Justice Dept investigates White House leak

[Jobber of the Week 0]

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The White House will cooperate with the Justice Department in its initial inquiry into who leaked the classified identity of a CIA operative, but will not launch an internal probe and will not ask for an independent investigation, a spokesman said Monday.

 

The CIA operative in question, Valerie Plame, is the wife of a former U.S. ambassador who had been critical of the Bush's administration's handling of intelligence on Iraq.

 

"The president believes leaking classified information is a very serious matter and it should be pursued to the fullest extent by the appropriate agency and the appropriate agency is the Department of Justice," White House press secretary Scott McClellan told reporters.

 

He said the White House would cooperate with any probe, but said the Justice Department has not made any requests for information.

 

The Justice Department would not comment on whether it is looking into the case. National security adviser Condoleezza Rice confirmed Sunday the Justice Department was asked to look into the matter.

 

Former Ambassador Joe Wilson has said he believes the White House was behind the leak of the identity of his wife to newspaper columnist and CNN contributor Robert Novak as retribution for Wilson revealing flaws in prewar intelligence that said Iraq was trying to buy "yellowcake" uranium ore in Africa.

 

In an interview Monday with CNN, he described the administration as "acting like schoolyard bullies, pulling the hair of a little girl."

 

Plame was described as a CIA employee in a July column by Novak in the Chicago Sun-Times. CNN has been unable to reach Plame.

 

"Nobody in the Bush administration called me to leak this," Novak said Monday CNN's "Crossfire," which he co-hosts. "There is no great crime here."

 

The leak could constitute a felony. According to the Intelligence Identities Protection Act of 1982, a federal employee with access to classified information who is convicted of making an unauthorized disclosure about a covert agent faces up to 10 years in prison and as much as $50,000 in fines.

 

'A dastardly act'

"The leaking of the name of a CIA [operative] is a dastardly act," Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York, told CNN Monday.

 

"It not only endangers the name of an agent who has put his or her life on the line for America, [but also] all their operatives and security ... It's a despicable thing to do. And some newspapers report that it was the White House that did it."

 

McClellan said that if anyone at the White House leaked Plame's identity, he should be fired, and pursued to the "fullest extent."

 

"No one was authorized to do this. That is simply not the way this White House operates and if someone leaked classified information it is a very serious matter," he said.

 

McClellan said the White House has no firsthand knowledge of a Justice Department investigation of the matter. No one at the White House, he said, has been contacted or asked to be questioned, or sought counsel for defense on the matter.

 

He rejected a call from some Democrats for an independent investigation, perhaps a special prosecutor, to avoid conflict of interest with Bush political appointees at the Justice Department.

 

"Of course in any matter like this we will cooperate with the Department of Justice," said McClellan. "There has been no information brought to us or that has come to our attention beyond the media reports to suggest there was White House involvement."

 

Wilson said at one point that he believes the person who broke his wife's cover was Karl Rove, Bush's senior adviser and political strategist.

 

But Wilson on Monday backed away somewhat from specifically naming Rove. He told CNN there was "excess of exuberance" on his part in naming Rove as the source, but he said he believed Rove condoned the leak and did nothing to stop it. Wilson also stood by his claim that the leak came from the administration.

 

"I think it comes out of the White House political office," Wilson said, adding that the publication of his wife's identity came one week after he had written a critical article in The New York Times about the administration's handling of intelligence on Iraq.

 

McClellan said he discussed the matter with Rove, and feels confident that accusation of Rove's involvement is "simply not true."

 

"Only a limited number of people would even have access to classified information of this nature," added McClellan.

 

Wilson visited Niger in early 2002 on behalf of the CIA to investigate a British intelligence report alleging Iraq had tried to buy significant quantities of "yellowcake" there and in other African countries for possible use in nuclear weapons.

 

Wilson, a former U.S. diplomat with expertise in African affairs, reported finding no evidence to support the claim.

 

Earlier this year, Wilson criticized Bush for including in his 2003 State of the Union speech the notorious "16 words" citing the British report.

 

"The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa," Bush said in the address.

 

It was later revealed the British report was based in part on forged documents, and Bush backed away from the statement.

 

Punitive move?

Wilson told CNN last month the leak about his wife was directly connected to his public criticism of the administration for including the uranium report in the speech after he had already discredited it.

