Newsweek, July 18 issue: Matt Cooper's Source: What Karl Rove....

[understandinglife]

Matt Cooper's Source: What Karl Rove told Time magazine's reporter

By Mike Isikoff

July 18 issue - It was 11:07 on a Friday morning, July 11, 2003, and Time magazine correspondent Matt Cooper was tapping out an e-mail to his bureau chief, Michael Duffy. "Subject: Rove/P&C," (for personal and confidential), Cooper began. "Spoke to Rove on double super secret background for about two mins before he went on vacation..." Cooper proceeded to spell out some guidance on a story that was beginning to roil Washington. He finished, "please don't source this to rove or even WH " and suggested another reporter check with the CIA.

More at the link:
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/8525978/site/newsweek/

I don't think it fair to Mr Isikoff for me to post anything more than this first paragraph - just read the article.

Peace.

www.missionnotaccomplished.us

[Quixote1818]

1. This thread is about to take off like a rocket!!!!!

nt

[FreedomAngel82]

2. Wow

And I noticed the date is on my birthday too!!!

[me b zola]

22. Happy Birthday, FreedomAngel!!

Looks like it will be a day that you will remember for a long time!!

:toast:

[brettdale]

14. It depends

The media is going to be all over hurricane Dennis, we must let them , this is the story that we care about.

[emulatorloo]

59. Hurricane Dennis will not stop the Grand Jury or Fitzgerald EOM

[Stevious]

76. Rove is a traitor?

:wtf:

[ruggerson]

3. deleted

[understandinglife]

4. Bottom-line: "...Rove was the secret source who, ....

... at the request of both Cooper's lawyer and the prosecutor, gave Cooper permission to testify.






And just think that these events would never have happened if Bu$h, Rove and all their neoconster buddies had not engineered an illegal war of aggression on Iraq.




www.missionnotaccomplished.us - PROSECUTE THE BASTARDS

[cornermouse]

61. But, why?

Why would Rove give Cooper permission to testify? Something doesn't feel right about this.

[Paradise]

66. Mitigating the inevitable fallout? Subterfuge?

It was bound to be revealed, regardless!

[Filius Nullius]

144. "Why would Rove give Cooper permission to testify?"

Note that nothing was ever said about jailing Novak. In order to avoid going to jail, he must already have spilled his guts about Rove being his source. That being the case, Rove decided that things would only get worse if he forced his other media stooges to go to jail. If Rove pissed them off by forcing them to do time when Novak had already fingered him, they might decide to testify in retaliation and really do some damage.

[Quixote1818]

5. This line sticks out for me

Rove: "A fair reading of the e-mail makes clear that the information conveyed was not part of an organized effort to disclose Plame's identity, but was an effort to discourage Time from publishing things that turned out to be false."

First of all the information Wilson provided was TRUE!!!!! and Rove knew it!!!!! This is the same kind of crap he has pulled for years! In my opinion since the information Wilson provided turned out to be TRUE then this clearly shows Rove was lying and using intimidation tactics to win their fucking propaganda game and get their illegal fucking WAR! And ONLY A FOOL would not put two and two together and not know he "knowingly" was blowing Plames cover!

Anyway you look at it Rove was pulling evil crap!!!

Dam this flames me!

[understandinglife]

10. "Anyway you look at it Rove was pulling evil crap!!! " You betcha, ...

.... mega-evil crap. Rove, AND HIS BOSS BU$H, are a traitors of the first-order.

As Worden and others have inferred, accurately imho, Rove did not act without Bu$h KNOWING and APPROVING the leak.


Peace

www.missionnotaccomplished.us - STOP THE ATROCITIES; INDICT AND PROSECUTE BU$H AND ALL THE OTHER NEOCONSTER WAR CRIMINALS

[flyarm]

104. all the media is scared..look at j miller and what she said..

she is too scared to sing like a bird..and so are others..and why are they so scared..because like us..they know ..these bastards have teflon on them..everytime they should have gone down they haven't..with all the lies and deciet and proof of the lies..they are still standing..so no one has the balls to go the next step and tell the story..they are playing safe and awaiting the indictments..because none of them wants to die of suicide or end up in a car wreck!

[yardwork]

111. They may have something on Miller, as well

Several years ago Miller co-authored a book on the gathering threat of bio-terrorism, and then we had the Anthrax events. I've always been deeply suspicious that the White House knows a lot more about the Anthrax mailings than they've revealed - they lie about everything.

Who knows what J. Miller knows - and what the WH knows about her.

And the risk of being murdered is very real. I believe that the Bush family truly is "the octopus" - a far-flug organized crime network.

[Garbo 2004]

20. & Isikoff repeats his "source close to Rove" & Rove's lies unchallenged.

Rove was engaged in a smear and disinformation campaign. Plame did not authorize Wilson's trip to Niger and Wilson's report was dead on right. The Iraq/Niger story was pure BS and the Administration knew it was bogus at the time they were peddling it.

But, would a reader clearly know any of this from reading this article?

[Quixote1818]

32. No they wouldn't!!! Fucking Isikoff!

The article was poorly written. They really need to give all the background information on this to bring people up to date on all this. And these guys call themselves reporters/writers????? An eight grader could have written this in a more complete informative way.

[leftchick]

64. Everything Isikoff writes is shit! He is a tool....

I swear this pisses me off. He fails to point out that what KKKarl was passing to Cooper were... LIES! And the connection to WMD lies/Plame/DSM etc. It is soooo easy to see wtf the criminals in the WH were up to.

It is a fucking puff piece. A few crumbs for the masses... :argh:

[Algomas]

135. Did you hear Amy's interview with Isikoff last week?

I thought he came off as arrogant, patronizing and evasive.

[KoKo]

68. Quixote, the next sentence after your quote is the Key,though..

"A fair reading of the e-mail makes clear that the information conveyed was not part of an organized effort to disclose Plame's identity, but was an effort to discourage Time from publishing things that turned out to be false," the source said, referring to claims in circulation at the time that Cheney and high-level CIA officials arranged for Wilson's trip to Africa.

[Mist]

74. I noticed that too

Were there in fact "claims in circulation" that Cheney and CIA officials arranged Wilson's trip? This might be an attempt to lay "background" to further muddy the waters. Remembers, this is the bunch that loves to confuse and confabulate to detract from the core issue.

[KoKo]

83. That's what I thought. I remember Cheney on the Sunday shows saying

that Wilson went on his own that it wasn't requested by him or the White House. He seemed to be making a big deal of it at the time. So that's probably Rove's defense. Don't know if it will hold, if more info keeps dribbling out. I kind of thought Issikoff was laying the case for Rove to get off since the Cooper e-mail was leaked to him by someone at Time Mag. The press is going to "stick together" on this one to cover their butts, methinks. I hope Fitzgerald is as honest in persuing the truth as some DU'ers think.

