Who were the six journalists who were given the leak ?

[kentuck]

I have seen it reported several times that six reporters were given the name of Wilson's wife? I seem to recall that Tim Russert was called to testify before the independent prosecutor? We know that Novak was another? Who were the other four reporters?

[NMDemDist2]

1. Miller, Cooper and Matthews are on the list

not sure about any others

[EFerrari]

3. Miller, Cooper, Matthews and Novak.

Who are the other two?

[eleny]

2. Andrea Mitchell is another

[EFerrari]

4. Really? How do we know? n/t

[eleny]

9. She's been named many times on tv talk shows

Edit: Was Matthews one of the original six? I recall that he was told by Rove that Plame was fair game *after* she was outed. I mean, if Rove told Matthews that Plame was "fair game" as a way to out her - wouldn't that be enough to arrest Rove right now?

[Must_B_Free]

5. You mean "Greenspan's wife"

lets not refer to her by name...

[dogday]

7. I know who you mean and

you did not even have to say her name....

[kentuck]

6. So it was Miller, Novak, Cooper, Matthews, Russert, and Mitchell?

That sounds about right...

[Jackpine Radical]

8. Why was Cooper on the list?

Also, to a lesser extent, why Matthews? The other 4 make perfect sense, but does Cooper have a history of dowing the WH's bidding? He didn't in this case.

[Hamlette]

10. I wouldn't put Matthews on the list, or did I miss something?

I know he said Karl called him and told him Plame was fair game but I thought that was after Novak leaked it. I was thinking there were 6 originally and he was a second or after the leak tier.

[Jackpine Radical]

15. I'm going by earlier posts on this thread.

I don't recall whether Matthews was in the original set, but it vaguesly rang a bell with me that he named himself or something. For all I know it was just a sad little piece of vainglory after the fact.

[Zen Democrat]

14. Actually, I think the story Cooper wrote was about the motivation

of the White House in planting the story. He was questioning why the administration was pushing the story on Wilson's wife.

And the reason for including Cooper, I believe, was to have a reporter on the record with this information who was NOT one of the usual suspects ... which Miller, Mitchell, Novak, Russert and Matthews most certainly were. It was a feeble attempt to de-politicize the leak.

[eleny]

17. Russert - right! He's another one that was contacted

I recall threads about him also being one that was contacted and we wondered if he testifued to the GJ.

"Two journalists, one from NBC News, have received federal subpoenas to face questioning about the alleged leak of an undercover CIA weapons expert’s identity, but both news organizations said Sunday they would fight the subpoenas.

The companies said the subpoenas for NBC's Tim Russert and Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper, came from a special grand jury investigating whether the Bush administration improperly disclosed the identity of the agent, Valerie Plame, after her husband, former diplomat Joseph Wilson IV, publicly challenged the White House’s claim that Iraq had been trying to obtain uranium for nuclear weapons from Africa."

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5033875/

[kentuck]

11. And we wonder why it wasn't mentioned on the Sunday talk shows?

Because they are connected in one way or another to the scandal/crime?

[eleny]

12. I've been Googling "six Plame leak"

Articles going back in time say anything from "six journalists" to "Novak and six other journalists" to "at least six journalists". So the exact number of journalists is probably not known for sure.

[Me.]

13. Pincus & Another From WaPo

Ellinger?

[eleny]

16. On Pincus

"One current or former administration official has told Fitzgerald that he or she had a conversation with Washington Post reporter Walter Pincus on Saturday, July 12, Pincus has said publicly. Pincus also has said his source was not Libby. Pincus has previously said that an administration official told him that day that Wilson's trip to Niger was set up as a boondoggle by his CIA-employed wife."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A13258-2004Nov25?language=printer

[joemurphy]

19. I think the six reporters were called AFTER the Novak article

On Sept. 28, the Washington Post initially reported that "a senior administration official" said that before Novak's column ran, two top White House officials called at least six Washington journalists and disclosed the identity and occupation of Wilson's wife.

A later Newsweek article dated 10/8/2003 claims the Washington Post story was erroneous in certain details and states that the above calls came AFTER Novak’s column was published.

“There were indeed White House phone calls to reporters about Wilson’s wife. But most, if not all, of these phone calls, were made after the Novak column appeared, some government officials now believe. They were placed as part of a blundering effort to persuade journalists to concentrate on Wilson’s presumed lack of credentials as a critic of pre-Iraq war intelligence rather than the substance of his critique.”

The Newsweek article indicates that Wilson got no telephone calls from any other reporters than Novak before July 14, 2003 when Novak’s column was published. He started getting lots of calls (from Andrea Mitchell and Chris Matthews among others) after Novak's article ran when Rove's press campaign began in earnest. The later calls apparently were hyping Novak's article to get it wider circulation in the press.

[Me.]

22. Link please n/t

[joemurphy]

23. Here's the link:

<http://www.prospect.org/print-friendly/webfeatures/2004/03/waas-m-03-08.html>

[eleny]

18. Miller, Cooper, Russert, Mitchell, Pincus, Novak

Six we know for sure at this point.

[joemurphy]

21. I think the 6 were supposed to have been told AFTER

Novak article, eleni.

Miller and Cooper were told before Novak's ran.

Mitchell, Pinkus,and Russert were told after.

Novak claims he wasn't called by anyone -- that he was talking to one of his government sources on another matter and it sort of came up (I don't believe this, BTW, but that's what Novak claims happened).

So aside from Mitchell, Pinkus and Russert, there may be three others we don't know about. I don't expect much if all they were getting from Rove was hype about Novak's earlier article.

Miller and Cooper remain the keys here.

[eleny]

24. "Miller and Cooper remain the keys here."

I just got in and found your reply. Jeez, but shopping take too long!

Novak also said he spoke with 2 people about Plame. So, he had 2 sources.

Sounds like Miller and Cooper are the only known individuals who knew before the Novak column, then. The rest are all after.

[cascadiance]

20. I believe that Jeff Gannon had access to her info too...

Check out these dailykos links...

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/2/9/191334/0754

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/1/30/9415/11717

Anyone want to guess if it was a bedsite chat with the leaking party?