The Nation "A White House Smear" claims Bushco treason over Wilson's wife!

[truthisfreedom]

In this article, The Nation's David Corn suggests that senior administration officials committed treason by revealing a deep-cover CIA operative to the public through Bob Novak, columnist. And not just any deep-cover CIA operative... one who was responsible for doing delicate undercover WMD investigations... Joseph Wilson's wife Valerie Plame. Yes, the same Wilson involved in the Niger yellowcake investigation.

http://thenation.com/capitalgames/index.mhtml?bid=3&pid=823

<snip>

The sources for Novak's assertion about Wilson's wife appear to be "two senior administration officials." If so, a pair of top Bush officials told a reporter the name of a CIA operative who apparently has worked under what's known as "nonofficial cover" and who has had the dicey and difficult mission of tracking parties trying to buy or sell weapons of mass destruction or WMD material. If Wilson's wife is such a person--and the CIA is unlikely to have many employees like her--her career has been destroyed by the Bush administration. (Assuming she did not tell friends and family about her real job, these Bush officials have also damaged her personal life.) Without acknowledging whether she is a deep-cover CIA employee, Wilson says, "Naming her this way would have compromised every operation, every relationship, every network with which she had been associated in her entire career. This is the stuff of Kim Philby and Aldrich Ames." If she is not a CIA employee and Novak is reporting accurately, then the White House has wrongly branded a woman known to friends as an energy analyst for a private firm as a CIA officer. That would not likely do her much good.



This is not only a possible breach of national security; it is a potential violation of law. Under the Intelligence Identities Protection Act of 1982, it is a crime for anyone who has access to classified information to disclose intentionally information identifying a covert agent. The punishment for such an offense is a fine of up to $50,000 and/or up to ten years in prison. Journalists are protected from prosecution, unless they engage in a "pattern of activities" to name agents in order to impair US intelligence activities. So Novak need not worry.

<snip>

[Cha]

1. That is "treason",,,,once again they overplayed their hand,

to put it mildly. To put it not so mildly; they have committed treason when trying to punish someone.

[clarkbarr]

99. Can't be treason--no stained blue dress

AND

Note how the Press Whores are TOTALLY SILENT!

[yorgatron]

2. wow! if you thought the spooks were p.o.ed BEFORE

think how they must feel now.they're the ones blowing this shit wide open...

[Ediacara]

4. Well, only Bush

would think that making the CIA an enemy would be a good idea...

[htuttle]

7. If the CIA gets pissed off enough

Maybe we'll find out all sorts of things before Bush is out of power!

Who killed the Kennedys?
Do UFO's really exist?
Who made Steve Gutenberg a star?

[CafeToad]

79. I'm betting it's the Stonecutter's

Here's what they've already confessed to, cut to a Stonecutter's secret meeting:

At the next meeting, everyone raises their glasses and sings.

Everyone: Who controls the British crown?
Who keeps the metric system down?
We do! We do.
Who leaves the Atlantis off the maps?
Who keeps the Martians under wraps?
We do! We do.
Who holds back the electric car?
Who makes Steve Guttenberg a star?
We do! We do.
Who robs cave fish of their sight?
Who rigs every Oscar night?
We do! We do.
-- The Stonecutters' call to order, "Homer the Great"

Number One thanks everyone for the rousing chorus.

So really, they've already confessed to the UFO & Stev Guttenberg thing, but the Kennedy assassination(s) would be nice to clear up . . .

[Walt Starr]

3. HOLY FUCKING SHIT HITTING THE FAN!!!

THIS IS HUGE!!!!!

High Treason in the White House and there may be a smoking gun!!!!

If Wilson's wife is, indeed, a CIA operative, then there can be no doubt. Somebody in the White House committed HIGH TREASON.

Under current law, that carries a maximum penalty of DEATH!

Only if Cheney or Bush committed this crime directly could they not be subject to that penalty, impeachment being the highest penalty either could pay.

[Ediacara]

6. I'd imagine

they could still be prosecuted after impeached, and removed. I have a feeling that Hastert would pardon them, a la Ford/Nixon.