 

"The idea, it seemed to me, in going after me and then later making these allegations about my wife, was clearly designed to keep others from stepping forward," said Wilson, who was acting ambassador to Iraq in the months before the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

 

"I don't know if that's true or not, but you can be sure that a GS-14 or 15 with a couple of kids in college, when he sees the allegations that came from senior administration officials about my family ... in the public domain, you can be sure that he's going to be worried about what might happen if he were to come forward," Wilson said.

 

GS-14 or GS-15 refers to the federal General Schedule pay scale. GS-15 is the highest level, with annual salaries generally ranging from $95,000 to $125,000.

 

http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/09/29/....cia/index.html

 

A bunch of people were playing Clue on PRI and coming up with theories about this but it should make for some entertaining bitchfests on TV.

[Guest MikeSC]

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The White House will cooperate with the Justice Department in its initial inquiry into who leaked the classified identity of a CIA operative, but will not launch an internal probe and will not ask for an independent investigation, a spokesman said Monday.

 

The CIA operative in question, Valerie Plame, is the wife of a former U.S. ambassador who had been critical of the Bush's administration's handling of intelligence on Iraq.

 

"The president believes leaking classified information is a very serious matter and it should be pursued to the fullest extent by the appropriate agency and the appropriate agency is the Department of Justice," White House press secretary Scott McClellan told reporters.

 

He said the White House would cooperate with any probe, but said the Justice Department has not made any requests for information.

 

The Justice Department would not comment on whether it is looking into the case. National security adviser Condoleezza Rice confirmed Sunday the Justice Department was asked to look into the matter.

 

Former Ambassador Joe Wilson has said he believes the White House was behind the leak of the identity of his wife to newspaper columnist and CNN contributor Robert Novak as retribution for Wilson revealing flaws in prewar intelligence that said Iraq was trying to buy "yellowcake" uranium ore in Africa.

 

In an interview Monday with CNN, he described the administration as "acting like schoolyard bullies, pulling the hair of a little girl."

 

Plame was described as a CIA employee in a July column by Novak in the Chicago Sun-Times. CNN has been unable to reach Plame.

 

"Nobody in the Bush administration called me to leak this," Novak said Monday CNN's "Crossfire," which he co-hosts. "There is no great crime here."

 

The leak could constitute a felony. According to the Intelligence Identities Protection Act of 1982, a federal employee with access to classified information who is convicted of making an unauthorized disclosure about a covert agent faces up to 10 years in prison and as much as $50,000 in fines.

 

'A dastardly act'

"The leaking of the name of a CIA [operative] is a dastardly act," Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York, told CNN Monday.

 

"It not only endangers the name of an agent who has put his or her life on the line for America, [but also] all their operatives and security ... It's a despicable thing to do. And some newspapers report that it was the White House that did it."

 

McClellan said that if anyone at the White House leaked Plame's identity, he should be fired, and pursued to the "fullest extent."

 

"No one was authorized to do this. That is simply not the way this White House operates and if someone leaked classified information it is a very serious matter," he said.

 

McClellan said the White House has no firsthand knowledge of a Justice Department investigation of the matter. No one at the White House, he said, has been contacted or asked to be questioned, or sought counsel for defense on the matter.

 

He rejected a call from some Democrats for an independent investigation, perhaps a special prosecutor, to avoid conflict of interest with Bush political appointees at the Justice Department.

 

"Of course in any matter like this we will cooperate with the Department of Justice," said McClellan. "There has been no information brought to us or that has come to our attention beyond the media reports to suggest there was White House involvement."

 

Wilson said at one point that he believes the person who broke his wife's cover was Karl Rove, Bush's senior adviser and political strategist.

 

But Wilson on Monday backed away somewhat from specifically naming Rove. He told CNN there was "excess of exuberance" on his part in naming Rove as the source, but he said he believed Rove condoned the leak and did nothing to stop it. Wilson also stood by his claim that the leak came from the administration.

 

"I think it comes out of the White House political office," Wilson said, adding that the publication of his wife's identity came one week after he had written a critical article in The New York Times about the administration's handling of intelligence on Iraq.

 

McClellan said he discussed the matter with Rove, and feels confident that accusation of Rove's involvement is "simply not true."

 

"Only a limited number of people would even have access to classified information of this nature," added McClellan.