[savemefromdumbya]

84. Rove was hired because he was a goood leaker

Rove was hired because he was a wonderful leaker - just look at his history.

[mom cat]

118. That struck me too: The article implies that Wilson never got "official"

permision to do his investigation from Cheney or Tenant. I believe that was the spin that Rove wanted Cooper to put on Wilson's investigation: that it was the idea of "his (Wilson's)wife, who works on wmd" for Wilson to do the investigation! Is that an accurate read of the article? I am confused.It was my understanding that Cheney told Wilson to go to Niger.

[lfairban]

128. This was spun by the WH.

In February 2002, I was informed by officials at the Central Intelligence Agency that Vice President Dick Cheney's office had questions about a particular intelligence report. While I never saw the report, I was told that it referred to a memorandum of agreement that documented the sale of uranium yellowcake — a form of lightly processed ore — by Niger to Iraq in the late 1990's. The agency officials asked if I would travel to Niger to check out the story so they could provide a response to the vice president's office.

What I Didn't Find in Africa

I also read something that said his wife had written a memo describing his qualifications, but had not recommended him for the trip. I did find this:

Novak's column suggested that Wilson got the assignment to Niger because of his wife, who was working on weapons proliferation issues for the CIA when she was outed. The agency and Wilson said Valerie Wilson was not involved in his selection. Wilson also said he was not paid for the assignment, though expenses for the eight-day trip were reimbursed.

Before the Novak column was published, at least six reporters were contacted by administration officials and allegedly told that Valerie Plame Wilson worked at the CIA. Whoever did so may have been trying to undermine the importance of Wilson's trip by implying it had been set up by his wife -- and therefore was not a serious effort by the agency to discover whether, in fact, Iraq had attempted to buy uranium in Niger.

The Spy Next Door

[mom cat]

122. This flames me too! It appears to validate the cover story that the

admin (via Rove) was trying to float, that Wilson's wife Plame was behind the trip to Niger. It is clear now that Rove wanted to float this story to Cooper to try to undermine the impact of Wilson's op-ed. I believe that Rove's attempt at derailment was effective at the time in confusing the public. Perhaps the key point was that Rove was talking to Cooper about Wilson's wife very early on...before the Novak piece.

[jsamuel]

6. I urge ACTION on Miller to the PRESS

I am not talking about the 1st amendment, that issue is very complex and has nothing to do with what I am talking about here.

The media has been overlooking the statement made by Ms. Miller when she was just about to be sent to jail.

"I won't testify. The risks are too great. The government is too powerful."

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/07/07/national/main707048.shtml

She is not talking about any media matters here. She is saying that the "risk" she takes by testifiying is that "this" government would have the power to do something to harm her, her family, or her friends.

This is a very important point. She is in a way telling us that she is scared that the government (the Bush Administration) will bring harm to those around her or herself in order to pay her back for testifying against them. We already know they are capable of doing this because of what they did to Valerie Plame. That was payback too.

Media Blast!

Her testimony could reviel that this was more than just Rove!

[oxbow]

12. "I won't testify. The risks are too great. The government is too powerful.

amazing. this brave new world never ceases to amaze me. Nor does the fact that this is being ignored byt the "free press." I will get on this first thing tomorrow morning.

[nytemare]

101. This article maybe deserves its own thread, if you haven't made one

This should surely be on the homepage.

[jsamuel]

103. i made one last night, but gave it a horrible title, here is a better one

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4064299

[Lindacooks]

7. "double super secret background"??????

What, did they use their Little Orphan Annie decoder rings?

[Obamarama]

45. ROFL....I thought the same thing when I read that line!

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

71. RE: double super secret background"? Sounds like the "Cone of Silence"

Edit: found photo!

from Get Smart.




Smart: Would you believe Rove told Cooper United States secrets after getting the nod from Cheney and Bush?

Chief: I find that hard to believe.

Smart: Would you believe Cooper overheard it at a backroom poker game at the WH with Bush, Rove, Cheney, Bolton, Gannon, and McClellan ?

Chief: I don't think so.

Smart: How about Rove called Cooper and said "Don't go out in the RAIN? But Cooper heard, "Out Valerie Plame"...

[BrotherBuzz]

97. LOL, you captured the essence of Maxwell Smart well...

Welcome to DU

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

133. ...And one more. Remember in "Robocop" when the bad guy (Rove)..

..is being tossed through the plate glass windows at the cocaine factory and he says, "Hey wait a minute, I'm protected...I work
for Dick...I work for DICK JONES (Dick Cheney).

Just watch that movie and substitute "Dick Cheney" for "Dick Jones"...The Corporation is Halliburton ...happless bobble head press plays itself.. and thanks for the Welcome.

[onecitizen]

121. hehehe......

thanx for that post. It indeed lightened my mood a bit. :-)

[understandinglife]

8. "THE LYNCHPIN TO BUSH'S IMPEACHMENT"

THE LYNCHPIN TO BUSH'S IMPEACHMENT

by Carl F. Worden

July 8, 2005

<clip>

Cooper's notes reveal his probable source to be White House insider Karl Rove, but that is not conclusive, and we won't get closer to the truth until Cooper testifies. If it is Rove, I doubt he revealed Plame's identity to the reporters without President Bush's permission, but they may take the same stand Nixon took; that Nixon didn't know anything about the Watergate break-in, but he did make a mistake trying to cover it up. We'll see.

But the real reason this Plame incident is so important is that it adds a tremendous amount of credibility to the recently exposed "Downing Street Memo", in which notes were taken at a meeting in Britain that revealed Bush planned to attack Iraq long before the WMD accusations were made, and that the "Intelligence was being fixed" around that policy. The fact that such a petty act of revenge was enacted against Joseph Wilson's wife for the "crime" of her husband telling the American people the god's-honest truth, certainly lends credence to those who contend the Downing Street Memo is a smoking gun that reveals deliberate deception upon the Congress and the American people to go to war with Iraq on the basis of entirely false allegations.

Last time I checked, that was an impeachable offense, and now we have the deliberate outing of a carefully placed CIA spy who was working to protect you and me from further terrorist attacks. Do you join me in asking, "Whose side are these Bush guys on??"

Link:
http://www.uruknet.info/?p=13546

Interesting and I suspect Worden's assessment of how Bu$h and the neoconsters will attempt 'damage control' is correct.

Peace.

www.missionnotaccomplished.us

[WinkyDink]

78. cover-up alibi

The Nixonian cover-up alibi won't protect Bush, as the outing of Plame is THE crime in question, not any later obfuscation of this deed.
Ie., Nixon was not caught actually inside the Watergate burlarizing; Bush, however, WILL be caught red-handed as the Man with Plame's Name. No protective barriers. Nowhere, no how.
Unless Rove is found dead.

[savemefromdumbya]

85. there you go!

and maybe Rove will suddenly become ill?

