Bush Administration caught revealing spy's indentity to smear him over Iraq

[elf6c]

White House officials said they would turn over phone logs if the Justice Department asked them to. But the aides said Bush has no plans to ask his staff members whether they played a role in revealing the name of an undercover officer who is married to former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV, one of the most visible critics of Bush’s handling of intelligence about Iraq.

An administration official told The Washington Post on Saturday that two White House officials leaked the information to selected journalists to discredit Wilson. The leak could constitute a federal crime, and intelligence officials said it might have endangered confidential sources who had aided the operative throughout her career. CIA Director George J. Tenet has asked the Justice Department to investigate how the leak occurred.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A14909-2003Sep28.html

National Security is very important when witholding information from the 9-11 panel, FOI requests, or numerous congressional inquiries- but some one dare expose the house of card that the case for the Iraq War was- what’s national security matter? The smear’s the thing. Just ask Tony Blair.

:rolleyes:

As usual the Nixonian implusing for cover-up is very strong within the adminstration:

White House press secretary Scott McClellan said the Justice Department has requested no information so far. “Of course, we would always cooperate with the Department of Justice in a matter like this,” he said.

Asked about the possibility of an internal White House investigation, McClellan said, “I’m not aware of any information that has come to our attention beyond the anonymous media sources to suggest there’s anything to White House involvement.”

Just like Officer Barbrady: Nothing to see here people- move along. About as smart too.

However, it appears the FBI and CIA, along with members of Congress not in W’s pocket beg to differ.

For the apologists here- don’t bother this was no "accident’:

More specific details about the controversy emerged yesterday. Wilson said in a telephone interview that four reporters from three television networks called him in July and told him that White House officials had contacted them to encourage stories that would include his wife’s identity.

Novak attributed his account to “two senior administration officials.” An administration aide told The Post on Saturday that the two White House officials had cold-called at least six Washington journalists and identified Wilson’s wife.

Nice. Assholes. :mad:

Tricky Dick Nixon is nodding his head in approval.

I am not the only one who feels this way:

Democrats e-mailed a quotation from former president George H.W. Bush, a former CIA director, who said in 1999 at the dedication of the agency’s new headquarters that those who expose the names of intelligence sources are “the most insidious of traitors.”

Indeed.

Why would they violate the law- to smear someone embarrassed them by exposing “those 16 words” as lies:

The operative’s identity was published in July after her husband, former U.S. ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV, publicly challenged President Bush’s claim that Iraq had tried to buy “yellowcake” uranium ore from Africa for possible use in nuclear weapons. Bush later backed away from the claim.

The intentional disclosure of a covert operative’s identity is a violation of federal law.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11208-2003Sep27.html

Wait, it gets better:

“Clearly, it was meant purely and simply for revenge,” the senior official said of the alleged leak.

Sources familiar with the conversations said the leakers were seeking to undercut Wilson’s credibility. They alleged that Wilson, who was not a CIA employee, was selected for the Niger mission partly because his wife had recommended him. Wilson said in an interview yesterday that a reporter had told him that the leaker said, “The real issue is Wilson and his wife.”

A source said reporters quoted a leaker as describing Wilson’s wife as “fair game.”

Hopefully Bush remembered to turn off the tape recorders.

Now a rarity for me- praise for a Bush appointee. Someone had enough and has been making a stick over this. Hopefully he/she will not get burned for their integrity, but rather get promoted. Not holding my breath though.

It is rare for one Bush administration official to turn on another. Asked about the motive for describing the leaks, the senior official said the leaks were “wrong and a huge miscalculation, because they were irrelevant and did nothing to diminish Wilson’s credibility.”

Wilson, while refusing to confirm his wife’s occupation, has suggested publicly that he believes Bush’s senior adviser, Karl C. Rove, broke her cover. Wilson said Aug. 21 at a public forum in suburban Seattle that it is of keen interest to him “to see whether or not we can get Karl Rove frog-marched out of the White House in handcuffs.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11208-2003Sep27.html

[elf6c]

Oops- sorry “him” should be “her husband” in the title.

As attonement here is a link on why 2 or more Senior Bush Adminstation officials where in a smearing mood (laws be damned):

The absence of proof that chemical and biological weapons and their related development programs had been destroyed was considered proof that they continued to exist," the two committee members said in a letter Thursday to CIA Director George J. Tenet. The Washington Post obtained a copy this weekend.