 

Wilson visited Niger in early 2002 on behalf of the CIA to investigate a British intelligence report alleging Iraq had tried to buy significant quantities of "yellowcake" there and in other African countries for possible use in nuclear weapons.

 

Wilson, a former U.S. diplomat with expertise in African affairs, reported finding no evidence to support the claim.

 

Earlier this year, Wilson criticized Bush for including in his 2003 State of the Union speech the notorious "16 words" citing the British report.

 

"The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa," Bush said in the address.

 

It was later revealed the British report was based in part on forged documents, and Bush backed away from the statement.

 

Punitive move?

Wilson told CNN last month the leak about his wife was directly connected to his public criticism of the administration for including the uranium report in the speech after he had already discredited it.

 

"The idea, it seemed to me, in going after me and then later making these allegations about my wife, was clearly designed to keep others from stepping forward," said Wilson, who was acting ambassador to Iraq in the months before the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

 

"I don't know if that's true or not, but you can be sure that a GS-14 or 15 with a couple of kids in college, when he sees the allegations that came from senior administration officials about my family ... in the public domain, you can be sure that he's going to be worried about what might happen if he were to come forward," Wilson said.

 

GS-14 or GS-15 refers to the federal General Schedule pay scale. GS-15 is the highest level, with annual salaries generally ranging from $95,000 to $125,000.

 

http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/09/29/....cia/index.html

 

A bunch of people were playing Clue on PRI and coming up with theories about this but it should make for some entertaining bitchfests on TV.

Wow, talk about a wild goose chase.

 

A few things:

 

1)The Bush administration and Novak aren't exactly friends --- they wouldn't go to HIM to leak ANYTHING.

 

2) Wilson's wife being a CIA operative wasn't exactly a widely-held secret in Washington.

 

3) The MAIN reason why Wilson was even in charge of investigations (of whether Iraq bought weapons from Niger) was BECAUSE of his wife, seeing as how he had NO experience with the work and was already proven to not exactly being impartial. Nobody requested Wilson to be the man to do it. The CIA using a former diplomat with no investigative experience and a history of Bush-bashing is somewhat puzzling, no? According to Novak, his wife helped get him the job and the CIA SHOULD have known that his profile COULD have lead to compromising his wife's position.

-=Mike

[Dr. Tyler; Captain America 0]

So, like a rape victim, she brought it on herself, right?

 

Excellent.

[Guest MikeSC]

So, like a rape victim, she brought it on herself, right?

 

Excellent.

1) ZERO proof exists that even remotely ties the Bush admin to "leaking" this. Even Novak --- again, not a Bush fan -- said it didn't come from the WH. This is what you call a fishing expedition.

 

2) It is baffling that a diplomat with NO investigative experience whatsoever was put in charge of an investigation (an investigation, mind you, that he admits to half-assing).

 

His wife being a CIA operative was ALREADY known in Washington. Nobody leaked anything.

 

I mean, it's not like there were hundreds and hundred of FBI files mysteriously found in the WH or anything.

-=Mike

[BX 0]

His wife being a CIA operative was ALREADY known in Washington. Nobody leaked anything.

I'm just curious where this information came from.

[Dr. Tyler; Captain America 0]

Mike's a Washington insider, didn't you know?

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

I'm sure this was on Bush's Things-to-do list right before closing a soup kitchen and after giving the local nursing home a year's supply of canned dog food. But it should make for interesting TV -- or at least until I get sick of hearing about it...

[Guest MikeSC]

Mike's a Washington insider, didn't you know?

When this actually occurred --- you know, back in JULY --- that was mentioned in numerous, numerous places. I assumed you might have known about it at the time --- but as usual, I overestimated you.

 

Try reading a few papers and stop relying on Dean's press releases to be your sole source of info about how the world is working from moment to moment.

-=Mike

[Dr. Tyler; Captain America 0]

Yeah, I ignored you back then because you didn't back up a single one of your arguments with sources. I'm still waiting for said sources.

[Guest MikeSC]

Yeah, I ignored you back then because you didn't back up a single one of your arguments with sources. I'm still waiting for said sources.

Well, the guy who WROTE THE ARTICLE said it didn't come from Bush or the WH.

 

Good enough?

-=Mike

[Firestarter 0]

Haven't we been over this already? Hasn't Tyler been made to look like a complete moron on this issue several times? Aren't we sick of hearing about it yet?