[yardwork]

113. I think that might happen anyway....a lot of agents died because of Rove

and the Company has a long, long memory.

Remember when Novak "fell" in the shower in his hotel room and broke his hip? He was was out of control. He'd revealed Valerie Plame's undercover identity, and he was starting to blab more. Then he had that bad "accident" and since then we haven't heard much from ol' Novak.

Just sayin.

[savemefromdumbya]

141. could they?

Do we really want something so bad in government that they 'silence' dissent? Can't we have a non-corrupt government for a change - no dirty dealings, no arranged coups, no installeddictators, no rigged elections etc? You would think with all this Christian thing they would be a lot nicer?

[tandem5]

9. careful... this is preemptive damage control in high gear. nt

[alittlelark]

11. If so, it is poorly done.

[WCGreen]

13. To me there is still no smoking gun....

there si enough wiggle room in that article to show that Rove was just priming the pump so to speak, spinning a story that he knew could discredit the Bush rush to war.......

Still skeptical.....

[understandinglife]

15. "Shit. Now you understand Rove's problem."

<clip>

But now imagine if some of the things you said to your psychiatrist, rabbi/priest all of a sudden were to become public. Shit. Now you understand Rove's problem. We will see a ton of word-parsing the rest of the summer by the White House press operation. But one thing is certain: Rove's got himself into a serious jam and sure wishes he never got involved with Joe Wilson in the first place. Seemingly little things like this destroy careers all the time.

From Rove, Reporters, Psychiatrists, Rabbis, and Priests by Kenneth Lerer on July 10, 2005

More at the link:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/archive/kenneth-lerer/rove-reporters-psychiat_3856.html



Yeap, it's one thing to wage illegal wars of aggression and it's another thing to be found to be committing treason at the same time.


Peace.

www.missionnotaccomplished.us - A simple question my fellow Americans, "Why is Bu$h not already in prison?"









http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/archive/kenneth-lerer/rove-reporters-psychiat_3856.html

[cynatnite]

16. It's spin

Nothing but spin on rover's part. What is obvious is that the WH was still pushing that Iraq wanted to get uranium from Niger even after Wilson's OpEd exposing the truth.

This still doesn't tell enough, but I suspect there is far more info the special prosecutor has that we're not aware of.

[understandinglife]

17. "... but I suspect there is far more info the special prosecutor has.."

I agree with you and so does Lawrence O'Donnell:

O'Donnell: "All the judges who have seen the prosecutor’s secret evidence firmly believe he is pursuing a very serious crime, and they have done everything they can to help him get an indictment."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4041542

At this point, my only open question is how many indictments.


Peace

www.missionnotaccomplished.us

[WCGreen]

19. I seriously hope so....

Cause I can't take anymore of this take me to the edge and then not jump over bullshit....

We have been taken to the edge more times than Bono....

I don't know.....

The article in Newsweek doesn't really say anything that the casual reader will get upset about. To them it's Business as usual..

So, I believe there are problems for Rove but will they be as serious as we think?

That has yet to be determined

[understandinglife]

29. " ...that the privilege had to give way to “the gravity of the crime."

<clip>

(Judge) Tatel actually found that reason and experience “support recognition of a privilege for reporters’ confidential sources.” But Tatel still ordered Cooper and Miller to testify because he found that the privilege had to give way to “the gravity of the suspected crime.”

Judge Tatel’s opinion has eight blank pages in the middle of it where he discusses the secret information the prosecutor has supplied only to the judges to convince them that the testimony he is demanding is worth sending reporters to jail to get. The gravity of the suspected crime is presumably very well developed in those redacted pages. Later, Tatel refers to “having carefully scrutinized voluminous classified filings.”

Some of us have theorized that the prosecutor may have given up the leak case in favor of a perjury case, but Tatel still refers to it simply as a case “which involves the alleged exposure of a covert agent.” Tatel wrote a 41-page opinion in which he seemed eager to make new law -- a federal reporters’ shield law -- but in the end, he couldn’t bring himself to do it in this particular case. In his final paragraph, he says he “might have” let Cooper and Miller off the hook “were the leak at issue in this case less harmful to national security.”

From The One Very Good Reason Karl Rove Might Be Indicted

by Lawrence O'Donnell

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/archive/lawrence-odonnell/the-one-very-good-reason-_3769.html

So, I think Fitzgerald has provided way more than one 'smoking gun' to the various judges with whom he has successfully advanced his case.

Key words: "were the leak at issue in this case less harmful to NATIONAL SECURITY."

For me, it is a matter of whom, besides Rove, Fitzgerald will successfully indict.


Peace.

www.missionnotaccomplished.us

[tandem5]

143. its funny how the media is ready to close this whole thing down...

declaring it a harm-but-no-foul kind of deal. Doesn't anybody want to know what fitzgerald has to say?

[bilgewaterbill]

21. I agree.

Rove didn't "name" her. I think he's going to dodge this bullet.

[chalky]

30. Was Wilson a polygamist? Married to a lot of CIA agents, was he?

And all those wives of his were working on WMD as well?
Well, then. I can see how Rove could have astounded to find out he'd outed Valerie Plame, considering how broad and non-specific his description was:

"it was, KR said, wilson's wife, who apparently works at the agency on wmd issues who authorized the trip."

[bilgewaterbill]

35. My point is that there are so many loopholes in this law that Rove

is going to find one to slip through. Not "naming" her is the most obvious. He can also claim that he didn't know that she was covert, that the info was for "double secret background" therefore not for outing purposes and on and on... He's going to dodge this bullet.

[muriel_volestrangler]

57. I think the only loophole left would be that he didn't know

she was undercover. "Wilson's wife" identifies her; "background only" doesn't help in a case about government secrets (he's still telling a non-government employee who clearly isn't involved in the government operation).

The next question is who told Rove? He, as a political adviser, should not have information about covert operatives' identities. I fear he will be able to get away with "I'm nto sure who told me", however (not that I'd believe him).

[bilgewaterbill]

95. If Reagan was the teflon President....

This must be the swiss cheese administration. The bullets keep going right thru the holes.

[mom cat]

124. That is right! Rove did not specify which of Wilson's 80 wives he meant!

[unblock]

40. "i didn't utter her name" is a 100% bullshit defense and it won't work

in the context of identifying people, or, in particular, outing a covert agent, "name" does not mean "uttering a moniker" but simply identifying the particular individual.

the wh might offer up this crap and the msm might eat up this crap but a judge and a jury won't buy it.

"mr. wilson's wife" served just as effectively as "valerie plame" to destroy her career and put the lives of her contacts in dire jeopardy.

in fact, i could even argue that "mr. wilson's wife" amounts to one of her "names".

[Kber]

87. Gotta agree with you

Wilson was a public figure and his wife's name was well known or could have been "discovered" by anyone with access to Google.

