Search for sources goes beyond Rove - Newsday

[TacticalPeek]

Nation

Search for sources goes beyond Rove

Focus in disclosure of CIA agent’s identity widens after disclosure Bush aide was involved in blowing her cover

BY TOM BRUNE
WASHINGTON BUREAU

July 16, 2005

WASHINGTON -- New disclosures this week that Bush aide Karl Rove was a source for two journalists who wrote about covert CIA agent Valerie Plame two years ago raise questions about the identities of additional sources each of them cited.

Rove remains on the political hot seat, but the search for other sources used by columnist Robert Novak and Time reporter Matt Cooper in July 2003 could shift the focus again to officials such as Lewis I. "Scooter" Libby, the vice president's chief of staff.

The disclosures also highlight the special prosecutor's interest in jailed New York Times reporter Judith Miller and her meeting in Washington with an unnamed government official on July 8, 2003, the same day, according to the disclosures, that Rove spoke with Novak.

Rove's role has emerged since Miller was jailed 10 days ago by a federal judge for refusing to reveal her sources and Cooper testified Wednesday before a grand jury and Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald.

more
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/ny-usrove0716,0,1904298.story?coll=ny-leadnationalnews-headlines

[dooner]

1. "Rove does not have a clear recollection" (I'll bet he doesn't)

"Rove does not have a "clear recollection," but believes he heard about Plame from a journalist he is unable to identify, the Washington Post said yesterday, quoting an unidentified lawyer involved in the case."

[Straight Shooter]

23. How odd. He has a crystal clear recollection of what he said to Novak.

Supposedly Novak called Rove. Rove said, "I heard that, too."

Novak's recollection differs from Rove's as to the words spoken, but not the gist of the conversation. Isn't it just so convenient how Rove remembers his words to Novak, but goshdarn it, he can't remember how he heard about Plame.

Maybe it's because he was hearing it from a lot of sources right in the bush administration.

edit to add: He'll remember when the bush gang determines who the best fall guy or gal should be.

[jobycom]

2. Wouldn't it be interesting if Miller's source was someone else

So that Rove told Novak and someone else told Miller on the same day?

Can you say coordinated? Let's see if Fitzgerald can.

[MADem]

24. Yeah, like say, a COWBOY who is afraid of horses!!!!!

Did he sign a waiver like he ordered his staff to do? Why do I suspect NOT???

He sure can't fire himself, only the American people can do that. He ought to resign like Tricky, and it could well come to that if his phone records are ever checked and they discover he was chatting up Judy...

[McCamy Taylor]

3. Armitage sent Powell a memo about Plame. Wonder if they

were part of this, or if Armitage was warning his boss of what Cheney/ Bolton/ Libby were going to do to PLame and the CIA in retaliation for the Agency's lack of coorperation in the matter of WMD? Or maybe, one of the conspirators saw the memo?

[applegrove]

4. But the memo had been around since June 10. And Powell had it

on the plane early July.

Wilson leaked to the press the story of how false the Niger Yellowcake story was in early May. So somebody writes up a memo on the two of them (Wilson & Plame) disclosing her position and it is dated June 10.

Armitage called for the memo way after that. So who ordered it and who saw it in the first three weeks? How did Armitage know there was a memo on the Wilson's and Yellowgate if someone didn't tell him?

[cornermouse]

5. Sirota thinks it might be Condi...

http://www.workingforchange.com/blog/

[LizW]

11. I love that Sirota mentions the game "Clue"

That's exactly what it's like. Sorting out where everyone was, who they talked to, what information they had and when... if it wasn't so deadly serious and freaking horrifying, it would be fun.

[Peace Patriot]

6. "Judith Miller and her meeting in Washington with an unnamed government

official on July 8, 2003." --from the Newsday article

British WMD expert and chief Iraq weapons inspector, Dr. David Kelly, had eleven days to live at this point. He died July 17, 2003, under extremely suspicious circumstances, after whistleblowing to the BBC about the Brits "sexing up" of Iraq WMD intel docs. Plame and her WMD network were outed three days prior to his death, on July 14, 2003.

Kelly's last email--the one about "many dark actors playing games"--was written to Judith Miller. He was also a major source for her book, "Germs." In the news article she wrote about Kelly's death, 7/21/03 (NYT), she fails to disclose these close connections to Kelly. (The email was later released by his family.)

Coincidence of time. Coincidence of themes (disabling WMD expertise, silencing dissent). Coincidence of Judith Miller.

And what else was occurring in that same time period? The hunt for WMDs in Iraq--Bush's and Blair's most pressing political need that summer was a find of WMDs on Iraqi soil. Judith Miller was an avid participant in that hunt (having pumped the war with false WMD info on the front pages of the NYT), and became quite annoying to local commanders with her complaints that they weren't looking hard enough.

I wonder who she was meeting with on July 8, 2003, a week before Valerie Plame's and David Kelly's lives were destroyed for telling the truth.

[hvn_nbr_2]

14. Very interesting n/t

[Pacifist Patriot]

7. Anyone else notice that the media is not dancing around

Rove's involvement? No "alleged leak" or "possible leak." Everyone is now saying he IS the leak. I love it!

I firmly believe this goes way beyond Karl and involves at least Cheney if not more top level assholes.