[Sushi_lover]

8. If Bush or Cheney TOLD a staffer to leak it, then

does that mean she's committing treason by following orders?

(Oops. I should not have prejudiced you with that pronoun. Of course I don't think it's Condoleeza who leaked it. :)

[Walt Starr]

12. Yes, in fact, s/he WOULD be committing treason

And if an appointed official, would be subject to trial, conviction,a dn the penalty of death.

[IndianaGreen]

41. I don't know about treason, but it is a serious security breach

and one that demands a FISA warrant to seek the culprits. They could find themselves prosecuted under the Espionage Act.

I suspect Dick Cheney is behind this!

[colorado_ufo]

57. This is during wartime, which exacerbates the crime

unless, of course, you buy into the crap that Bush has declared major hostilities over.

[Norbert]

62. This was never a declared war by congress.

The neo-cons were shut-up about Sean Penn visiting Iraq is because he did not do it during a declared war.

This is a very serious security breach bordering on treason and this is what worries me. The White House squatters will stop at absolutely nothing to futther their agenda.

I only hope this pisses off the the CIA (for the second time in a week I might add) and there is a backlash by the agency.

[TankLV]

66. It's a "war" only if it suits your cynical political purposes,

like illegally imprisoning amerikan citizens in gitmo, etc.

It's NOT a "war" if you wish to not be responsible for war crimes committed during war.

It's a neat "on-off" switch that the bushies have discovered!

Criticize the pretzeldent - "on" - your a traitor.

Fabricate evidence/lie causing innocents and amerikan soldiers to die for political reasons - "off" - it's not a "war" or it's "over" - you're not responsible.

[TahitiNut]

59. For once I agree with the caps and !'s.

We're getting out of the Bush*League and starting to touch the deep-seated corruption in this fascist cabal. No wonder the Secret Service has retention problems in this putrid madministration.

What'll happen if the motive is found to be an attempt to muzzle Wilson on Niger?? What else did he find out?? What else does he know?

[Sushi_lover]

5. Oh man. If the White House exposed an operative, the are in deep shiat

The CIA would bring them down. Leaks of the truth. They'd hate the Bushies as much as I do.

[nadinbrzezinski]

9. The CIA will

count on it.

This is just getting started...

oh boy...

[kysrsoze]

34. I really want to know. Does the CIA really hate Bush?

After all... Bush Sr. headed the CIA? I haven't seen anything come out in the last couple of days. It looks like it's going to take some time before somebody comes forward. I hope they grow some nuts and decide to really do something this time.

[Sushi_lover]

36. I imagine there are factions in the CIA

I don't think it's vanilla loyalty to the truth. Or vanilla loyalty to the Bush Family either.

What I think is that the CIA approval of the president varies according to his performance and how he treats them. I imagine with the scapegoating of their director, the pressure the White House exerted for the CIA to generate trumped up "intelligence", and now this treasonous uncloaking of an agent, CIA approval of the president is falling.

Some factions might decide a little payback is in order. That's what I think.

[kysrsoze]

40. You have a point

I imagine it's just a matter of time before more people come forward. Imagine that kind of peer pressure. However, Tenet kept stating he couldn't claim names b/c that's classified information. He knows they can de-classify it. Let's all pray together that the 3 supreme court justices do not retire. I think it will take some time, but it will happen.

[BiggJawn]

42. "Payback"????? Like, perhaps, the ULTIMATE "payback"?

Like JFK got for fucking with the "Bay of Pigs" operation?
:tinfoilhat:

[indictrichardperle]

51. i dont think Junior is relevant

indirectly of course, but not directly.

Cheney is running things, he leads the neo-cons. Dimson doesnt have a clue.

The CIA, and alot of Poppys crowd are at odds with Cheney and the neo-cons.

Unfortunately, * is really a dim witted puppet. The people making all the bad PNAC policy are led by Cheney.

[Sushi_lover]

64. I agree with that

If the CIA wanted Cheney out, they'd still be stuck with a President too chickenshit to stand up to the PNAC crowd.

