. I like my odds better than yours.
Tim F
Submitted without comment.
Stormy70
Walter Pincus? Didn’t he testify himself before the grand jury?
While this story is taking up time, Bush is rearranging our foreign policy on a grand scale. Muslims’ views on the US are changing for the better .
We just set up an alliance with India that will change the balance of power in Asia and reduce China’s influence on the continent. Plus, Bush is working on an environmental pact with the countries of Asia.
Nadagate is keeping our media focused on an inside the beltway type of story, while Bush runs rings around them in the wider world.
eileen from OH
And not just the wider world! Don’t forget that Mars Project!
P.S. Thanks to those who helped me with the block quotes thang.
Tim F
I hear that a thousand flowers bloomed on Mount Bushiana on the eve of Dear Leader’s birthday.
Another Jeff
Good job, Stormy. I knew that one would get the trolls riled up.
CaseyL
Bush busy busy little Bush.
Reminds me of Nixon when the Watergate investigation was heating up: he binged out on foriegn policy excursions, so he could appear to be “too busy with the nation’s business to care about the investigation.”
W.B. Reeves
Anything to change the subject it appears.
Birkel
Stormy70,
Don’t forget Gannon!
That one was going to bring down the Bush White House as well. *snicker*
Steve
The phrase “whistling past the graveyard” comes to mind, for some reason.
Tim F
They say Republicans are they serious party. Yep.
Mark
So it is called the “CIA leak probe” now, eh? Ah, the liberal media in action!
Don Surber
“Prosecutors have questioned … and even a stranger … on the street.”
How the heck did they track down this stranger? Does this special prosecutor have some mysterious power previously unknown? Perhaps psychic.
If this investigation is such a slamdunk cakewalk, why are House Dems pushing for a congressional investigation?
BTW, didn’t some guy named Bill throw a bunch of Cruise missiles at some dude named bin Laden on the day his girlfriend testified before a grand jury?
Is the president supposed to suspend all activity — judicial nominations, the War on Terrorism — while Dems try to make a silk purse out of this pig. Good luck, guys
Tim F
Joe Wilson told them who he is.
Because this case represents a major national security breach. It’s congress’s job to investigate those.
Try making your point directly. It helps avoid irrelevant sidetracks.
Mike S
Ah yes, The ever present “Clenis” argument.
Sojourner
He sure is. Terrorism is up and military recruitment is down.
Is Bush secretly working for Bin Laden?
Tim F
Say, how are we doing in the fight against terrorism? I bet that major terror attacks are down since Bush took office. They must be down at least since we invaded Iraq. Right?
Stormy70
Oh yes! Just yesterday some Kossiac tied Gannon, TANG memos, and the Plame leak together. Snicker, indeed.
delen
Don’t forget the Patriot Act, that emergency measure, that was for emergency needs early post 9/11, most of which is now permanent (guess we’re in a permanently emergent state).
Doesn’t matter one wit, no matter what the grand jury finds, unless Joe Wilson confeses that he’s really OBL’s right hand man, DOUBT has been created in the mind(s) of the American public and as you guys well know that’s all that has to be done.
Adam
You ever wonder where these stories keep coming from? There isn’t any ‘Woodward and Bernstein’ these days, so where do these dribs and drabs come from every few days keeping the story alive? My guess, the prosecutors office. If true, they got the goods on someone, or several someones. You may not want to believe it, but Rove just may not be worth the trouble here. The entire Bush administration is about to come under intense scrutiny.
Tim F
Content-free throat-clearing. Make a point.
Bill Batten
A conservative snickers that the Gannon affair had no effect on the Bush administration. Hmmm. Just wondering how much longer conservatives can please themselves with the lovely fiction that we have a liberal media. Because, if FBI and Secret Service records had shown that a male whore visited the Clinton Whitehouse for sleepovers 14 times and then the media dropped it, conservatives would have pointed to this as further evidence of liberal media conspiracy. Does the fact that media don’t seem all that interested in a male prostitute visiting the Whitehouse tell you anything at all? Anything?
Rick
Uhhh…that the media isn’t/aren’t as fascinated by sex, and/or gay sex, as are some left-wing bluenoses?
Cordially…
Rick
While we await Fitzgerald’s results, if any, send condolences to the burned national asset to
this address.
Cordially…
Tim F
Nobody’s making this about sex except you, sweetpea.