 

Since there isn't any new information at this point, why continue to retread old ground?

 

Mike's a Washington insider, didn't you know?

Well, I am. I also happened to work for the CIA at the time under the executive office of Dr Rice, the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. (I've been seconded to the USAF since.) And I didn't know that Joe Wilson's wife was one of my co-workers because, frankly, my life doesn't revolve around Wilson and his family. I doubt many people knew and I'm sure far fewer cared.

Wilson's claims about the Niger uranium were unimportant and unverified. There was no reason for anyone in the administration to attempt to discredit him or his claims. In fact, the media furore began in earnest only after Novak's column about Wilson's wife was published. So, to paraphrase Reginald Rose, if you buy this silly "smear campaign" story, you have to assume that the administration is unprincipled but smart one moment, and stupid the next, evil and cunning again for all of the two seconds it takes to leak a name, but at the same time so godforsakenly dumb that the possibility that this will focus national attention on a previously trivial news item never occurs to anyone. Neither does the fact that scaring one fairly undistinguished diplomat and trying to invalidate his unsubstantiated claims isn't worth any effort at all. No one realises that such tactics inevitably prove horribly counterproductive. Yet at the same time the administration is spinning an incomprehensibly complex web of lies to establish the presence of WMD in Iraq and crushing all dissent with an iron fist so anyone else with something to say is terrified into silence. Well, that didn't work too well with good old Joe, did it? So why on earth is it working with anyone else?

 

Don't you see how absurd and contradictory all these claims are?

Edited September 30, 2003 by Cancer Marney

[Guest MikeSC]

Haven't we been over this already? Hasn't Tyler been made to look like a complete moron on this issue several times? Aren't we sick of hearing about it yet?

 

Since there isn't any new information at this point, why continue to retread old ground?

 

Mike's a Washington insider, didn't you know?

Well, I am. I also happened to work for the CIA at the time under the executive office of Dr Rice, the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. (I've been seconded to the USAF since.) And I didn't know that Joe Wilson's wife was one of my co-workers because, frankly, my life doesn't revolve around Wilson and his family. I doubt many people knew and I'm sure far fewer cared.

Wilson's claims about the Niger uranium were unimportant and unverified. There was no reason for anyone in the administration to attempt to discredit him or his claims. In fact, the media furore began in earnest only after Novak's column about Wilson's wife was published. So, to paraphrase Reginald Rose, if you buy this silly "smear campaign" story, you have to assume that the administration is unprincipled but smart one moment, and stupid the next, evil and cunning again for all of the two seconds it takes to leak a name, but at the same time so godforsakenly dumb that the possibility that this will focus national attention on a previously trivial news item never occurs to anyone. Neither does the fact that scaring one fairly undistinguished diplomat and trying to invalidate his unsubstantiated claims isn't worth any effort at all. No one realises that such tactics inevitably prove horribly counterproductive. Yet at the same time the administration is spinning an incomprehensibly complex web of lies to establish the presence of WMD in Iraq and crushing all dissent with an iron fist so anyone else with something to say is terrified into silence. Well, that didn't work too well with good old Joe, did it? So why on earth is it working with anyone else?

 

Don't you see how absurd and contradictory all these claims are?

You make a good point.

 

That was a fun thread.

-=Mike

[Firestarter 0]

Thanks Mike. One more thing: if there were a massive and ongoing cover-up and intimidation campaign, that hypothetical GS-14 or 15 Wilson mentions would probably be able to put all his kids through college on the proceeds from the book deals alone, and he'd be able to retire on the countless television appearances if he didn't want to take advantage of the extremely generous whistleblower protection laws to secure his career once and for all. What serious financial threat could there possibly be?

[Guest MikeSC]

Thanks Mike. One more thing: if there were a massive and ongoing cover-up and intimidation campaign, that hypothetical GS-14 or 15 Wilson mentions would probably be able to put all his kids through college on the proceeds from the book deals alone, and he'd be able to retire on the countless television appearances if he didn't want to take advantage of the extremely generous whistleblower protection laws to secure his career once and for all. What serious financial threat could there possibly be?

So, how long will the Dem candidates try and make this a Watergate-level Presidential scandal?

-=Mike

[BX 0]

Mike, are you going to backup your claims that "Her CIA status was already known in Washington" or will shall I add another entry to the MikeSC Bullshit Tally?