Does the law specifically state that you have to give a specific name, or just enough info to clearly identify someone.

And, since Wilson was, presumably, only married to one woman at the time, well, it's pretty obvious isn't it?

[Quixote1818]

23. Their is a smoking gun but the finger prints on the gun are smudged

I think it's worthy of an indictment but it may be hard to put Rove behind bars on this. It still shows Rove pulled some evil crap! Dems need to keep expectations down on any kind of conviction and emphasize his dishonest statements to cover up the truth.

[WCGreen]

24. Yea, that was what I have been thinking since everyone

seemed to be jumping for joy and ready to dismantle the Bush WH just on what Lawrence O'Donnell said on the M Group....

Are we that desperate that we cling on every little piece of evidence?

I still think there is trouble ahead, but not the way most of us have fantasied about......

[Quixote1818]

28. Here is my question

How did Rove learn that Wilson was sent by his wife? The fact that Rove would know that his wife MIGHT have the power to do such a thing says volumes. It shows he knows she is a BIG SHOT with power!

They won't get him on that statement but they could get him if they follow the flow of information.

[WCGreen]

31. That's what I mean....

There is nothing in this story that would excite a NORMAL everyday reader of the mag to run out and change their minds about the Bush administration.....

It could be just another wratching up as we appraoch a tipping point, but as Mrs. WC Green always says, how is this playing with the people sitting on their porches, drinking iced tea.....

[NJCher]

123. there are plenty of others

Hey, if this particular scandal doesn't tickle Mrs. WC Green's fancy, there are about two dozen others to choose from. Thanks to the bottomless depths of corruption in the bush administration, Mrs. WC Green can fill her shopping basket with any of the dozensof scandals floating around right now.


Cher

[lancdem]

139. What matters is what the prosecutor Fitzgerald does

He knows much, much more than we've been given access to, for obvious reasons. We won't know what he has until there are indictments, and I firmly believe now there will be.

[yardwork]

114. It's a lie that Valerie Plame sent Joe Wilson on that trip

It's been revealed in subsequent evidence that the White House did, in fact, send Wilson on that trip to Niger. They got mad when the evidence he found didn't match their plans to invade Iraq.

The WH sent Wilson. Wilson found that Niger was not buying uranium from Iraq. There was no evidence that Iraq had uranium. That info didn't match what the WH wanted to hear so they slimed Wilson. Wilson fought back, and the WH destroyed his wife's career out of spite.

Unfortunately, Wilson's wife's career happened to be highly relevant to the war on terror. Oops.

That's what happened. Isikoff is a jerk not to have made this clear in his article.

[flyarm]

98. there may be bigger fish to fry..

what clearence does rove have to get the info about valerie plame..thats the big question./.if he does not have the proper clearences..which as political advisor i would doubt he does...rove could be the bait..and could go to prison unless he gives up who gave him the info on valerie!..just like judy miller and just like susan mcdougal!

[Princess Turandot]

18. Is he basing his 'defense' on his calling her "Joe Wilson's wife" ??..

vs. 'Ms. Plame" ??

And they say Bill Clinton could parse words!

If the prosecuter asked him if he leaked "Ms. Plame's name', and he gave this answer,no wonder the prosecuter is going after this like a dog on a porkchop. I can imagine Rove smirking at him while he made a statement to that effect while testifying to the GJ, assuming that he did for the sake of discussion.

[Quixote1818]

25. They will need to follow the information trail

How did Rove learn that Wilson was sent by his wife? The fact that Rove would know that his wife MIGHT have the power to do such a thing says volumes. It shows he knows she is a BIG SHOT with power!

[bilgewaterbill]

27. I think the prosecutor's target is someone other than Rove.

Miller's source, maybe? Someone who testified in front of the GJ? Possible perjury? Something just doesn't feel right here.

[Quixote1818]

38. Yes, their are a lot of lose ends here! nt

[Garbo 2004]

34. didn't "knowingly" leak classified info as he said before will be his

claim to an out. Will no doubt say he didn't know of her involvement in covert operations. The "brain" will play dumb.

[Hatalles]

127. You can leak an *identity* without leaking the *name.*

This is what Rove has done.

[deacon]

26. This ties in with the Downing Street Memos too

I think this is even yet more proof of how important it was for this administration to manipulate intellgence or they wouldn't have been so incredibly vindictive--and I think that for sure they were using this "outing" as a shot across the bow for those who didn't want to walk lock-step in the pursuit of the Iraq War. I think this ties in with the DSM's--manipulating the intelligence and message to justify the war.

[Maru Kitteh]

33. Oh my GOD! I'm just GIDDY

Giddy over here!

[Quixote1818]

36. Give me some of your Giddiness!

Most of us don't see a smoking gun here. Do you see something we don't see? The investigation might ultimately get Rove but based on what he said to Cooper, it will be a tough sell.

[Maru Kitteh]

53. I'll be GLAD to lend you some! I have PLENTY for us ALL!

I smell.......... approval ratings plummeting to an ALL TIME LOW.

I'm getting ahead of myself here.


All these MSM types may or may not like J. Miller but they all, universally HATE the fact that she went to jail and they really blame the WH for it. It's going to be payback time. Big baby, very big. In the coming week this story is going to get more hammered than Gary Busey at a Jimmy Buffet concert.

Now comes the BAND WAGON EFFECT!

When Clinton was impeached, lots of Dems piled on as well,... why? The band wagon effect.

Iraq sucks and everybody knows it. Juniors ratings are already in the toilet right now. This reminder of dirty deals early on........ ain't a gonna help!!!!!!! The band wagon effect kicks in and blood in the water leads to much of the kind of reporting we should have seen since Bush vs. Gore.

See, with Reagan we had all kinds of scandal but high approval ratings. Now, with poll ratings so low..... we finally have a corner this bag of festering pus monkeys can't slip their way out of.

At the VERY LEAST.... this bodes well for our mid-term elections.

There is much to be giddy about. Have some.

[Quixote1818]

91. It may be that they have used up their 9 lives

I hope so but we will have to see. I agree the low approval ratings are going to make it much more difficult for Bush to get this monkey off his back. This is finally a story the MSM CANT ignore because this is a COURT case and the public loves a good court case!!!! Just like OJ, Michael Jackson and all the others. The MSM has to cover everything that happens with indictments etc. etc.

Bush was lame duck before this and you are right that this should definitely influence the midterms. It's just too bad this came out after the elections because now we have Bush choosing probably two Supreme Court Justices. Yuck!

[yardwork]

115. I hope you are right - but those voting machines are rigged

I'm not sure that approval ratings or votes matter anymore. We'll see what happens in the mid-term elections. I got a bad feeling, though.

[lancdem]

140. Actually, very few Dems supported impeachment of Clinton

because he remained so popular. And Reagan's ratings did take a dive in his second term because of Iran-Contra.