Rick
“Sweetpea?” You wouldn’t happen to be a male prostitute, would you? Because Bill will batten onto your case for sure.
Cordially…
Bill Batten
“Uhhh…that the media isn’t/aren’t as fascinated by sex, and/or gay sex, as are some left-wing bluenoses?”
My point, Rick, which you so conveniently sidestep, is that the media and conservatives were certainly interested in this sort of thing during the Clinton administration. If a sexual affair in the Clinton Whitehouse got mass-media saturation (and you know it did), why not a gay prostitute checking in, but not checking out 14 times in the Bush Whitehouse. Remember, this is FBI and Secret Service records I’m talking about – not some leftwing accusation. I would think a “liberal media” would be all over this as a very juicy scandal.
Rick
But why is it a scandal. You remember “just about sex,” don’t you? That was the change-of-subject response of Clinton apologists to divert the public mind to the pubic. Because it was suborning perjury and obstruction of justice that was the issue of the investigation.
Ahh, the good old days. But who Gluckert/Gannon sleeps with is scandal-worthy? Then get someone above shit-stain level (Avoirosis, or whatever the spelling is) to report it. If it’s scandalous, it ought to be covered. Maybe by Bush’s good buddies Helen Thomas and David Gregory.
Cordially…
Bill Batten
Rick, every article of impeachment, whether it was the “suborning purgery” or “obstruction of justice” was related to the sexual affair and you know it. I only use Guckert as an example of why the term “liberal media” is a canard. With the Rove affair, you’ve got purgery, obstruction of justice, the 1917 Espionage Act and the 1982 Intelligence Identities Act all rolled into one package. And when we’re done citing the law, we can just get down to common decency — these people ruined a person’s career. That person was a working as a non-official cover operative, which means she worked for CIA front organizations. She was tracking the proliferation of WMD’s. Don’t you and your fellow Bush apologists care about that?
Stormy70
She sucked then, because N. Korea, India and Pakistan all developed their nukes while she was at the CIA. Nice job, CIA, really. Maybe she could have investigated it, instead of having parties with DC society.
Rick
Rick, every article of impeachment, whether it was the “suborning purgery” or “obstruction of justice” was related to the sexual affair and you know it.
You really think the underlying affair excuses criminal acts by the highest national office? [Ed.–Insert wounded, huffy, sanctimonious, sorrowful-sounding Soujourner-type indignation prose here]. “Don’t you and your fellow
BushClinton apologists care about that?”I’m all for letting the chips fall where they may in re: Plame. It seems she wasn’t covered by the ’82 act, but there may be other irons in Fitzgerald’s fire. He’ll show his cards in due time.
Ruined a career? Not hardly. She held down a desk at the “rogue agency” at Langley, and there she sits still. Unless she’s totally gone Hollywood like her bumbling husband.
Is there a scandal involving Gluckert/Gannon? Then OUT WITH IT!
Cordially…
Bill Batten
Stormy70, a non-official cover either works for or runs a CIA front operation without the benefit of diplomatic immunity or overt CIA and US Government protection. A NOC does not make policy or necessarily serve in any management capacity for the CIA itself. When a NOC is traveling, they run the risk of being executed by a foreign government for espionage, because they lack diplomatic immunity. This is just one reason why the CIA is angry enough to insist on criminal proceedings. The foreign press has already reported that there may have been an associate of her front company executed in the weeks following the Novak column, but this has not been confirmed. What’s amazing to me is that conservatives have started using our intelligence services as “whipping boys.” I guess you’ll stoop to anything to avoid blaming the guy who sits where the buck is supposed to stop.
Bill Batten
Rick, of course the underlying affair doesn’t excuse criminal acts if they occurred (personally, I don’t think there was perjury — lies, yes, but not perjury), but the charges were all related to a “perjury trap” set by the special prosecutor with respect to a sexual affair. There’s just nothing else there.
As far as Valerie Wilson is concerned, according to a group of ex-case officers, all of whom are registered Republicans, the work Valerie Wilson was doing was extremely important to national security and her career in the capacity of a non-official cover operative has been ruined. Now, I could believe you and your right-wing lying pundits about her job, or I could believe a bunch of ex-CIA agents, some of whom are 30 year veterans and all of whom are republicans. You tell me. Whom should a citizen believe — Rush Limbaugh or ex-CIA agents?