The faction that doesn't like the way things are going will go after Bush, not Cheney. Their aim is not impeachment, it is Election 2004.

[grytpype]

45. I think Bush Sr. is behind this whole turn of events.

He realized he created a monster and wants Barb to have a retroactive abortion.

[DBoon]

49. Grow nuts?

Why? Aren't there enough nuts already in this administration?

[berry]

39. It has occurred to me that the only way that these creeps would not be

committing treason by naming her as a CIA employee would be if it were a lie and she isn't connected to the CIA. It would hurt her, no matter what, because there's no proving, definitively, that she isn't. And they would be guilty of...what? Slander/libel (I get them confused)--she would have to sue them? it's not even a crime, is it?

The thing is, Wilson, by refusing to talk about his wife, did not exactly deny it. And so, I don't know. But if Bushco* had been really smart about this, they wouldn't have told the truth, but an impossible to disprove lie.

Is my logic wrong on this?? (Since the personal damage has already been done to Mrs. Wilson, I HOPE this is as damning as it appears. But I couldn't help wondering if there was something we were missing....)

[northzax]

81. he can't deny it

He was an Ambassador. He knows the rules, you never confirm or deny the identity of an intelligence agent.

[The Magistrate]

10. Mr. Corn Does Not Exaggerate

Naming this person does indeed put at risk extablished intelligence assets, by enabling other powers to back-track through her activities and form reasonable assestments of who cooperated with her, and what she might have learned.

It is a sign of the desperation the criminals of the '00 Coup must be feeling, as their program of lies begins to blow up in their faces, and in the venue where thay felt most secure.

[indictrichardperle]

13. We live in interesting times

WOW......i agree, the WH just slapped a hornets nest.

Now who were the "two high ranking white house officials" ??????? Scooter Libby, and ? Condi ? Dont worry, im sure the CIA knows.......this should be investigated in congress.

[truthisfreedom]

17. Novak would know! Subpoena him! 8^)

could be that's how it will be revealed.

[RainDog]

46. Would Novack go to jail to protect his sources?

as a reporter, that's also possible.

however, since he was opposed to the invasion of Iraq, I can't quite imagine that happening.

[truthisfreedom]

50. hahaha! he could resist to the bitter end, and then give up... beaten...

sorrowfully spilling his guts. or, he could agree that it was treasonous, and simply reveal the names to a grand jury. either way, his core audience isn't going to give a rat's ass. they'll love him for all of it. 8^)

[northzax]

82. well this is interesting

technically, Novak and Time aided and abetted treason by publishing this information. That is also a capital offense. Is Bob wiling to die for his sources?

[ewagner]

52. WH Official =

I'm placing my money on Karen Hughes....who gets called in from TX from time to time to bail his sorry ass out..........

Who's your money on?

[Davis_X_Machina]

43. Glad to see you restored...

...to what I pray is robust good health, Sir.

[Rhiannon12866]

61. I agree!

He has certainly been missed. I just hope that the latest lies and deceptions from BushCo don't tax him too much. Things were bad before, but this is really over the top.:mad:

Like your sig line, BTW. That is probably my favorite in all of Shakespeare.:-)

[oregonjen]

11. Not to sound completely stupid but...

Why would they do that? To get back at Wilson for telling the truth about what he knew regarding Niger? What are their motives?

[truthisfreedom]

14. Why reveal her? Wilson seems to hint at something with his statement:

"This is the stuff of Kim Philby and Aldrich Ames."

[tinnypriv]

15. Read the article

Scare other whistleblowers?

[mbperrin]

18. Yep, simple vindictive, petty

payback!

These Bush guys are a lot like high school, except they sit on the largest military machine ever assembled, and they don't have to worry about the principal - he's in their gang!

[priller]

30. Exactly! Revenge

If you've ever read anything about the Shrub, you'll know that he never forgets a slight (whether real or simply perceived) and he *always* hits back at those he feels has harmed him. ALWAYS. This is Shrub's standard MO.