[dArKeR]

9. I do notice that the Whore Media is NOT saying that aWol's life is Rove.

Rove is aWol's best friend for decades and the most trusted person to aWol. I don't hear the Whore's saying that "Bush had to be involved. Something of this magnitude could not happen without the President's authorization and possibly the President had the original idea and gave Rove Plame's name. It's about lying to invade Iraq."

My addition would be CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY!

[Pacifist Patriot]

10. Good point. Do you think that day will come?

[LizW]

12. It will if this thing drops in the laps of both Rove and Condi

as David Sirota suggests.

Bush's two best buddies.

[dArKeR]

21. I only hear this on Air America. And you know they always have their

facts correct. If they didn't the entire Immoral GOP Media Puppets would pick just the item to pieces. So AA is broadcasting facts but the Coporate Whore media are not.

Listened to Oregon Country Fair last week. Performer wrote a song about we've already had more protesters on the street in America against the Iraq war than the entire Vietnam years combined. Vietnam era had over 2 dozen #1 song radio hits plus hundreds of Top 10 plus thousands played. Yet today there hasn't been one anti-war song played on any radio stations across America.

This is such obvious collusion/corruption in the American Media Whore Corporations it's a pathetic!

I'd like to take on any GOP Media puppet in the world on this debate issue.

[dArKeR]

22. Karen Hughes is aWol's other Satan half. Look at Rove and every other

Repuke who would sell their mother's souls to Satan to stay in power. It has been Rove's like work to be in the position he's in. Then you look at Hughes who went through the same thing. Then after making it to be the Left Hand Man of Hitler, she quits. She says her and her husband and son "miss Texas. I'm quiting to return to Texas." Yes, right, I believe that. Something BIG happened then and it might be connected to this. If investigative reporter looked into it they'd find she and her family probably didn't spend more than 2 weeks in TX per year all along. And yes, they'd give up their free roam of the White House and every other Top Secret facility across the country. Okay, I'm an idiot Freeper so I believe this story.

[proReality]

8. Did you ever wonder...

if Miller went to jail because she was afraid she'd be killed should she ever reveal her sources?

[Catchawave]

15. I though the same thing.....

...could be she was put in jail for protection too? With hopes she's spilling her guts to investigators about this whole mess...naming lots of names, etc.

I hope !

I've seen several articles with her mentioning the fear factor.

[bunny planet]

16. If David Kelly was 'suicided' you can be pretty sure Judith is a bit

afraid for her life too. I don't think they'd dare kill her at this point though, she's too much in the news, it would be very suspicious. Most Americans don't know anything about Kelly.

[Seabiscuit]

13. Connie Francis via David Corn: "Who's Lying Now?"

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/capitalgames?bid=3&pid=6799

"Who's lying?

"That's the question to ask after both The New York Times and The Washington Post published front-page articles that reported that Karl Rove did speak to conservative columnist Bob Novak before Novak wrote an article revealing the CIA identity of Valerie Wilson and that Rove had confirmed to Novak that Valerie Wilson worked at the CIA.

.....

"The point here is to show that Rove was not peddling the information, that he had not received it from a classified source, and that he did not have reason to know that Valerie Wilson was working at the CIA under cover. Under the relevant law--the Intelligence Identities Protection Act--it is only a crime for a government official to disclose identifying information about a covert US intelligence officer if the government official received that information from a classified source and is aware that the officer is a clandestine employee of the CIA. Consequently, Rove defenders can cite the account planted in the Times and the Post and claim that he did not violate the law because he had heard about Valerie Wilson from a journalist (not a classified source) and because there is no indication he knew of her covert status.

"This might work. But, of course, it is up to special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald to determine if Rove or anyone else (remember Novak cited two sources) broke the law or engaged in perjury or obstruction of justice. And there is no telling if this account is indeed accurate. But this new disclosure does lead to an obvious conclusion: somebody has lied.

"A week after Novak wrote this column, he told Newsday that his sources came 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." Was Novak lying when said that? And before the infamous Matt Cooper email was revealed by Newsweek days ago, Rove's lawyer, Robert Luskin, told Newsweek that Rove "did not tell any reporter that Valerie Plame worked for the CIA." Now, the official pro-Rove line is that he confirmed for Novak that Valerie Wilson worked for the CIA. Was Rove's lawyer lying when he said that?"

[bunny planet]

17. From what I understand that Rove defense doesn't work with another law

called the Espionage Act. He might be indictable for that one, or perjury. Even though I'd like this to lead to higher ups than Rove, his just being fired (if that ever even happens) is not enough. He must do jail time, and not at Camp Cupcake either.

[POAS]

19. I doubt he'd ever do jail time

or at worst very little jail time. He'd almost certainly receive a Presidential pardon or have any conviction overturned by an activist conservative appeals court in Virginia.

[bunny planet]

20. Perhaps now we know why Janice Rogers Brown has been appointed to

the DC Circuit Appeals court.

[Ms. Clio]

25. I saw a clip on The Daily Show, and Rove just couldn't suppress a grin

when he was asked if he fears being convicted of a federal crime. It was one of the most infuriating things I have ever seen.

He believes he is untouchable. I hope to hell he is wrong.

[Just Me]

18. Oh, I'd place a bet on Rove as the liar, which means perjury and,...

,...obstruction of justice in addition to the conspiracy charges that appear to be developing. Very, very serious crimes at play.

There are others suggesting that Rove was used as a patsy. That doesn't really matter, though, 'cause he was still a willing participant.