Sojourner
You really are stupid. It wasn’t her job to stop them from developing those weapons. That’s your boy, Bushie’s job, and you’re right, he sucks at it.
Sojourner
You’re displaying righteous indignation that the lefties weren’t particularly concerned about a lie about a blow job while you defend an admission that lies us into a war and outs a CIA agent.
Rick, you’re becoming a parody of yourself. You, Stormy, and DougJ should have a contest to see who can say the stupidest things.
Bill Batten
And Rick, one more thing about your last mocking post. Yes, I care about leaders lying. No, I didn’t approve of what Clinton did with his personal life and no, I didn’t think it rose to level of what the founders felt were “high crimes and misdemeanors.”
As for this blog’s current subject, it’s very simple: should someone in the Bush administration be held accountable for divulging classified information during a war? We now know that classified info was divulged. We are at war. The 1917 Espionage Act is unambiguous on this. Under that act, a treasonous crime has been committed. As a long-time “true believer” in our system, the thing that bothers me most about this is that people can’t agree that it’s a problem. And, if any of you think there is some kind of equivalence between divulging classified info during a war and having a sexual affair, in my opinion you need to get your priorities straight.
Bob
Gannon was first, that I recall, to have quoted a “secret CIA memo” which said Plame sent Wilson to Niger in 2002. If I recall, that was soon after the Plame leak, during an interview of Wilson by Gannon for his fake news service. What secret memo does anyone think he was referring to? And who do you think told Gannon? Was he shown that memo?
And has Gannon been called to testify in front of the grand jury about any memos shown to him? I bet he was.
And has he been asked how he found out about this memo?
And did he find out about it during one of his White House sleepovers? From whom?
So those Americans untroubled by treasonous behavior might perk up their ears when hearing tales about secrets passed in the bedroom.
DougJ
Give it up liberals. No one cares about “Rovegate” anymore than they cared about “DeLaygate”, “Coingate”, or any of the other fake “gates” you liberals made up.
To call this treason is laughable. At worst, it rises halfway to the crimes committed by Clinton. Where was the outrage back then? You SUPPORTED him in his decision to lie to a grand jury. Now you call lying to a grand jury “treason”.
All I can say is you guys know all about treason.
Sojourner
No. I call outing a CIA operative possibly treasonous. Lying about a blow job is treasonous only in the minds of the insane right.
As to whether the American public cares – well, it’s beginning to appear that they do. And it’s also beginning to appear that Bush’s response to this issue is causing a whole lot of people to question his honesty. Combine it with the rapidly growing discontent over the Iraq war and you’ve got a majority who think Bush is a liar. A liar about policy and American lives. Not just a liar over a blow job.
Defense Guy
…and the left is where adultery is just fine, ‘is’ cannot be defined, and lying is not something to be ashamed of, just don’t call you immoral. This is a great game.
Mike S
Adultrt is fine if you are Newt, Guliani or any other Republican, especially if you attempt to strangle your girlfriend. It all depends on what “I was not a source for the Novac story” means. Lying is something that deserrves a medal if it hurts a possible Democrat. Immorality is reserved for the left and can’t be attributed to the right. Ohio coingate wasn’t immoral, just buisness.
Adam
Give it up liberals. No one cares about “Rovegate”
I’m sure Nixon..umm…I mean Bush would agree with you.
All I can say is you guys know all about treason.
Yes, and Rove is it. Screwing Veterans is it. Lying to start a war is it. Caring more about your Saudi buddies rather than the American people is it.
Sherard
Wow, John, your comments are sure full of nutjobs. For some of you – Sojourner, Bob, CaseyL, and Bill Batten I have a great recommendation for you:
A recent episode of Penn and Teller’s Bullshit! on Showtime. The topic ? Conspiracy theories. You guys are so full of it, it’s coming out your ears.
Somehow this is akin to Watergate (CaseyL), there was a US agent executed as a result of this (Bill Batten) strangely with no mention whatsoever by any of the US press, and this is all tied up in the Gannon / Guckert non-event (Bob).
You guys are seriously commical. Were you guys involved at all with John’s attempted roll-up of the Plame affair ? We were up to what, step 11, right ? Strangely, I don’t recall seeing any reference to some of these idiotic points there.
