Link to Cheney deepens ‘leak-gate’ scandal

[shraby]

THE NEWS that Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff was the second possible source in the leaking of the identity of a CIA agent to Time magazine elevates the scandal to a whole new level. It is bad enough for Karl Rove to be accused of being a leaker, since he is President Bush’s chief political strategist.

But if Time’s story holds, I. Lewis Libby’s involvement represents an even more insidious abuse of power. The Bush administration is being accused of leaking the name of Valerie Plame in retribution for a New York Times op-ed article written by her husband, diplomat Joseph Wilson. Wilson wrote that he never found any evidence in a 2002 trip to Africa, contrary to claims made by President Bush in his 2003 State of the Union address, that Saddam Hussein was procuring uranium from Niger for nuclear weapons.

Bush would invade Iraq over weapons of mass destruction that were never found. But Libby, Cheney, and the other influential right-wing hard-liners, such as Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Armitage, Richard Perle, and Douglas Feith, saw their dreams come true. Back in the administration of the senior President Bush, Cheney was defense secretary and Libby and Wolfowitz were two of his aides who, after the first Gulf War left Saddam in power, drafted a document advocating ‘‘preemptive’’ war against possible threats.

They said the United States should be ‘‘postured to act independently when collective action cannot be orchestrated.’’

(more)
<http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped... >

[kliljedahl]

1. President Cheney's in deep Doo-Doo now

Keith’s Barbeque Central

[Stephanie]

2. OMG are they talking about Rebuilding America's Defenses?

Is the press catching up with DU? Two years too late.

[Stephanie]

4. Oh, no, I see it is that policy paper Wolfowitz wrote that was laughed at.

Laughed out of the room under Poppy and implemented under Junior.

[brettdale]

3. kick

kick

[acmavm]

5. Is there any doubt that the whole damn bush** administration were in on

this? It was a power play to try to intimidate anyone who might publically make any statements that ran counter to the daily propaganda line.

They had no choice really. Everything that they've done has been either based on a lie or done by stealth, like the proverbial thief in the night. The president before this one found himself in hot water for something that was actually a matter between himself and his wife. Just think how truly immoral and dishonest the people in this man's administration are. There really is no comparison.

So they had no choice. They had to intimidate and smear anyone who tried to warn the American people. It started with O'Neill and Clarke, and moved on to Wilson, and from there on to everyone who has stood up to them. Because the truth is the enemy for these guys.

Notice I don't say bush**. He's just an evil little puppet. He's an ignorant petty little clown who jumped at the opportunity to make himself feel like he wasn't the failure that he really is. So he's agreed to front for the most corrupt group of men ever in positions of power in this country. The 21st century republican party and their fundy backers.

[lyonn]

9. The Boston Globe article was powerful

Explains many of the facts you have set-out. If only those type articles came out in newpapers in the midwest it might make a difference. We in the midwest and I suspect the south must search for the real story somewhere besides our local papers. The cable bunch do dabble in the possibility that this admin. may have deceived us! Ha! At least CNN mentions the bloggers even if they refer to the repubs' blogs more often then the Dems. That may cause viewers to take a look at some of the blogisphere and realise our troops are dying and losing limbs for pure lies.

[alfredo]

6. Powerful stuff.

If Cheney libby and Rove were indicted, people will start wondering why bush wasn't.

[Pithy Cherub]

12. bush could be an unindicted co-conspirator.

That would hamstring * just as badly as being indicted. All the indicted people would have to be his or the other indictees witnesses so the real legal game is who will turn on whom or plead out...

In other words, this White House is losing control of the Edsel they stole...

Impeachment, anyone?

[alfredo]

13. This could be good, or be nothing much.

[Just Me]

7. Yep. The whole administration conspired to defraud us.

The outing of Plame and her operation is just the snag which unravels this cabals treasonous betrayal.

[ClayZ]

8. Manipulation by fear.

Those &*$(#*#&* knew exatly what they were doing!

[Amonester]

22. Of course, they knew. They've spent decades studying how...

to effectively manipulate the propaganda catapult in such a way that it now serves to implement their corrupt agenda to benefit their own selfish interests first and foremost.