[Lisa]

37. and he's even indulged in "pre-emptive retaliation"!

Various people who hadn't even published/released anything yet, e.g. Bill Minutaglio and Alexandra Pelosi, found themselves threatened, ridiculed, or frozen out by Bush and his associates, presumably to give them a taste of what would happen if they really did dish some dirt on him.

[Kenneth ken]

19. read the article please

It's always best, if you have a question about an article, to read the article. It might provide the answer to your question! what-a-concept eh!


from the article: ". . . in order to strike at a Bush administration critic and intimidate others? "

[JoFerret]

16. "a thuggish act"

.

[indictrichardperle]

22. when i hear the word "thug"

one is immediately reminded of a bald, sneering gentleman, who hides in a bunker.

This was a DUMB move. One thing about the CIA, they can get a news story in the paper, .....lots of friends in the rolodex......look for some block buster leaks coming soon.....

[w4rma]

20. Time Magazine picked it up!

A War On Wilson?
* Inside the Bush Administration's feud with the diplomat who poured cold water on the Iraq-uranium connection *

Has the Bush Administration declared war on a former ambassador who conducted a fact-finding mission to probe possible Iraqi interest in African uranium? Former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson raised the Administration's ire with an op-ed piece in The New York Times on July 6 charging that the Administration had "twisted" intelligence to "exaggerate" the Iraqi threat. Since then Administration officials have taken public and private whacks at Wilson, charging that his 2002 report, made at the behest of U.S. intelligence, was faulty and that his mission was a scheme cooked up by mid-level operatives. Some government officials, noting that Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame, is a CIA official who monitors the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, intimate that she was involved in his being dispatched Niger to investigate reports that Saddam Hussein's government had sought to purchase large quantities of uranium ore, sometimes referred to as yellow cake, for the purposes of building nuclear devices.
...
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,465137,00.html
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=18113&mesg_id=18113&page=

[truthisfreedom]

23. could it be that they are somehow setting her up for the Niger letter?

can anyone figure how they could have something to GAIN from this? besides the damage they are doing to Wilson? remember the damage they did by revealing Scott Ritter's previous run-in with the law over meeting a 16-year-old via the internet... although the charges had been dropped. and they did it right when he was at his most shrill over the buildup to the Iraq war. now what? what could they be planning for the big smear for Wilson's wife?

[hang a left]

31. there is some motivation for this

connecting her to the forgery doesn't make sense

[sham]

53. one thing troubles me about the TIME article...

They mention the "outing" of Wilson's wife almost as an afterthought. This is all they say:
"Some government officials, noting that Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame, is a CIA official who monitors the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, intimate that she was involved in his being dispatched Niger to investigate reports that Saddam Hussein's government had sought to purchase large quantities of uranium ore, sometimes referred to as yellow cake, for the purposes of building nuclear devices."

That's it. No mention whatsoever of this leak being treasonous, felonious, or otherwise dodgy. It's as if it is routine for senior WH officials to name CIA operatives.
Is it just because this is the first appearance of this story in the mainstream media, and others will pick up on this later? The way I see it, this is big, HUGE, but Time just brushes it off. What gives?

[lanlady]

21. more here from Time mag:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=18113&mesg_id=18113&page=

Leaking to the press that someone is a covert CIA operative? Unbelievable. And it's the White House revealing this? I'm f***ing speechless! This is so totally beyond the pale.... a sign of total disintegration.... this administration is going down.

[Sushi_lover]

24. TIME acts as if it was already known that she was an operative.

What gives?

[indictrichardperle]

25. well its out there now

ruined her career, and possibly her personal life.

The neo-cons just slapped a hornets nest, this is going to get ugly.

[Sushi_lover]

27. Websearch on Valerie Plame only reveals this scandal

It does not appear to have been common knowledge that she was CIA.

[KoKo]

28. Sushi.....you forgot the link.......could you please post what you found?

In your Google search?

[Sushi_lover]

29. Search terms were "Valerie Plame" and CIA

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22Valerie+Plame%22+CIA

It looks like the only time she is linked to the CIA is when this scandal is mentioned.