My absolute favorite comment here ? That this is a serious matter of national security, outing a CIA agent during war. As if the loony left give a rat’s ass about the war OR national security.
scs
I read the link and found it strange that Wilson knew the story about his wife was coming and did nothing to prevent it from coming out. Here’s a new conspiracy theory: maybe he set the whole thing up to get the president. Maybe he told the still unknown source to tell Novak. Hey, stranger things have happened.
Rick
…or I could believe a bunch of ex-CIA agents, some of whom are 30 year veterans and all of whom are republicans.
Ah, yes; you’re indulging them just like so many of youse guys indulged the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. You believed them, as well.
If a law or some laws were broken, then indictments will be brought. It’s not crystal clear that crimes were committed, and we certainly don’t know by whom. I’ve guessed elsewhere that Colin Powell is a likely candidate for letting this slip.
But Plame’s career is not over, unless she choses to retire. If she has great expertise, it’ll find an outlet at the “rogue agency.”
Cordially…
Bill Batten
Many of you seem to be saying that lying about a sexual affair and outing a CIA agent are equivalent acts. You seem to believe that there was more corruption in the Clinton administration than in the current administration. I ask you: did the Clinton admin. ever lie to congress about the cost of a bill? Did Clinton ever lie during a State of the Union Address? Did Clinton ever invade a foreign country on the basis of faulty intelligence or lies about intelligence? Did the Clinton administration allow a male prostitute under an assumed name to stay overnight in the Whitehouse? Did Clinton take a vacation when told that terrorists might attack in the U.S? Did Clinton preside over a net loss of jobs in the U.S. and the largest trade deficit in our history? Did Clinton balance the budget or create the greatest deficit in our country’s history? Did Clinton or any democrat, for that matter, blame the first Bush administration for the attack on the World Trade Center in 1993, even though it happened only 30 days into his administration? Did the Clinton justice department find and prosecute those responsible for that attack? Has the Bush administration found the man responsible for the 9-11 attack? Did the Clinton administration, through its foreign policy, engender hatred for the U.S. around the world? Finally, how is it that a supposedly “liberal media” harrass and attack Clinton for 8 years and, yet, gives Bush more or less a free pass on all of the above?
Sojourner
Adultery is not against the law.
Sojourner
Apparently we care a whole lot more about national security than those who defend the outing of a covert CIA operative.
Sojourner
The Swifties contradicted the statements they made at the time the events occurred.
I have seen no evidence that the CIA folks have done the same.
Bill Batten
A couple more questions for conservatives to consider: What was more important to the Republican congress of the 90’s – fighting terrorism or attacking the president? Do you think the Republican congress was correct in rejecting out-of-hand the suggestions of the Gore Commission on airport safety when the implementation of any one of the commission’s suggestions could have prevented the 9-11 attack? On the day Clinton was 45 minutes late in his effort to kill Osama bin Laden, he had spent the entire morning in deposition answering Republican questions about oral sex — do you think Clinton would have had a better chance of killing bin Laden if Republicans would have cooperated with him, or not?
Bill Batten
Sherard, do you have an argument or not. All I see is someone ridiculing people. Ridicule is not an argument for educated, intelligent people. If you have some information to add to the discussion – possibly you could explain how the divulging of classified material does not violate the 1917 Espionage Act — I would like to hear it. Ad hominem attacks are not arguments, Sherard, they’re infantile. If you don’t think it’s a national security matter to divulge classified information during a war, I’d like to know why.
Rick
The Swifties contradicted the statements they made at the time the events occurred.
All 250 of ’em? Nahhh. What they contradicted was the official paper record–as much as was available–which was their big obstacle.
A good many have know Kerry was a dingleberry for some long time. “Winter Soldier*” seems to have brought that realization out in them. Now *there* was some lying.
Cordially…
* Now *there* was some lying.
ArmedLiberal
Who was it (wait I’ll give the conservatives a hint; WHICH AGENCY) requested that the DOJ ivestigate the leak in the first place?
Sojourner
Too bad all 250 of them weren’t on the boat with Kerry or on shore with the Viet Namese who confirmed Kerry’s version.
scs
Sojourner, now now. I posted the Viet Namese version here previously. The only thing the Viet Namese confirmed was that the boy John Kerry shot in the back was not wearing a loin cloth like the Swifties said but a ‘pajama’ bottom.
Sojourner
Yep. Another (very independent) data point supporting the official record. Works for me.
Anonymous
ArmedLiberal. It was the CIA and the answer to a bad agent is DOJ Organized Crime Task Force.