[cynatnite]

37. Look at what started this: NIGER

Fitzgerald is looking for who outed Plame which was done so because of Wilson's trip to Niger. It makes sense that Fitzgerald would want to know who sent Wilson to Niger. It also makes sense Fitzgerald would take a look at the fake documents on the supposed yellowcake Iraq wanted.

Those documents from Niger are smack dab in the middle of all this. Fitzgerald is playing it close enough to the chest that maybe he knows or is close to knowing who faked them which started all this to begin with. It was the case for war.

on edit: it leads from one crime to another and both lead directly to the WH

[jean]

81. how magnificent would it be if Fitz proved bushco forged the Niger docs!

[passy]

102. Didn't Wilson say at the Conyer's DSM hearings that he was one of three..

..persons who were asked to investigate the Niger claim.
If he was, then how could Cheney say that he didn't know about it?

If they were so interested in the Niger story then they would no doubt have been following the investigation closely.

[jaysunb]

110. This was said several months back, and

most folks just sighed and moved on.
Fitzgerald has done a " Ken Starr " on Bushco, and I wouldn't really be surprised if Bush himself is named as a co-conspiritor, un-indicted or not !

[freeEarthLove]

39. rove is evil

rove is evil

[LunaC]

41. Rove lied to Cooper re: authorization for Wilson's trip

From the Newsweek story:

"Rove told Cooper that Wilson's trip had not been authorized by "DCIA"—CIA Director George Tenet—or Vice President Dick Cheney. Rather, "it was, KR said, wilson's wife, who apparently works at the agency on wmd issues who authorized the trip."


Published on Wednesday, July 16, 2003 by the lndependent/UK

"Joseph Wilson, a former US ambassador, said he was asked by the CIA to go to Niger and investigate the claim in a request from the Vice-President's office."

http://www.veteransforpeace.org/Cheney_under_pressure_0...


Rove knew Plame had nothing to do with Wilson's trip and there was no reason to be discussing her for any reason. In his attempt to discredit Wilson's assertions against the Admin, Rove tried to paint Plame and Wilson as unsanctioned "rogues" . Yet he revealed that "Wilson's wife" worked at the CIA on wmd issues. He knew who really authorized the trip and he had to have known Plame's position with the Agency to "sell" her involvement to Cooper with plausability.

[Quixote1818]

44. HOLY SHIT!!!!!! Their is the smoking gun!!!!!

Awesome find!!!!

[Quixote1818]

46. Wait, are you SURE the CIA made the request?

Your link is not working?

[LunaC]

50. Fixed link

http://www.veteransforpeace.org/Cheney_under_pressure_071603.htm

[Quixote1818]

51. Have the Brittish backed up their claim since then or was it disproved?

nt

[LunaC]

55. Wilson says Britain 'knew uranium claims were false'

"British officials knew there had been no secret trade in uranium
from Africa to Iraq seven months before such claims were raised
in the September dossier released by Downing Street, the
retired US ambassador who investigated the supposed sales for
the CIA said yesterday.

In his first public appearance, Joseph Wilson provided a detailed
account of the investigations which debunked intelligence
reports about sales of uranium from Niger to Iraq. He said it was
almost certain British and US leaders knew they were
recirculating false reports. "

http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,992887,00.html

[Straight Shooter]

77. Rove lied to cover up that the case for war against Iraq was a total sham.

If what Wilson had said was not true, they would have been able to prove it; instead, they chose to smear him and engage in petty vindictive acts.

I agree, this hinges more around the hyped forged documents than it does the outing of Plame, although I find both to be despicable, absolutely despicable.

[Mist]

79. IIRC, the story that Wilson's wife sent him to Niger was put out

by the * admin. soon after Novak's story outed Plame. It was originally thought to be a way of discrediting Wilson. However, it was shown soon after that Plame was not in a position to recommend or sign off on Wilson's activities. Their career paths weren't overlapping.

[rateyes]

92. You've got it right there.

IMHO, that's the story. Someone in administration faked the documents as evidence to go to war. When Wilson uncovered the forgery plot, and revealed it--the administration had to "shoot the messengers" to cover their own asses. "Wilson and Plame working a conspiracy to discredit Bush." Accuse the accuser--put the victim on trial, all that kind of BS.

I pray they don't get away with it.

[robertpaulsen]

132. I was just going to say that.

Great point.

[Quixote1818]

42. Here is our best hope. I think?

From the article:

"Nonetheless, it is significant that Rove was speaking to Cooper before Novak's column appeared; in other words, before Plame's identity had been published."

It seems probable that whoever leaked to Novak spilled the beans about Plame's identity since Rove didn't leak it to Cooper. If the leaker to Novak knew Plames identity and he/she was lower on the totem pole than Rove then making the case that Rove didn't know Plame was covert seems hard to believe.

At this point the time-line of how Plames identity flowed becomes very important. If it flowed before Rove talked to Time then Rove may be in trouble. Then again who the hell knows?

[Garbo 2004]

54. Also, whoever leaked to Novak used Valerie Wilson's old name.

Why not just "Valerie Wilson" the name she used since her marriage? Was it because the info originally came from someone who somehow was aware of her status from the time before she married Wilson?

It's odd why a name she no longer went by was used to identify her as Wilson's wife. A name most definitely used when she was an active NOC, from what I understand.

[ET Awful]

62. It's not necessary that Rove leaked the name, the identity is sufficient

If he said "Wilson's wife" that's enough. Finding out the name of someone's spouse is a matter of public record, it's extremely simple and doesn't require anybody to leak it.

If Rove said "Wilson's wife is a CIA agent" that's enough to prosecute.

[Quixote1818]

90. True, lets hope the Grand Jury sees it that way

It's at least enough to indite Rove I would think.

[Quixote1818]

105. But Rove is admitting he said she was CIA but that he was

unaware that she was undercover. If the other leaks indicate that it was known she was undercover then they have to prove Rove was talking to those who knew for sure. If they were below Rove it's hard to believe Rove wouldn't have known but they have to prove it.

It's significant that Rove said that "Wilson's wife" sent Wilson to Niger because other reports suggest it was Cheney yet Cheney denies having knowing later and attributing Wilson's trip to Mid level CIA. They are trying to play stupid as if they had no clue why Wilson went to Niger and they just assumed it was because Wilson's wife sent him their. It seems to me that Rove would have a responsibility to check into this before spreading it to the press. It just seems unlikely to me that he would just say something like that without discussing it in-depth with Cheney and perhaps Bush and others and looking at Plames background.

All kind of crap was pulled here but proving it will take a lot of work.

[Garbo 2004]

107. My point was that her name was Valerie Wilson, not Plame.

That was the name she used before she married Wilson. And when she clearly was a NOC.