The letter constitutes a significant criticism of the U.S. intelligence community from a source that does not take such matters lightly. The committee, like all congressional panels, is controlled by Republicans, and its chairman, Rep. Porter J. Goss (R-Fla.), is a former CIA agent and a longtime supporter of Tenet and the intelligence agencies. Goss and the committee’s ranking Democrat, Rep. Jane Harman (Calif.), signed the letter. Neither was available for comment yesterday. The full committee has not voted on the letter’s conclusions.

Ouch. Motivation for the crime?

The administration based its argument for going to war on the dangers allegedly posed by Iraq’s chemical, biological and nuclear weapons programs and its supposed ties to al Qaeda. The Goss-Harman letter may give ammunition to critics who say the administration overstated the threat posed by then-Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

The committee became concerned about the underlying intelligence on Iraq when U.S. forces failed to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and when President Bush admitted he should not have used discredited intelligence in January’s State of the Union speech to suggest that Iraq had sought to buy uranium from an African nation.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10928-2003Sep27.html

Oh, and a news flah for Cheney:

As to Iraq’s ties to terrorists, the committee scrutinized three volumes of data and found “substantial gaps” in credible information from human sources that would have allowed U.S. intelligence agencies “to give policymakers a clear understanding of the nature of the relationship.” Instead, the agencies had a “low threshold” or “no threshold” on using information the intelligence community obtained on Iraq’s alleged ties to al Qaeda.

:dubious:

[elf6c]

The White House responds:

A senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, has confirmed that the Justice Department (news - web sites) has received a letter from CIA Director George Tenet to look into the matter. The department and the FBI (news - web sites) are trying to determine whether there was a violation of the law and, if so, then whether a full-blown criminal investigation is warranted, the official said.

“It’s a serious matter and it should be looked into,” McClellan said.

Asked whether Bush should fire any official found to have leaked the information, McClellan said: “They should be pursued to the fullest extent by the Department of Justice (news - web sites). The president expects everyone in his administration to adhere to the highest standards of conduct — and that would not be.”

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030929/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/iraq_uranium_14

Want some syrup with those waffles?

Although, the White House is saying it’s not Rove. And how would they know that?

Wilson has publicly blamed Karl Rove, Bush’s top political adviser, for the leak, although Wilson did say Monday he did not know whether Rove personally was the source of Novak’s information.

“He wasn’t involved,” White House press secretary Scott McClellan said of Rove. “The president knows he wasn’t involved. … It’s simply not true.”

So does that mean the President knows for sure who did do it? Why is he so sure?

:dubious:

More White House response, this time on the WMD debacle and the attempts to downplay the non-too-flattering report just released:

Rice also asserted that the Bush administration had fresh and plausible information that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction before the war began. “There was enrichment of intelligence from 1998 over the period leading up to the war,” she said. "And nothing pointed to a reversal of Saddam Hussein’s very active efforts to acquire weapons of mass destruction, to have very good programs in weapons of mass destruction.

“It was very clear that this had continued and was a gathering danger,” Rice said, adding that Bush “stands behind” intelligence the CIA provided before the war.

The administraton’s assertions were made just days before the US-led team searching for weapons of mass destruction is expected to report to Congress that after five months, no weapons have been found and no definitive conclusions can yet be made about Hussein’s activities. White House officials have tried to downplay expectations about the report from David Kay, the top investigator, who as recently as July predicted that his team would uncover a few “surprises.”

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2003/09/29/house_panel_questions_iraq_proof/

[elf6c]

Here are the laws violated:

The leak of Plame’s name is an apparent violation of two laws that bar revealing the identities of covert operatives: the National Agents’ Identity Act and the Unauthorized Release of Classified Information Act.

   Following the report Friday by NBC News correspondent Andrea Mitchell, an unidentified senior administration official told The Associated Press that the Justice Department and the FBI were trying to determine whether there was a violation of the law and, if so, whether a full criminal investigation was warranted.

WHITE HOUSE: ROVE ‘WASN’T INVOLVED’
Plame’s husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson IV, leveled the finger of suspicion at White House political adviser Karl Rove, telling MSNBC TV on Monday, “My sources tell me that at a minimum Mr. Rove condoned it.”

Hmm Rove’s back on the hook now.

MSNBC — Breaking News, Top Stories, & Show Clips

For those wondering how interested John Ashcroft was in this serious possible national security law violation:

After months of inaction, the Justice Department is conducting a preliminary inquiry to determine whether a full investigation is needed, sources told reporters in Washington. The CIA first raised its concerns in a letter in July, as NBC News and MSNBC.com reported Friday in an exclusive story.

Months, just to open a preliminary inquiry. Gee they should have some results by 2006 at this pace. Well now that this is public, it can’t be covered up anymore, hopefully. Although based on the 9/11 commission and the energy policy precedents, heavens knows they will try.

