Ambassador Says White House Adviser Told Press His Wife Was ‘Fair Game’

[NNN0LHI]

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/nightline/US/CIAleak031001.html

Oct. 1— The former ambassador who accused the White House of leaking the identity of his CIA officer wife to the press says Washington reporters told him that senior White House adviser Karl Rove said his wife was "fair game."

The ambassador, Joseph Wilson, said he plans to give the names of the reporters to the FBI, which is conducting a full-blown investigation of the possible leak.

"I will be revealing the names of everybody who called me and cited White House sources or cited people specifically," Wilson said in an interview with Nightline's Ted Koppel.

Revealing a CIA officer's identity is a felony — but only if the person who leaked it did so knowing that the officer was undercover.

Wilson has said he believes his wife's identity was revealed in an attempt to punish him for accusing the administration of manipulating intelligence to exaggerate the threat from Iraq.

more

[Beetwasher]

1. BAM!

"The ambassador, Joseph Wilson, said he plans to give the names of the reporters to the FBI, which is conducting a full-blown investigation of the possible leak.

"I will be revealing the names of everybody who called me and cited White House sources or cited people specifically," Wilson said in an interview with Nightline's Ted Koppel."

Whoop! There it is...

[phillybri]

2. Now we're talking....

Stay off small planes, Mr. Wilson!!!

[Selwynn]

3. Remeber my words

..Nothing is going to come of this.

Remember that I said that when nothing comes of this. I am not happy that nothing will come of it. But I believe that very little if anything will come of this. In fact, I expect media attention to die down to next to nothing by Monday.

I will be happy as a clam if I need to post back in there and say that I was wrong! :D

[jono]

7. I think your assessment is wrong

because this is not simply about partisan politics. This is a very serious legal matter, and while the media attention may die down for a while, I don't think this story is going to get buried like all the rest.

But we're both hoping you're wrong about this anyway. :)

[Caution]

8. This isnt really the point

as far as I am concerned. Yes I would love to see Rove "frog-marched" out of the White House, but the point here is that each of these scandals alone isn't necessarily enough to take down the Bush administration, but each one undermines his support base, each one provides ammunition in the upcoming election. Regardless of the findings of the Justice department, when the national debates arrive and Dem Candidate says: "So please Mr Bush, could you explain to the American Public why your white house was investigate by the FBI over a matter of clear national security" and then watching that idiot who calls himself President attempt to explain it.

These things matter and the longer they are in public the better we are. remember the public only sees the headlines. six months from now, they will say "yeh i remember seeing that in the paper...what happened?" and then bush shows himself for the fool he is and it has an impact.

[monkeyboy]

10. Normally, I would agree with you, but...

...the CIA is pissed. Would you want the CIA pissed at you?

[sybylla]

16. This is my thinking too.

One of at least two attempts to hurt the CIA. This one took down one of their own. They are going to make sure it won't happen again, the way I see it. Nothing partisan about it.

[HereSince1628]

17. There are old CIA critics, and bold CIA critics but no OLD BOLD critics

for some reason ...:tinfoilhat:

[GOPFighter]

12. Sadly, I agree...

This is just one more example of 1) the Bush Administration's hardball tactics, ands 2) the presses total lack of response and responsibility. Novak wrote his column 10 weeks ago and the press is just now beginning to make noise about it. Bush's people will stonewall and stonewall until this blows over. Still, this will probably convince a few more Americans that this Administration must be voted out in 2004.

[Emboldened Chimp]

4. Sounds like Wilson's turning up the pressure!

Go Joe!

The press corps asked Lil' Scottie numerous times about this during today's duck-and-cover. Naturally, he didn't give a straight answer. But they sure hammered him.

[jono]

5. Yeah!

I caught the tail end of the Nightline interview. He was very diplomatic, but made it clear that he wants to see justice served!