And saying "Wilson's wife is a CIA agent" in itself is not enough to prosecute for outing a CIA NOC if it cannot be shown that Wilson knew that she was an undercover operative. At the time she was sitting at a desk at Langley as Valerie Wilson. Did the name "Plame" come from Novak's research? Or was someone deliberately giving out a name used when she was actively a NOC?

[yardwork]

116. She was a NOC at the time Novak revealed her identity

She was in charge of an active undercover project in Europe at the time. Agents died because of this leak. An entire undercover operation involving terrorism and weapons of mass destruction was wiped out.

[unblock]

117. you don't have to utter the undercover name to "name" someone

if i say 'the senior senator from massachusetts', there's only one person in the world who fits that bill, even though i didn't utter his moniker.

"wilson's wife" qualifies as naming her just as much as 'valerie wilson' or 'valerie plame'. the fact that her undercover career is over and some of her contacts most likely dead is proof enough of that.

[Garbo 2004]

125. Missing my point. I'm thinking that perhaps the use of the name "Plame"

may go to show that the original leak likely was from someone aware of her NOC status. (And such knowledge is required under the statute, to "knowingly" release the name of a NOC.) No reason to use the name "Plame" when her legal name for years had been "Wilson." Seems to me someone who was completely unaware of her real background (as an op not just an analyst) would more likely have said "Valerie Wilson."

Novak got her old name from somewhere. Of course, if Novak's minions simply did some research and he preferred to use Wilson's maiden name for some reason, then there would be no particular significance attached to the use of that particular name.

[fearnobush]

149. That's it ! Rove clearly states "works at the agency on wmd" in the email

Rather, "it was, KR said, wilson's wife, who apparently works at the agency on wmd issues who authorized the trip." <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8525978/site/newsweek/page/2/>
This could clearly be only one agency - CIA. Question is to what degree does the word "work" mean. Does it mean an analyst or an operative.

[queeg]

43. double super secret background?>

so all he will ever get is double super secret probation...hehe

[Quixote1818]

48. That is a very telling line! nt

[cynatnite]

47. The Time article by Matt Cooper:

snip:
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. George Tenet, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, took a shot at Wilson last week as did ex-White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer. Both contended that Wilson's report on an alleged Iraqi effort to purchase uranium from Niger, far from undermining the president's claim in his State of the Union address that Iraq sought uranium in Africa, as Wilson had said, actually strengthened it. And some government officials have noted to TIME in interviews, (as well as to syndicated columnist Robert Novak) that Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame, is a CIA official who monitors the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. These officials have suggested that she was involved in her husband's 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, which is used to build nuclear devices.

snip:
A source close to the matter says that Wilson was dispatched to Niger because Vice President Dick Cheney had questions about an intelligence report about Iraq seeking uranium and that he asked that the CIA get back to him with answers. Cheney's staff has adamantly denied and Tenet has reinforced the claim that the Vice President had anything to do with initiating the Wilson mission. They say the Vice President merely asked routine questions at an intelligence briefing and that mid-level CIA officials, on their own, chose to dispatch Wilson.

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,465270,00.html

[Quixote1818]

49. mid-level CIA officials, on their own, chose to dispatch Wilson

So then this comes down to whether Rove knew if the mid-level CIA officials had dispatched Wilson. If he did then he may be in trouble. Right?

[cynatnite]

52. they were working overtime to distance themselves

and to discredit Wilson.

There are plenty of WH quotes where they continue to contradict themselves.

The WH was sure that Iraq was looking or getting yellowcake and they didn't bother looking at who was going to check it out. It wasn't until they didn't get the news they wanted that they tried to bury it and lie.

So much spin and so little truth.

[Garbo 2004]

56. No, the WH had already been told the claim was bogus...that's why

they previously removed it from a speech at the insistence of the CIA but then still went ahead and months later included it in the State of the Union speech. (Later when the WH admitted it was a suspect claim, Condi's assistant took the fall for putting it back in the speech. He later was promoted, as I recall, when Condi became Secty of State.)

The Niger claim had been investigated twice by the US before the CIA asked Wilson to look into it. (Once by a State Dept person in Niger as I seem to recall and then someone else.) The previous reports said there was no evidence to support the claim and that it was suspect. Wilson basically confirmed the results of those earlier reports.

[freeplessinseattle]

58. I love their reason for the outing "to undermine Wilson's credibility

yeah...right. How would being married to a CIA agent undermine his credibility? Maybe he was having marital problems and was just making stuff up to piss off his wife?

[WLKjr]

60. I think its went from drip to steady flow

I do not think that the fawcet is dripping anymore, someone just opened the valve a little more.

This is going to become worse than watergate.

[jaysunb]

112. I agree ! (worse than Watergate)

At first I felt pretty giddy about this, but now I'm getting a little edgy.
It might be a good time to take that trip to New Zealand or someplace else that won't be close to what might happen here....these people (Bushco) really believe they are above the law and it wouldn't surprise me if they won't go willingly.

[globalvillage]

63. They are discussing this now on WJ

C-Span

[understandinglife]

65. "Mr. Fitzgerald made his bones prosecuting the mob,"

"Mr. Fitzgerald made his bones prosecuting the mob," intoned the pro-Bush editorial page of The Wall Street Journal, "and doesn't seem to realize that this case isn't about organized crime." But that may be exactly what it is about to an ambitious prosecutor with his own career on the line. That the Bush administration would risk breaking the law with an act as self-destructive to American interests as revealing a CIA officer's identity smacks of desperation. It makes you wonder just what else might have been done to suppress embarrassing election-season questions about the war that has mired the United States in Iraq even as the true perpetrators of 9/11 resurface in Madrid, London and who knows where else.

From We're Not in Watergate Anymore by Frank Rich

July 10, 2005

Much more at the links:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/10/opinion/10rich.html?hp

http://www.iht.com/protected/articles/2005/07/10/opinion/edrich.php

The title used by the International Hearld Tribune for the Op-Ed is Worse than Watergate which is also the way the NYTimes online edition tags the article on their homepage.

I agree with Mr. Rich, we are definintely 'not in Watergate anymore'; we're into an entirely different realm of crime.


Peace.

www.missionnotaccomplished.us

[mzteris]

67. WHO

told Rove?

If he was not just being "disingenuous" when he put it this way.... ""it was, KR said, wilson's wife, who apparently works at the agency on wmd issues who authorized the trip." - MAYBE he didn't "know" she was an undercover agent but was just repeating what he'd been told.

Could Fitzgerald be putting pressure on Rove to give up HIS source? Maybe Cheney! That might be even better IMO........

[grasswire]

69. not only did the WH know the yellowcake claim was bogus...

...but it's a possibility that the yellowcake document leaked to the Italian reporter was produced by WH operatives, isn't it?

(Remember the TANG memos? Rove could have been trying another triple play.)

I hope an investigation into that aspect is opened.