All and all, their 'methods' can easily be compared to those of the average school-yard bully... They mostly 'relied' on their archaic basic instincts but somehow, forgot to study the impact of a new medium: the World Wide Web... (in part).

That's where one of their biggest failings will stand in history books (if no rapture's button-pressing-panic ever becomes a reality).

[linazelle]

10. kick

[SlowDownFast]

11. .

[lovuian]

14. Its nice to see Cheney squirming

Its nice for him to have his fingers all over this.

[Swamp Rat]

15. Cheney lies at the heart of the Bush Crime Syndicate...

... which is intriguing since he has no heart.

[Kurovski]

33. Taking Dolly Levi's advice,

Cheney put a cash register where his heart should be.

At least, I think it was Mrs. Levi who said that.

[Nothing Without Hope]

16. MUST MUST MUST also answer THESE questions:

• Who forged the Niger documents?
  
  
• By whom and how was the fact that they are brazen, laughable-quality forgeries suppressed? MONTHS went by when all requests by outside experts were stonewalled, then when they were finally seen, they were debunked in hours.
  
  
• HOW ABOUT THE FBI PROBE OF THE FORGERIES? Sen. Jay Rockefeller requested it in early 2003 and we have heard NOTHING. Rockefeller's family is part of the oil empire - was the request's effect of stifling other investigations the desired one? Was it a bogus, fake request?

Let's DU Rockefeller and ask for a PROGRESS REPORT!!!

Background on all of this in the opening post and replies in this thread:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...
Thread title: Yglesias: WHO FORGED THE NIGER DOCUMENTS? At the heart of the WMD lies

All these questions are related to the Plame leak scandal. We need to expose ALL OF IT.

[rrrevolution]

17. Is Uncle Dick in Big Trouble?

The Bush Official who may be in the most trouble may not be Rove, but rather "Uncle Dick". ((Anyone have any quotes by Cheney on the Plame scandal??))

Cheney may have orchestrated the whole thing on his own, and Rove might have stepped in and tried to create protection for WH by cultivating journalists as fake planted sources. Notice the distance b/t Rove and Cheney?

Bush has a real problem, who does he love more -- "Uncle Dick" who got him all the money deals with oil and defense contractors, or "Turdblossom" who tried to fix the problem and is the brains behind the WH. ("It's hard")!

(snip)

The turmoil behind the scenes at the WH may be whether those outside the neo-con cabal have cooperated with Fitzgerald and given up those inside the neo-con cabal. My money is on Powell,. . .

(snip)

. . . you can bet that neither Rove nor Cheney is willing to take the fall -- and a power struggle behind the figurehead President is playing out even as we speak.

www.rrrevolution.blogspot.com

[maddezmom]

18. kick

[rrrevolution]

20. Hope this Vanity Fair Quote is Accurate & Verifiable ....

(Just prior to Powell making his UN Presentation)

According to Vanity Fair, Cheney himself urged Powell to go ahead and stake his national popularity on the nonexistent evidence by saying to Powell, ‘‘Your poll numbers are in the 70s. You can afford to lose a few points.’’

[shelley806]

19. TU so much for the post...Kick and nominated!

[Toots]

21. When one person does it, it is a crime when two or more it is a Conspiracy

There was a Conspiracy to berate Wilson and his wife. Of that I have no doubt. Will they be fould cupable? I doubt it. maybe individually they may face rebuke but as a Conspiracy I can only hope.

[Imagevision]

23. I read that Fitzgerald has convinced grand jury judges that more serious

indictments of obstruction of justice/perjury against {someone) will be made. The chances of Bush and Cheney not knowing anything about Plame outing I believe is zero.

[rrrevolution]

24. Only Fitz & Bush WH Officials see the complete picture

And after making innumerable affirmative statements of innnocence the WH suddenly refuses to address any question related to the basis for the 2 yr old investigation is proof that they know what is coming . Indictments are on the way.

[rrrevolution]

25. Who Sung? Who Goes To Jail? Uncle Dick, Condi, Powell, Hughes?

Does anyone have any quotes on the Plame investigation from Uncle Dick, Condi, Colin Powell, and Karen Hughes?