:bounce:

[GainesT1958]

6. Ahhh, at last, the good Ambasador Wilson speaks...

One can just hear that guillotine blade being sharpened...
And so, let the "Chips" fall where they may! :eyes:

B-)

[lumpy]

9. Rove fits the profile for leaking

During his presidency George Sr. fired Rove for the same offense, divulging CIA classified info. Junior has gathered all the available political 'rotters' to do his dirty work. List of 'rotters':
Elliot Abrams
John Poindexter
Richard Armitage
Paul Wolfowitz
Richard Cheney
John Ashcroft
Donald Rumsfeld
Carl Rove
Michael Ladeen
Richard Perle
Bill Crystal
James Woolsey
? Feith
? Goldberg and more.

[RandomKoolzip]

13. Oh No! Billy Crystal works for Bush?!

I'll never be able to watch "City Slickers 2" in the same way again!

I think you meant William Kristol.....

[CO Liberal]

11. Ambassador Wilson Needs To Stay Off Airplanes.......

:tinfoilhat:

[foo_bar]

14. like the one that killed JFK?

[RandomKoolzip]

15. JFK was killed by an airplane?

Link, please.

[htuttle]

18. Junior

JFK Jr.

[Malva Zebrina]

19. Sadly no one will be charged here

that is my gut intuition. If Bush, Powell, Cheney, and Rice can get away with the multitudes of egregious lies they have told re the invasion and the subsequent murder of thousands of innocent Iraqi people, as well as some three hundred of our soldiers, why would anyone think that this issue, which already is proving to be obfuscated and confused (on purpose no doubt) will be harmful or hurtful to Bush? No way--sorry to be so negative--I hope I would be wrong, but it looks as though it is just another horrible Bush vengeful and hurtful act that the Bush administration will get away with when they should be thrown the hell out of the White House for treason to the American people. Who would challenge it--The reputation for vengeance has already intimidated anyone who would dare to speak the truth--look what happened to Valery--that could happen to any and everyone who would dare expose this evil Bush cabal.

That's the Bush bully bat that is hanging over the heads of those who are likewise horrified at Bush but who do not dare to speak out against him.

[ScrewyRabbit]

21. Even if no one goes down

it's still good if this story stays hot for as long as an investigation is underway. The American public might actually start to connect a few dots of their own: revenge tactics -> Wilson points out lies -> 16 words -> real reasons for invasion -> PNAC...

[Stephanie]

25. Connect the Dots, America!

We have only just BEGUN to investigate the Bush/Cheney scandals!

From a July DU thread:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,92372,00.html
Cheney Energy Task Force Documents Detail Iraqi Oil Industry
Friday, July 18, 2003

WASHINGTON — Vice President Dick Cheney's energy task force appeared to have some interest in early 2001 in Iraq's oil industry, including which foreign companies were pursuing business there, according to documents released Friday by a private watchdog group.

Judicial Watch (search), a conservative legal group, obtained a batch of task force-related Commerce Department papers that included a detailed map of Iraq's oil fields, terminals and pipelines as well as a list entitled "Foreign Suitors of Iraqi Oilfield Contracts."

The papers also included a detailed map of oil fields and pipelines in Saudi Arabia and in the United Arab Emirates and a list of oil and gas development projects in those two countries.

The papers were dated early March 2001, about two months before the Cheney energy task force completed and announced its report on the administration's energy needs and future energy agenda.<more>



http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,999737,00.html
The spies who pushed for war
Julian Borger reports on the shadow rightwing intelligence network set up in Washington to second-guess the CIA and deliver a justification for toppling Saddam Hussein by force
Thursday July 17, 2003
The Guardian

As the CIA director, George Tenet, arrived at the Senate yesterday to give secret testimony on the Niger uranium affair, it was becoming increasingly clear in Washington that the scandal was only a small, well-documented symptom of a complete breakdown in US intelligence that helped steer America into war.

It represents the Bush administration's second catastrophic intelligence failure. But the CIA and FBI's inability to prevent the September 11 attacks was largely due to internal institutional weaknesses.