 

::turns to page 19 of MikeSC Bullshit Tally Index, readies pen::

[BX 0]

There was no reason for anyone in the administration to attempt to discredit him or his claims. In fact, the media furore began in earnest only after Novak's column about Wilson's wife was published. So, to paraphrase Reginald Rose, if you buy this silly "smear campaign" story, you have to assume that the administration is unprincipled but smart one moment, and stupid the next, evil and cunning again for all of the two seconds it takes to leak a name, but at the same time so godforsakenly dumb that the possibility that this will focus national attention on a previously trivial news item never occurs to anyone. Neither does the fact that scaring one fairly undistinguished diplomat and trying to invalidate his unsubstantiated claims isn't worth any effort at all. No one realises that such tactics inevitably prove horribly counterproductive. Yet at the same time the administration is spinning an incomprehensibly complex web of lies to establish the presence of WMD in Iraq and crushing all dissent with an iron fist so anyone else with something to say is terrified into silence. Well, that didn't work too well with good old Joe, did it? So why on earth is it working with anyone else?

 

Don't you see how absurd and contradictory all these claims are?

Karl Rove. Enough said.

 

kthx bye.

[Firestarter 0]

"Enough said?" About what? What are you trying to claim? That Karl Rove is incompetent and schizophrenic, brilliant one moment and submoronic the next? That's news to me. Even the DNC doesn't say he's stupid.

 

"kthx bye" indeed. If you're intellectually incapable of making a coherent argument, get out of CE and go back to NHB.

[BX 0]

"Enough said?" About what? What are you trying to claim? That Karl Rove is incompetent and schizophrenic, brilliant one moment and submoronic the next? That's news to me. Even the DNC doesn't say he's stupid.

 

"kthx bye" indeed. If you're intellectually incapable of making a coherent argument, get out of CE and go back to NHB.

Wow. That's fucking amazing.

 

Astounding, even.

 

You managed to read between the lines of a SIX WORD POST, and conclude that;

 

#1: I think that Karl Rove is incompetant.

#2: His level of intelligence fluctuates wildly day-to-day.

 

That's pretty good shit Marn. No wonder you have/had a job at the CIA.

 

Seriously though, I never claimed that Karl Rove was anything short of a ruthless, cold-hearted son of a bitch. This guy makes Donald Segretti look like a Girl Scout Denmother. He's perfectly capable of leaking something of this magnitude, and to think that he wouldn't is sheer lunacy. Also...

 

Novak, in an interview, said his sources had come to him with the information. "I didn't dig it out, it was given to me," he said. "They thought it was significant, they gave me the name and I used it."

Newsday, 7/22/03

 

 

And unless I'm mistaken, you have posted more frequently in NHB then I ever have. That's surprising, especially since you once stated that you didn't visit that folder.

[Firestarter 0]

Hs's perfectly capable of leaking something of this magnitude, and to think that he wouldn't is sheer lunacy.

But why would he want to? As I explained above, it simply doesn't make any sense. It helps no one in the administration. Unless you're saying that Karl Rove wants to damage the administration. Are you? If so, why?

 

And unless I'm mistaken, you have posted more frequently in NHB then I ever have. That's surprising, especially since you once stated that you didn't visit that folder.

You're perfectly correct; I once stated that I didn't visit NHB. In fact I once stated that I didn't visit any folder other than CE. When I made those statements they were perfectly true. Since then I have started visiting other folders. I never stated that I would never visit any folder other than CE. I'm still not sure what your point is, but at least I can make substantive arguments on the issues in CE. I have yet to see that ability in you.

[BX 0]

[Firestarter 0]

Yeah, I ignored you back then because you didn't back up a single one of your arguments with sources. I'm still waiting for said sources.

Well, the guy who WROTE THE ARTICLE said it didn't come from Bush or the WH.

True. If anyone cares about what Novak has to say:

 

"Newspaper columnist Robert Novak said Monday that no one in the administration called him to identify the wife of Bush critic Joe Wilson as a CIA operative...

'They asked me not to use her name, but never indicated it would endanger her or anybody else. According to a confidential source at the CIA, Mrs. Wilson was an analyst, not a spy, not a covert operative and not in charge of undercover operators,' Novak said."