Who among this group is going to jail when all is said and done?

(I think Powell and Hughes have probably already sung for Fitz's grand jury, and Uncle Dick and Condi are trying to be very inconspicuous while Rove & Company try to manage the problem).

Will Rove and Libby get pardons?

[LondonReign2]

26. I'm hoping Powell is singing.

This would be so good on so many fronts.

First, it is about the only that that could redeem him after that disgraceful UN sham of a presentation

Second, given the Plame-file-on-Air Force-One angle, Powell would be in the perfect position to report what actually wnet down, including Chimpy and Darth's involvment

Third, wouldn't that Freepers just explode if an African American took these bastards down!

[NewJeffCT]

27. great piece

I wish we had more journalists like him. I should send him the Waterman Papers when I get home from work!

[Kurovski]

31. Derrick Z. Jackson has always been one of the good guys

in the press. As a columnist, he makes an excellent reporter.

I've always found it incredible that Rove would go the whole leak thing alone. Of course someone in power had something to do with the initial plan, and I've always felt it was Cheney himself--with his little department designed to custom-tailor intelligence--who hatched the Plame leak as revenge and a warning to anyone who would dare to counter the "reconfigured truth" Cheney sought to create regarding Iraq's threat to us.

Rove perhaps has just been put out front as the least powerful part of the administration to take the heat. Rove would never go this alone.

As an individual with no sworn powers, even if he is "taken down" the argument can be made that he really is not part of the administration in any real sense.

The most likely culprit, Cheney must be sought out and made to pay for his crime. George may have been kept out of the loop, lame-brain that he so sadly is. Rove of course is perhaps guilty of a federal crime as is "he of the sterling-silver drool-bucket, Robert Nofacts.

Rove is a red herring, IMO. He may be influential, and a higher-up, but he has no real power, nor the strict obligations as covered in the Constitution.

Does an advisor swear to uphold the Constitution?

[buddha8]

28. secret Slush fund

I want to know where the secret bush-cheney Slush Fund is hiding that is keeping all these various and sundry criminals silent? I am convinced that they have dozens on the take and that they are making sophisticated distributions thru various channels or arranging longer term 'promisary' notes. It is basically how a crime family operates. They murder,lie,smear and to keep their thugs in line they buy loyalty. The Nazis did the same. They are portrayed in history as being rabidly ideological but most of their network was in fact riddled with graft,corruption and players on the take. All it takes is for one of the minor participants to come forward out of either guilt or greed or vindictiveness and you can begin to follow a money trail right to the White House. Cheney learned under Nixon. The exposing of the Plumber's Slush Fund really helped to break the case against him wide open. The fund this time around would be much more sophisticated. Quite possibly members of the original Cheney Energy Task force, oil players, are making contributions or distributions. Quite possibly they are siphoning off millions from the monies oddly unaccounted for in Iraq. Tenet is a good example of someone who could easily be drawing off a foreign bank account for himself and his entire family. Say an American corporation has a European subsidiary that makes deposits of laundered cash out of either the energy sector or the rogue military that stole the 10 billion unaccounted for in Iraq. Tenet has a middle man to collect the dough out of an international account. There are all kinds of possibilities. Whats necessary is for a sharp journalist to find the money trail and start reporting on it. I am 90% sure it is there. It is a chief and abiding characteristic of all crime operations.

[Jose Diablo]

29. The slush fund

for those that can, looking into 2 accounts on the Isle of Man might shed light of following the money.

For those that have subpoena power, I would suggest "TriStar" and "5 Star". Opening the accounts of these 2 funds will find the source and destination of the money flow behind these crooks. It probably then flows to the Riggs bank branch in Florida after a thorough wash. Opening those accounts in Florida probably then leads to various and many power brokers within the Republican party, some democrats too. Sybil would have those details I imagine. And this then brings in Asscrotch as an accomplice to obstruction of justice.

[savemefromdumbya]

30. sounds juicy?

I believe the Chief Minister of the Isle of Man had to resign recently - I guess it wasn't because of that was it?

[Melodybe]

32. kick!