[colorado_ufo]

58. It could well put her life in danger.

This is a typical administration show of control, a power play. Remember how we had all better "watch what we say" and do? There is also no more effective, and slicker, way of getting back at Wilson than to attack his wife.

[Vitruvius]

93. And it could endanger the life of any foreigner who

had anything to do with her. Whether or not she actually recruited them.

But Bu$h & co don't care how many people they hurt -- or get killed. Because they're sociopaths.

[hang a left]

26. I'm sure Ms. Wilson

would make a very interesting witness during the up and coming open congressional hearings.

ps there is probably gonna be alot of suicides and single car freak accidents in and around washington

[frylock]

33. damn.. i was thinking the same thing..

they're due to pull a J. Clifford Baxter on some poor sap!!

[hang a left]

32. I just read Novak's

article. It is very interesting how these sources are stating that Ms. Wilson is the one who recommended that her husband be sent Niger and that she be the one to contact him. There is something here, brainstorming right now

[kysrsoze]

35. They'll probably claim he was covering it up....

I know what you mean. This is shit. Just wait to Britain comes down on evidence. That will nullify this. It's funny b/c I keep thinking there's got to be a way for them to get out of this, but it's not going to happen. It will take awhile, but we get to watch this adminstration self-destruct right before our eyes. I pray for the new WH spokesperson.

[Athame]

38. This is a book I can't put down! n/t

.

[RainDog]

44. didn't people predict Rove would try to discredit Wilson?

I seem to remember last week that people on this board commented that Wilson would be a target.

They already tried, it seems, with the fake agent "wilkinson" and the libertarian guy.

now this.

My guess is that they're going to try to divide the CIA and will find some "shocking" info to say Tenet has been trying to undermine them, and Wilson's wife is part of that.

If that's what they want to say, however, they are asking for a HUGE investigation.

I think they ultimately don't want that, so maybe they're just doing a "whispering campaign" to discredit Wilson's testimony.

Oh man oh man I want to see these thugs in shackles.

[grytpype]

47. If's he outed a CIA agent, this is very, very bad.

Very big trouble for the adminstration now. Once the press stopped protecting them, they went completely to pieces.

[grytpype]

48. This would make a great Krugman column. HINT HINT

[tinnypriv]

83. Is Krugman watching??

LOL :D

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/22/opinion/22KRUG.html?hp

[oldcoot]

54. Endangering others

My husband brought up an interesting point. Novak and the Bush administration may have endangered the lives of those foreigners who had contact with Plame. Their government(s) may assume that she tried to recruit them to spy for the CIA.

[Chomskyite]

56. More than that

I would imagine the Bushies endangered the lives of Plame and Wilson too with this disclosure. There'll be a lot of people who are none-too-happy with being counted as CIA assets when they may not have intended to be used that way.

[JohnOneillsMemory]

55. Didn't one of the multi-star generals who bumped heads with Rumsfeld

get smeared about a month before he resigned by being accused of allowing his wife to see classified materiels? And maverick FBI deputy director/Osama bin Laden hunter John Oneill had his briefcase temporarily lifted at a spook conference thereby 'discrediting' him?
These tactics seem to point to the truth-tellers and whistle-blowers. How fucking convenient!! They smeared-We cheered!

[ChillEB]

63. I remember that...

I think it was Tommy Franks, actually...

[Rhiannon12866]

60. I just sent this appalling story to a friend earlier tonight

He is a big fan of David Corn.

What in hell are these people playing at?! This is really goes way too far. I truly hope that this is the rope that will hang these liars and manipulators!:grr:

[Dudley_DUright]

65. Good analysis of the situation at this blog

(covering many of the same points made here):

http://markarkleiman.blogspot.com/2003_07_01_markarkleiman_archive.html#105842569188142684

[chiburb]

68. A snip:

From that blog:

Lengthy, confusing, but IF this IS treason, remember where you read it 1st:

Unless this gets shot down soon, it calls for both Congressional hearings and a special prosecutor. And if it's true, and Bush doesn't fire those involved, and if, under those circumstances, George Tenet doesn't resign in protest, then he more than deserves the humiliation the Bushies have put him through.