- CNN story

[Dr. Tyler; Captain America 0]

But why would he want to? As I explained above, it simply doesn't make any sense. It helps no one in the administration. Unless you're saying that Karl Rove wants to damage the administration. Are you? If so, why?

 

[Dr. Tyler; Captain America 0]

Also, it wouldn't be the first time Rove leaked something to Novak.

 

From Esquire...

 

 

Sources close to the former president [George H.W. Bush] say Rove was fired from the 1992 Bush presidential campaign after he planted a negative story with columnist Robert Novak about dissatisfaction with campaign fundraising chief and Bush loyalist Robert Mosbacher Jr. It was smoked out, and he was summarily ousted.

 

 

Oh, and this juicy nugget.

 

From the WaPo

 

A senior administration official told The Post on Saturday that two top government officials called at least six Washington journalists and disclosed the identity and occupation of Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame. Wilson said yesterday that journalists for the three major broadcast networks told him they had been contacted by someone in the White House. He named only one, Andrea Mitchell, NBC's chief foreign affairs correspondent, who interviewed Wilson and reported on July 22 that he said the administration was "leaking his wife's covert job at the CIA to reporters." Mitchell could not be reached for comment yesterday.

 

And if you're using Novak's own words as a source, you might want to note that he's been thoroughly inconsistent with his views.

 

FROM CROSSFIRE:

 

Nobody in the Bush administration called me to leak this. In July I was interviewing a senior administration official on Ambassador Wilson's report when he told me the trip was inspired by his wife, a CIA employee working on weapons of mass destruction.

 

 

And... in Newsweek...

 

Novak, in an interview, said his sources had come to him with the information. "I didn't dig it out, it was given to me," he said. "They thought it was significant, they gave me the name and I used it."

 

And hey, if we're using Novak's own words, why not look at what he said originally?

 

Wilson never worked for the CIA, but his wife, Valerie Plame, is an Agency operative on weapons of mass destruction. Two senior administration officials told me Wilson's wife suggested sending him to Niger to investigate the Italian report. The CIA says its counter-proliferation officials selected Wilson and asked his wife to contact him. "I will not answer any question about my wife," Wilson told me.

 

And for those of you who wish to discredit Wilson's trip in and of itself based on shit you're basically making up, you might want to look at this interview with Wilson which basically stated what he did.

 

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/docs/wils...n.interview.pdf

 

That's just for reference.

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

I also happened to work for the CIA at the time under the executive office of Dr Rice, the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. (I've been seconded to the USAF since.) And I didn't know that Joe Wilson's wife was one of my co-workers because, frankly, my life doesn't revolve around Wilson and his family. I doubt many people knew and I'm sure far fewer cared.

 

Wilson's claims about the Niger uranium were unimportant and unverified. There was no reason for anyone in the administration to attempt to discredit him or his claims. In fact, the media furore began in earnest only after Novak's column about Wilson's wife was published. So, to paraphrase Reginald Rose, if you buy this silly "smear campaign" story, you have to assume that the administration is unprincipled but smart one moment, and stupid the next, evil and cunning again for all of the two seconds it takes to leak a name, but at the same time so godforsakenly dumb that the possibility that this will focus national attention on a previously trivial news item never occurs to anyone. Neither does the fact that scaring one fairly undistinguished diplomat and trying to invalidate his unsubstantiated claims isn't worth any effort at all. No one realises that such tactics inevitably prove horribly counterproductive. Yet at the same time the administration is spinning an incomprehensibly complex web of lies to establish the presence of WMD in Iraq and crushing all dissent with an iron fist so anyone else with something to say is terrified into silence. Well, that didn't work too well with good old Joe, did it? So why on earth is it working with anyone else?

 

Don't you see how absurd and contradictory all these claims are?

Source please.

 

And it better not be from FAUX NEWS or the NY POST...

[Firestarter 0]

I don't know what statement you want a source for.

 

In the meantime, here's Novak's new column about this whole stupid mess. Here's the Clifford May column he references: "On July 14, Robert Novak wrote a column in the Post and other newspapers naming Mr. Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame, as a CIA operative. That wasn't news to me. I had been told that - but not by anyone working in the White House. Rather, I learned it from someone who formerly worked in the government and he mentioned it in an offhanded manner, leading me to infer it was something that insiders were well aware of."

Edited October 1, 2003 by Cancer Marney