This time the implications are far more damaging for the White House, which stands accused of politicising and contaminating its own source of intelligence.

According to former Bush officials, all defence and intelligence sources, senior administration figures created a shadow agency of Pentagon analysts staffed mainly by ideological amateurs to compete with the CIA and its military counterpart, the Defence Intelligence Agency. <more>



http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1004773,00.html
Don't blame September 11 on spy failures, says report
Gary Younge in New York
Thursday July 24, 2003
The Guardian

Nothing could have been done to stop the terrorist attacks on September 11 even though an FBI informant had contact with two of the suicide hijackers a year before they were carried out, according to a congressional report into intelligence lapses preceding the destruction of the twin towers, to be published today.

But despite objections from some senators a crucial 28 pages of the 900-page report, which criticises Saudi Arabia for its lack of interest in clamping down on Islamist extremists, has been removed from the final document.

Saudi Arabia was home to 15 of the 19 hijackers yet remains a close and important ally of America in the region. The omission of criticism of Saudi Arabia was condemned by the Democratic senator and presidential hopeful, Bob Graham, a former chairman of the joint house and Senate intelligence committee.

"I start from the premise that in a democracy, the people should know as much as the government knows unless there is a very compelling case that the information threatens American security interests," he said. <more>



http://www.nynewsday.com/news/ny-uscia0722,0,2289800.story?coll=nyc-topnews-short-navigation
Columnist Names CIA Iraq Operative
By Timothy M. Phelps and Knut Royce
Washington Bureau
July 21, 2003, 9:48 PM EDT

Washington -- The identity of an undercover CIA officer whose husband started the Iraq uranium intelligence controversy has been publicly revealed by a conservative Washington columnist citing "two senior administration officials."

Intelligence officials confirmed to Newsday Monday that Valerie Plame, wife of retired Ambassador Joseph Wilson, works at the agency on weapons of mass destruction issues in an undercover capacity -- at least she was undercover until last week when she was named by columnist Robert Novak.

Wilson, while refusing to confirm his wife's employment, said the release to the press of her relationship to him and even her maiden name was an attempt to intimidate others like him from talking about Bush administration intelligence failures.

"It's a shot across the bow to these people, that if you talk we'll take your family and drag them through the mud as well," he said in an interview.<more>

[pa28]

20. Wilson is a great message man

He'll be hard to marginalize as the other side is so fond of doing.
:kick:

[Stephanie]

26. I love that his outrage is so righteous!

They went after his WIFE! Any man would be enraged. America can understand his anger. They will pay attention.

[scipan]

22. do your part

Sign this petition from People for the American Way:

Political Bullies at White House Break the Law and Risk National Security
DON’T LET THEM GET AWAY WITH IT!

Sign the Petition to Demand Independent Investigation!
Members of George W. Bush’s administration leaked the identity of an undercover CIA agent to the press. Right now, only John Ashcroft’s Justice Department is looking into this. Given Ashcroft’s record, such an investigation is not credible and Americans deserve better.

http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx

[On the Road]

23. Fair Game? As in "Hunting Season"?

Normally, I would dismiss the words as normal political discourse.

But agents who are outed, as well as their contacts, frequently do get shot. Anyone they have worked under cover is in danger.

Spies like Aldrich Ames caused American agents to die. This "leak" needs to be positioned this way.

To me, there is a real double entendre in the wording. It needs to sink in with news viewers rather than be glossed over.

[TEXASYANKEE]

24. Agreed.

And I'm less than impressed that the mainstream press and pundits aren't very forthcoming about the FACT that her area of expertise was WMDs. I think that this fact needs to be pounded.

[BuckeFushe]

27. Joe Biden just made Rushblo, Hanninazi and all the others liars

Joe Biden (on Hardball) JUST stated that Wilson's wife WAS a covert operative until the article was published. So if Biden, who is on the Foreign Relations committee, says it was so, then it is a Federal crime for Novak to out her. He also said there were only a few people who knew this, and it was not common knowledge as Rush and others are trying to portray.