Note that nothing in the story tends to discredit Wilson or the evidence he brought back. If the Administration, in the persons of not one but two Deputy Secretaries or the equivalent, did this to him and his wife, it was an act of mere revenge, and of course a warning to others not to incur the Wrath of Rove in the future.

The Yellowcake Road story was fairly damning, and the bungled cover-up was more damning, but mostly as a synecdoche of this administration's rather post-modern approach to the difference between truth and falsehood.

But this latest -- if true, which we, or at least I, don't know -- would involve a completely different magnitude of villainy. Deliberately outing one of your own spies as an act of political revenge would be a truly unforgivable deed, and one that wouldn't become any more forgivable if tomorrow MI5 produced an invoice for 300 tons of yellowcake with Saddam Hussein's signature and thumbprint on it as the recipient.

[Rhiannon12866]

71. I certainly agree with you

but they have lied so many times before and somehow gotten away with it. Have we forgotten that we launched this unprovoked attack because Saddam had huge stckpiles of WMDs and constituted an imminent threat to the U.S. and his neighbors? What's happening with that? I agree that this takes their degree of villainy to an entirely new level and I just hope that the press keeps after this story. Most of the American public actually believes that WMDs were found and the rest think it was worth removing Saddam to ``liberate'' the Iraqi people. How many do you think are following the intricacies of this more complex story?:shrug:

[RainDog]

72. This is beyond "public perception"

if this story is true, and it certainly seems to be at this time, this will bring down the Bush White House.

This is beyond politics as usual.

Our nation cannot allow this to occur and maintain our relations with any other nations with whom we share intelligence.

and in that case, how are we supposed to fight the threat of terrorism?

I don't know exactly what is going on right now, except to say that the Bush junta has declared war on the world and people of this nation, and now the CIA.

theirs is a raw grab for power and that they would do this to Wilson's wife, as I mentioned before, makes me think it is also possible that they knew about 9-11 and let it happen.

in other words, they are a danger to this country beyond what anyone could have imagined.

[oldcoot]

69. Interesting

I wonder if the administration will try to claim that Novak made the story up to get out of this mess.

[chiburb]

70. Novak is an old coot...

(Sorry, couldn't resist :-) )

And knows where too many bodies are buried for that to happen.
No way they hang him, he'll name names...

[Fovea]

67. i said it before, I will say it again

The White House definately has its PNAC caught in a wringer!

[MGKrebs]

73. It occurs to me that now they will "leak"

that she was a contributor to ...gasp...Democrats, and that therefore this was all politically motivated.

A classic "non-denial denial" in that they will not addres the actual issue, just create doubt in everyone's mind.

I, however, do not think it will work. Oh, it may work to create doubt about THIS issue, but I suspect Wilson and whoever he is close to are fully capable of fighting this kind of battle.

[Rhiannon12866]

89. Joseph Wilson is a registered Democrat

However, he was on Jon Stewart's show and produced a letter, signed by Cheney (or rather signed with Cheney's signature stamp) inviting him to a Bush* 2004 fundraiser to the tune of $1000! Stewart thought it was hilarious. What are these people thinking?:crazy:

You are right, Wilson has been around the block and they were really stupid to take him on. Before, he was angry, now he's furious!:grr:

[WillyT]

74. Kick !!!

:kick:

[goforit]

75. Bob Novac, .....For the first time I can say, "Ya did good!!"

I will be saying prayers for the Wilson family....
May they be protected and be allowed to divulge their information.

I will be saying prayers for all the honorable men/women in the CIA.
I am truely thankful and appreciative of the huge challange that stands before them.

Stand strong and unified!!!

And with God's speed!!!

