Clearing up a misconception about Libby's statement re: Bush and leaks

[worldgonekrazy]

I have noticed that many people here at DU, in the media, and even Democratic politicians are saying that Bush authorized Libby to leak Plame's identity.

THIS IS NOT TRUE.

What the court papers said was that Libby claimed that Cheney told him that Bush authorized the leaking of portions of the National Intelligence Estimate. This is intertwined with the leaking of Plame's identity, because both were part of a broader conspiracy to discredit Joe Wilson and bolster the dubious claim that Iraq was trying to buy uranium from Niger. In this way, Libby's claim ties Bush in to the conspiracy.

However, it is important to keep in mind, that Libby's statement DOES NOT, in any way, indicate that Bush authorized the leaking of Plame's identity. IN FACT, according to Fitzgerald, Bush specifically DID NOT know about Libby's role in leaking Plame's identity.

In his court filing, Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald asserted that "the president was unaware of the role" that Libby "had in fact played in disclosing" Plame's CIA status. The prosecutor gave no such assurance, though, regarding Cheney.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0407/dailyUpdate.html

So we need to stop saying that Bush authorized the leak of Plame's identity, because that is just not true.

What we should say about this instead is that Bush clearly authorized the SELECTIVE (that is is key) leaking of sensitive national security information for political gain in order to bolster his case for war. This is still a very big deal, and it does tie in to the broader conspiracy which included the leaking of Plame's identity, but to say that Bush authorized the Plame leak itself is a LIE.

[Debi]

1. Yep, Bush conspired to discredit Wilson through any means possible

He declassified information (and yet nobody can confirm that occurred by producing an Executive Order or other document), and then obstructed the investigation into the leaking of VP's identity.

That is good enough for me!

d.

[Hissyspit]

2. Yes, but Bush still may have authorized the Plame leaking.

Fitzgerald was just being careful to state what he factually knew. It doesn't mean that Bush did not ultimately authorize the leak of Plame-Wilson's name.

[worldgonekrazy]

3. Perhaps

But my point is that you cannot take Libby's statement and say that Bush authorized the leak. Maybe more will come out at a later time that points in that direction, but nothing on record so far indicates that Bush actually gave personal authorization to leak Plame's identity.

[Hissyspit]

5. I agree. K&R

[Avalux]

4. That is correct. My post from earlier today:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=872550&mesg_id=872550

:hi:

[incapsulated]

6. I think people understand that but then...

Jump several steps ahead in their reasoning that this confirms what they already think, and then go ahead and state it as fact. Well, on DU. Which is pretty common, but is regrettable, because then the wrong arguments are made.

The argument should be that Bush declassified intelligence for purely political purposes, without informing anyone but Cheney, and it was done for no other reason than to try to silence Joe Wilson, and then he lied about it. And Wilson, it turns out, was correct, and was warning the country that they were being lied to about Saddam's nuclear capabilities in order to support an invasion. And Valerie Plame is his wife, the CIA agent who's name was leaked to punish him.

You don't even have to connect the dots, they connect themselves.

[worldgonekrazy]

9. Exactly

I guess my major point here, which has been posted by others already, is that you don't need to take the jump and say that Bush outed Plame, because what Libby actually claimed he did is bad enough in and of itself. It ties Bush in to the conspiracy and further proves that him and his administration were willing to do whatever was in their power, regardless of ethical considerations, to get their war with Iraq. Plus, it might have been illegal for him to authorize selective leaking of the NIE, although I don't think he will be held accountable for it in a legal manner (as in not prosecuted for it).

[blondeatlast]

7. Selective and political (as someone posts upthread). Both points

are CRITICAL.

This point needs to be made clear to John Q. Public--and apparently to many on DU.

Excellent and necessary points.

K&R.

[papau]

8. No One - not even the Pres- can declassify that which is by law classified

The pres can declassify all that is classified by the Presidents executive order - but even here the Courts have ruled that while the Pres can change an EO at any time, he must follow the EO procedures while it is still in effect.

So did he follow any procedure?

And CIA identity is classified under the law - not by executive order - so the Pres has no right to declassify.

[cantstandbush]

10. It's not a "lie." It's a "bush truth." n/t