Your thoughts?

[Otto]

That not only does this put the lie to anything Shrub and ilk said about the importance of national security, but it also puts the lie to anything they ever said about family values. “He criticized us publicly? Let’s see if we can’t get his wife killed.”

[Tars_Tarkas]

Rove is a raving jackass, but i find it hard to believe he’d be this stupid and petty. I hope to God he’s innocent, because if he’s not…

[El_Cid_Viscoso]

*Originally posted by Otto *
**“He criticized us publicly? Let’s see if we can’t get his wife killed.” **

Not only that (as if it’s not bad enough), but this action effectively compromised a key WMD operative. So threaten her life and security, and meanwhile help further stultify the search by removing an investigative asset? Hmmmmmmmm.

[RTA]

I understand that if she was a “handler” of spies, as is being rumored in certain quarters, and said spies were compromised and then killed because of her ID, also alleged, then according to the aforementioned laws the leaker, and anyone who knew of and condoned the leak including the President, is very much eligible to be charged with Murder.

It’s a very serious business but I know we can all rely on Ashcroft’s Justice Department to search relentlessly, relentlessly for the truth.

[Revtim]

*Originally posted by RTA *
**It’s a very serious business but I know we can all rely on Ashcroft’s Justice Department to search relentlessly, relentlessly for the truth. **

Now that Tommy Chong is finally behind bars, maybe that will free up enough law-enforcement resources to address this nearly-as-important issue.

[rjung]

*Originally posted by Tars Tarkas *
Rove is a raving jackass, but i find it hard to believe he’d be this stupid and petty.

Why? Everything I read about the guy tells me this would be typical for him.

[RTA]

From www.ronsuskind.com/writing/esquire/esq_rove_0103.html

Sources close to the former president 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.

Inside, Rove was talking to an aide about some political stratagem in some state that had gone awry and a political operative who had displeased him. I paid it no mind and reviewed a jotted list of questions I hoped to ask. But after a moment, it was like ignoring a tornado flinging parked cars. “We will fuck him. Do you hear me? We will fuck him. We will ruin him. Like no one has ever fucked him!”

[Tars_Tarkas]

*Originally posted by rjung *
**Why? Everything I read about the guy tells me this would be typical for him. **

yes, but i want to believe him being higher profile would make him more careful, not more corrupt. If he did do this i think he should be executed for treason. Publically.

[Spavined_Gelding]

Character, like murder, will out. Maybe we will see; maybe we will not. I would not bet the farm on anything in this one. Maybe a little bird, or Deep Throat, told Novak.

[elucidator]

Well, it occured to me that it might have been linked by a relatively minor but zealous WH functionary, who took it upon themselves to punish violators of omerta.

Trouble with that is, how many people have access to such information as who is or is not a covert CIA operative? The Under Assistant Director for West Coast Promotions?

If what Novak sez is true, that she’s a spook, then the information had to come from someone wired in, in the loop, etc. Unless they leave this kind of information lying around on the desk for the cleaning person to read.

Karl Rove is a creep, an undead kept animate only by massive doses of amphetamines. But how would he know about Ms. Palme’s covert status? He specializes in nasty political shit, why should we expect he would know butkus about CIA personnel?

[a_bird_on_the_wire]

CNN is saying that Novak is saying that no one in the Bush administration called him.

[Tejota]

called him.

Note, that he didn’t say no one told him. Or contacted him, or emailed, or informed…

[Squink]

*Originally posted by elucidator *
Karl Rove is a creep, an undead kept animate only by massive doses of amphetamines. But how would he know about Ms. Palme’s covert status? He specializes in nasty political shit, why should we expect he would know butkus about CIA personnel?

Well someone has got to connect the dots on the white house enemies list. Who better than Machiavelli ? Rove probably didn’t “know” until he had his minions assemble a poison-file on Wilson as a political enemy.

[elucidator]

White House Enemies List, Vol. 1, Aaron A. Aardvark to Boris Badenov, 1600 pgs., Remainder House.

[PatriotX]

DCI Tenet got involved. So there must be some substance to Novak’s revelations. Otherwise, why would Tenet become publicly involved? It’s a carrer risk to call the cops on your boss. Excepting of course that your boss is the cop’s boss to.

I didn’t realize that it’d taken months for the DoJ to get going, (if they have), on this. No wonder Tenet wrote a note to Ashcroft and released it to the WaPo.

[Liberal]

*Originally posted by Revtim *
**Now that Tommy Chong is finally behind bars, maybe that will free up enough law-enforcement resources to address this nearly-as-important issue. **