[Rhiannon12866]

76. CNN reported this story tonight

on Aaron Brown's ``Newsnight.'' (A steal from BBC's Greg Palast?) He interviewed Matthew Cooper who reported this story for TIME Magazine. Aaron Brown said, ``it was a bit petty about the wife.'' HUH? Is he reporting about the same story that we have been discussing here?! If she does indeed work for the CIA, this is major for ``the wife.'' It blows her credibility and her career. It could also put her in imminent danger. The Bush* administration should understand this as it was one of their main reasons for an unprovoked strike on Iraq; we were in imminent danger from their WMDs. What are these people playing at?! It will be important to see how this plays out, but I cannot see anything good coming from it. Joseph Wilson has ruined his credibility with them by debunking the Bush* administration's lies. All bets are off, now. I just hope that the press doesn't let up on this story as it's the only hope the truth will come out, eventually.:grr:

[VolcanoJen]

77. Kick!

:dem:

[berry]

80. Here's a link to today's locked thread on this story.

It has a link to newsday and a few posts. (Mine just listed a few other places the story had come out today. Including Jim McDermott on the floor of the House at about 9:30 a.m.--in case you want to check the Cong Record.)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=27410&mesg_id=27410&page=

This story is going to be coming up daily now for a while. Will everything be added to this thread, then?

[Rhiannon12866]

90. Here's the link to the Newsday story from that thread:

That is pretty damning and no one should miss it:

Columnist Blows CIA Agent's Cover
http://www.newsday.com/news/printedition/ny-uscia223383072jul22,0,2375457.story?coll=ny-news-print

[kentuck]

78. kick ! Who are the "senior Admin officials"?

I think this story needs to stay at the top for a bit...Is Karl Rove behind the leak to Novak? Obviously, it would be someone with the knowledge. Not everyone in the WH would have access to that info, I doubt. So it is maybe someone in State or Defense Dept? Someone like Richard Boucher, the spokesman for one or the other of those depts?? The media is very hesitant about taking on Novak, one of their own, for some reason or another? Could be he could make it difficult for anyone that makes it difficult for him?

[Rhiannon12866]

87. Kick!

:kick:

[Patriot_Spear]

84. 17 US Intelligence Operatives- captured, tortured and executed

When Aldrich Ames gave them up to the Soviet Union- many of the captures were filmed by the KGB.

Bush would do well to remember the Matrokin Lesson: There is nothing more dangerous than an angry, vengeful Intelligence functionary.

[madmax]

85. I bet this goes nowhere

Enjoyed reading all your posts but have been let down so many times before when 'it' seems like a major league screw up with dire consequences. Nada..zip...no media, no investigations, no special prosecutor. I think our country is at the point of no return.

Tell me again it ain't so. :(

[Bucky__Badger]

86. the Boosh admin. and media whores are spinning as hard as they can...

but lately things have been getting away from them.

Boosh had a longer honeymoon than normal, but it may finally be ending. We're still fed a diet of Kobe Bryant, Jessica Lynch, conjoined twins, etc... but the cracks in the wall are thick enough for more than a trickle now.

There are still many who will not be swayed. Take my mother-in-law for example... "If Clinton hadn't made our military so weak there wouldn't have been any 9/11 and we wouldn't have had to deal with Iraq and Afghanistan." She's voting for Boosh no matter what. It's Joe Average who just lost his pension, or worse has no job, who will turn on *.

The bastard may still win in 2004, but then again he may not. We've got to hope stories like this keep it close.... then we've got a shot.

[Rhiannon12866]

88. I agree and this makes me very sad

and more than a little bit angry. What does it take?:shrug:

[jamesinca]

91. I bet IF anything happens it will be a 50K fine.

That will be picked up by an anounymous donor (BFEE). Nothing will happen to these people. I think Bush is feeling pretty confident that the fix is in so he can do what he wants, have a 0% approval rating and still win the election. Got to love those voting machines.

[NYC]

92. Someone ought to start a Part Two to this thread.

It is getting rather long, and the story is not over.