[understandinglife]

80. Billmon: "Have Another Slice of Yellowcake, Karl" - July 3, 2005

Have Another Slice of Yellowcake, Karl

posted by billmon July 3, 2005

Josh Marshall has noted that a close look at the Plame outing might lead a conscientious investigator to scrutinize some of the issues raised by the story that originally led to the Plame outing -- that is, the report of a wholly mythical effort by Iraq to purchase 500 tons of yellowcake uranium ore from Niger.

I've gotten hints or suggestions from several sources over the last month that new information is bubbling to the surface, not about who leaked Valerie Plame's identity, but who was behind the underlying caper that started the whole drama afoot in the first place: those phoney Niger uranium documents.

As longtime readers of this site know, last year colleagues of mine and I were able to trace the documents back to a former Italian intelligence agent named Rocco Martino. Martino was the 'Italian businessman' who tried to sell the documents to Elizabetta Burba, the journalist who eventually brought them to the US Embassy in Rome.

<clip>

Just who forged the documents? And, more significantly, who put the whole process in motion? And why had SISMI or elements within it involved themselves?

Link to relevant segment by Josh at TPM, July 2, 2005:
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2005_06_26.php#005935

It's now known that the yellowcake report originated with the Italian security service, the SISMI (the same lovely people who gave us the "strategy of tension.") Marshall says his own reporting has also traced the forged papers that supposedly documented the Niger story to SISMI -- but no further.

Any number of conspiracy theories have been offered to explain the ultimate origin of those documents. In its own investigation of the WMD snipe hunt, the Senate Whitewashing Committee, er, I mean, the Senate Intelligence Committee, rather studiously avoided the subject, which supposedly was left for the FBI to investigate.

8 ( ) The documents from the Italian journalist are those that were later passed to the IAEA and discovered to have been forged. In March 2003, the Vice Chairman of the Committee, Senator Rockefeller, requested that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigate the source of the documents,REDACTED SEGMENT,the motivation of those responsible for the forgeries, and the extent to which the forgeries were part of a disinformation campaign. Because of the FBI's investigation into this matter, the Committee did not examine these issues.

Link:
http://www.globalsecurity.org/intell/library/congress/2004_rpt/iraq-wmd-intell_chapter2-g.htm

Which naturally raises the question of whether Fitzgerald's team and the FBI have been talking to each other lately, and what they may have been talking about. If there are strands of evidence that tend to walk the responsibility for the production and/or disseminaton of those forged documents back to this side of the Atlantic, and if any of those strands lead towards the U.S. government, or "an internal working group dealing with Iraq" . . . well, Rove (and others) might find that perjury charges are the least of their worries.

http://billmon.org/archives/001970.html

Yes, who 'created' those documents remains a key and dangerous element of the investigation.

And, we all know how little regard some folk have for Feith's little intelligence service he operated in the Pentagon (here's one of many commentaries on that issue: http://www.mindfully.org/Reform/2004/CIA-Iraq-Pentagon10mar04.htm)


Peace.

www.missionnotaccomplished.us

[passy]

106. Wasn't there talk early on, of setting a disinformation service overseas.

However there was some problems with that because somebody pointed out that disinformation planted overseas would no doubt be picked up by the US MSM and that would be a crime to spread disinformation in the US.
They probably never gave a s**t about recommendations and set it up anyway. That could be how an italian reporter got hold of the information or rather fell for the forgeries.

[rateyes]

94. BINGO! nt

[garybeck]

70. it's official. the house of cards is shaking

may they all fall down.

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

72. David Corn posted on this ...

http://www.davidcorn.com/

It's Here! Newsweek Does Nail Rove

SNIP:
"The newsmagazine has obtained documentary evidence that Rove was indeed a key source for Time magazine's Matt Cooper and that Rove--prior to the publication of the Bob Novak column that first publicly disclosed Valerie Wilson/Plame as a CIA official--told Cooper that former Ambassador Joseph Wilson's wife apparently worked at the CIA and was involved in Joseph Wilson's now-controversial trip to Niger."

I wonder if the WH press will find this worthy of a question or two..

[Fluffdaddy]

73. Corn is the Washington editor of The Nation, the oldest political weekly

in America, and a Fox News Channel contributor.

[loudsue]

150. THANK YOU, Fluffdaddy. Too many DLCers around here LOVE Corn

But us died-in-the-wool progressives know a wolf in sheep's clothing when we see one.

Corn sits on BOTH sides of the fence...and is paid well for it.

:kick::kick::kick:

[WinkyDink]

75. Rove's lies

Rove's lies and Isikoff's deliberate omissions are only good for more PR; FITZGERALD knows the truth, and HE will "out" it!
So go ahead, Isikoff-who-hated-Clinton-and-hounded-him-about-Monica: Spin, spin, spin.
Printing the WITTING lies of Rove about Wilson and Plame-Wilson for the public record will only HURT Rove in court.

I wonder if Karl can play the banjo. Da-da-DA-da-DA-da-DA-da-Dum.....(repeat).

Oh, and what would be the POINT of naming "Mrs. Wilson", if Rove believed she was only what her cover story said she was??????????

[savemefromdumbya]

82. I doubt he revealed Plame's ID to the reporters without Bush's permission

Seventeen in Congress sign Conyers' letter on Rove

A letter penned by Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) calling on Bush adviser Karl Rove to explain or resign over his role in outing a CIA agent has garnered a handful of signatories in the House, RAW STORY has learned.

Just 17 members have signed. Finding congressmembers to sign a letter during a Congressional recess is often difficult, and Conyers' office has extended a deadline for others to sign on until next Wednesday.

The current signers are Reps. John Conyers, Jr.; Maurice Hinchey; Sheila Jackson Lee; Sam Farr; Diane Watson; Barbara Lee; Zoe Lofgren; Danny Davis; Henry Waxman; Corrine Brown; Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick; Raul Grijalva; James McGovern; Bernie Sanders; Lynn Woolsey; Mike Honda; and Carolyn Maloney.

http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Seventeen_in_Congress_sign_Conyers_lette_0708.html

What are the other remaing Congressmembers frightened of?

[LynneSin]

86. double super secret background? Is that like Double Secret Probation??

[MidwestTransplant]

88. How does a political operative like Rove know who worked for the CIA?

Somebody must have revealed classified material to him. Not like it doesn't happen all the time I am sure. He and Cheney basically run the show.

[writes2000]

89. Espionage Act, Espionage Act, Espionage Act

I'm just going to keep chanting it because I believe it's the key to nailing these bastards. It's a clear-as-day law that several of the Bush people have broken.