[imax2268]

94. I found this interesting...

Whoever, having or having had authorized access to classified information that identifies a covert agent, intentionally discloses any information identifying such covert agent to any individual not authorized to receive classified information, knowing that the information disclosed so identifies such covert agent and that the United States is taking affirmative measures to conceal such covert agent's intelligence relationship to the United States, shall be fined not more than $50,000 or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.
- 50 U.S.C. section 421(a)

[Rhiannon12866]

96. Thank you for posting this

It is going to be important to remember for future reference. Someone now needs to ``out'' exactly which ``senior administration officials'' are responsible!:mad:

BTW, I love your avatar! I share your sentiments. There is a guy in my town who is still standing in the middle of downtown, holding up his ``support the troops'' sign and exhorting passing cars to honk. Maybe I should suggest that he add the second line to his sign!:D

[0007]

95. Thank you David Corn

I love ya!

Look at who owns the media. Look at the people that have their hand in our pocket. Take a good hard look at the Carlyle Group and the folks who run it, and then try to tell me that this administration has honesty, intergity, and a direct line to God!!

[young_at_heart]

97. THIS cannot be swept under the rug

If our elected representatives don't check into this we'll know that democracy is dead!

[Malva Zebrina]

98. I don't suppose it has occurred to anyone

that Bush can do whatever he wants, whenever he wants, to whomever he wants and he will get away with it. I know journalists have to write something--and they all will and it will be promptly sent down the memory hole, so efficient is this fascist regime--where has the outrage gone over Bush lying and then charging in to kill thousands of civilians in Iraq?--utter devastatio of human life that was not necessary? According to the headlines, for hours now. and through out most of the day, we are hot on the trail of Saddam--getchar pop corn out--when did the hunt for the WMD turn into the hunt for Saddam? Obviously this is a personal vendetta--he tried to kill mah daddy--and Bush thinks that will get Americans to love him like they would love Mother Teresa--maybe they will if we are treated to a battered, bruised face with a mustache that has been alerted by a mortician to resemble him.

There is no pride in me anymore for this country of my birth--I am utterly and thoroughly ashamed of it--

[gulliver]

100. It was brought up on Face the Nation

Sen. Pat Roberts (R) said he is very concerned about it and that it would be a crime. They are investigating and checking with the CIA to determine whether the matter should be forwarded to the Justice Dept. It's major.

[Walt Starr]

101. Robert Novak also committed treason

He should be arrested. If he does not give up his sources, he should be tried for treason and the death penalty should be sought. Stop playing softball. A journalist does not have the right to participate in treason under the auspices of journalistic integrity. If I were to prosecute the bastard, I would make only one deal, "Give up the senior white house officials who committed treason by feeding you this information and we only go after life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, otherwise, we're going for the death penalty, Mr. Novak."

Whoever fed this information to Mr. Novak should face the death penalty. Nothing short of the death penalty would be acceptable. This is high treason on a worse scale than selling the Russians nuclear secrets. This case of treason has damaged our ability to keep nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons out of the hands of terrorists.

I will go so far as to state categorically, this is the single most damaging case of treason in American history. These two as yet unnamed senior white house officials make Benedict Arnold seem like a choir b oy by comparison. Every last citizen of the United States has been put in danger of being killed by terrorist WMDs and have damaged our ability to ever track terrorist WMDs again. The only thing that makes this worse is the fact that this case of treason was not for monetary gain or ideological factors. It was committed for nothing more than petty, jealous, and vindictive revenge. The two white house officials who committed this heinous act do not deserve the label of "human being." They are beneath contempt.

[Rhiannon12866]

102. I agree with you 100%,

but was distracted from reading all you said by your awesome flying dragon! How did you do that?

Anyway, yes, this is treason. Bob Novak is culpable, but, more so, the ``senior administration officials'' who leaked this information. Novak was in search of a story, the White House was looking for retribution. And this is very stupid because it was Cheney who sent Joseph Wilson on this errand to begin with!

It is not so much U.S. citizens who are placed in danger, but, rather, Joseph Wilson's wife's contacts. They are easily expendable, because they are foreign and won't raise a fuss. These are unconscionable actions and I truly hope we hear more on this. I have read what Joseph Wilson has had to say and seen him in the media. He is now mad as hell and I think they were foolhardy to cross him.