I know Kos is controversial these days but it is a compelling, thoughtful, tantilizing read.

www.dailykos.com/story/2005/7/10/42259/4958

[adarling]

93. vote on the article on msnbc

we need to do this so the story will stay on the front page of that website. This is beautiful

[WorseBeforeBetter]

100. Took me a while to find it:

"OTHER TOP STORIES
• 'Fantastic Four' debut snaps box-office slump
• Luxembourg voters ratify EU constitution
• Rice: N. Korea pledge on nuke talks ‘only a start’
• Newsweek: E-mail details what Rove told reporter
• Lance Armstrong gives up overall Tour de France lead"

Some lousy movie gets the #1 bullet. I'd say UFB, but it is FB.

[understandinglife]

109. Yahoo has picked up the Corn report:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/huffpost/20050710/cm_huffpost/003933&printer=1;_ylt=AqAA7ko.Rw7ylDZoA1P37o8e6sgF;_ylu=X3oDMTA3MXN1bHE0BHNlYwN0bWE-

You all know what to do -- at 1254 PDT it has 4.5 stars....

Peace

www.missionnotaccomplished.us

[understandinglife]

129. Yahoo/AFP: Rove's lawyer acknowledges he was Time reporter's source

Link:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20050710/pl_afp/usjusticemediarove_050710203623&printer=1;_ylt=ArhjhXqpQNnn7_EMrq_jDNStOrgF;_ylu=X3oDMTA3MXN1bHE0BHNlYwN0bWE-

Time to vote ;)


Peace.

www.missionnotaccomplished.us - A simple question, my fellow Americans, "Exactly what part of the 10 Commandments permits lying, torture, murder and treason?"

[understandinglife]

130. NYTimes "Top Story from Reuters" - "Rove's lawyer .....

Link:

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/news/news-politics-leak.html

So, it's starting to spread; and so is the bullshit spin....


Peace.

www.missionnotaccomplished.us

[Auntie Bush]

96. Now how can we bring Gannon/Guckert into all this mystery?

He's got to fit in this puzzle somewhere. Then the MSM will jump in with both feet. Ahhh! A little sex will do it.

[warsager]

99. follow the money

Here is a quote" Mr. Wilson said that though his wife wrote a memorandum describing his expertise at the request of a C.I.A. superior, she did not propose him for the Niger trip. He scoffs at the notion that a trip to one of the poorest countries on earth, for which he was paid only his expenses, was some kind of prize."

WHO paid for his expenses?? Follow the money.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/05/politics/05wilson.html?pagewanted=print

edit added link

[Minnesota_Lib]

131. The C.I.A. paid Wilson's expenses....

...and he was sent in response to a request by Cheney.

"In February 2002, I was informed by officials at the Central Intelligence Agency that Vice President Dick Cheney's office had questions about a particular intelligence report. While I never saw the report, I was told that it referred to a memorandum of agreement that documented the sale of uranium yellowcake — a form of lightly processed ore — by Niger to Iraq in the late 1990's. The agency officials asked if I would travel to Niger to check out the story so they could provide a response to the vice president's office.

After consulting with the State Department's African Affairs Bureau (and through it with Barbro Owens-Kirkpatrick, the United States ambassador to Niger), I agreed to make the trip. The mission I undertook was discreet but by no means secret. While the C.I.A. paid my expenses (my time was offered pro bono), I made it abundantly clear to everyone I met that I was acting on behalf of the United States government."


http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article4020.htm

Sounds like an official trip to me...

[Peace Patriot]

108. See my post (#64) at:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4061218

[lfairban]

119. Is Bolton the key to unraveling this?

Remember Congressman Waxman's screed complaining about the classification abuses by this administration? he sez (careful it's one of those pdf jobbies), "The State Dept. concealed unclassified information about the role of John Bolton, Under Secretary of State for Arms Control, in the creation of a fact sheet that falsely claimed that Iraq sought uranium from Niger.

See comment 16

[savemefromdumbya]

142. Bolton, yep

I read that he is deeply in this?

[brettdale]

120. Apart from Newsweek

I cant find any coverage of this on the news sites on the web.

CNN's webpage doesnt have it.

Is it time to mass email the media again?

[understandinglife]

126. "Is it time to mass email the media again?" -- Yes, most definitely.

Yahoo has posted the Corn, Huffington Post item, with an update on the Newsweek, Isikoff article (see comment #109, above).


Peace.

www.missionnotaccomplished.us

[brettdale]

134. kick

kick

[Bumblebee]

136. See also

http://www.tpmcafe.com/story/2005/7/10/95928/2698

Pincus: Wilson "discredited" in 2002

By p lukasiak

ALthough most of us have been following the Cooper revelations with regard to Karl Rove, Walter Pincus of the Washington Post has also spilled some beans. And the beans he spilled strongly suggest that the effort to discredit Wilson via his wife was not the result of Wilson's disclosing his trip in a NY Times column, but was being done in 2002 in order to discredit his reporting, and "fix the facts and intelligence" around the policy. (More)

[warsager]

137. Reuters Politics Page

Bush aide Rove was Time reporter's source-Newsweek

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsChannel.aspx?type=politicsNews

Sun Jul 10, 2005 6:36 PM ET

not actual image from story, hee hee

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Top White House advisor Karl Rove was one of the secret sources that spoke to reporters about a covert CIA operative whose identity was leaked to the media, Newsweek magazine reported in its latest edition

CROOK!!

This is on the politics page of Reuters!!

[Bumblebee]

145. More on Pincus and his recollection of the 2002 WP piece that he wrote

It is currently the top item at Daily Kos;

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/7/10/21409/4086

[liberalismresurgent]

138. Washington Post picks up the story

6:35PM EST on Sunday:

Bush aide Rove was Time reporter's source-Newsweek

Reuters
Sunday, July 10, 2005; 6:35 PM

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Top White House advisor Karl Rove was one of the secret sources that spoke to reporters about a covert CIA operative whose identity was leaked to the media, Newsweek magazine reported in its latest edition.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/10/AR2005071000758.html

[reality based]

146. What did * know and when did he know it?

Surely the little emperor has known all along about this sordid little matter and who in his administration is responsible. It doesn't really matter whether it meets a criminal test or not. It was a lousy thing to do and even worse to condone it. He should have a lot of 'splainin' to do and with him doing the 'splainin' it should be quite a show. What else did you try to "fix", Mr. Putative President?

[McCamy Taylor]

147. Doesnt prove treason, but may prove perjury.

[Time for change]

148. I heard on TV today that there is no evidence that Rove knew that Plame

was a CIA agent.

Yet here's a quote from the Newsweek article, Cooper speaking of Rove:

"it was, KR said, wilson's wife, who apparently works at the agency on wmd issues who authorized the trip."

[loudsue]

151. And don't forget what Rove told Tweety: " Wilson's wife is fair game."

That puts a little more smoke on that gun, if you ask me.

:kick::kick::kick:

[Time for change]

152. In a normal world that would defnitely be true

In today's Alice in Wonderland world, I'm not so sure?