Below is a Bloomberg article which is reporting that Karl Rove, senior adviser to the President and deputy chief of staff, and Lewis Libby, chief of staff to Vice President Cheney, are being investigated for having lied to a federal grand jury about how they learned the identity of a covert CIA agent, Valerie Plame (Murray Waas at the American Prospect wrote a similar story yesterday).
Rove, Libby Accounts in CIA Case Differ With Those of Reporters
July 22 (Bloomberg) — Two top White House aides have given accounts to a special prosecutor about how reporters first told them the identity of a CIA agent that are at odds with what the reporters have said, according to people familiar with the case.
Lewis “Scooter” Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff, told special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald that he first learned from NBC News reporter Tim Russert of the identity of Central Intelligence Agency operative Valerie Plame, the wife of former ambassador and Bush administration critic Joseph Wilson, one person said. Russert has testified before a federal grand jury that he didn’t tell Libby of Plame’s identity, the person said.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove told Fitzgerald that he first learned the identity of the CIA agent from syndicated columnist Robert Novak, according a person familiar with the matter. Novak, who was first to report Plame’s name and connection to Wilson, has given a somewhat different version to the special prosecutor, the person said.
These discrepancies may be important because Fitzgerald is investigating whether Libby, Rove or other administration officials made false statements during the course of the investigation. The Plame case has its genesis in whether any administration officials violated a 1982 law making it illegal to knowingly reveal the name of a covert intelligence agent.
‘Twisted’ Intelligence
The CIA requested the inquiry after Novak reported in a July 14, 2003, column that Plame recommended her husband for a 2002 mission to check into reports Iraq tried to buy uranium from Niger. Wilson, in a July 6, 2003, article in the New York Times, had said President George W. Bush’s administration “twisted” some of the intelligence on Iraq’s weapons to justify the war.
Robert Luskin, Rove’s attorney, said yesterday that Rove told the grand jury “he had not heard her name before he heard it from Bob Novak.” He declined in an interview to comment on whether Novak’s account of their conversation differed from Rove’s.
There also is a discrepancy between accounts given by Rove and Time magazine reporter Mat Cooper. The White House aide mentioned Wilson’s wife — though not by name — in a July 11, 2003, conversation with Cooper, the reporter said. Rove, 55, says that Cooper called him to talk about welfare reform and the Wilson connection was mentioned later, in passing.
Cooper wrote in Time magazine last week that he told the grand jury he never discussed welfare reform with Rove in that call.
Miller in Jail
One reporter, Judith Miller of the New York Times, has been jailed on contempt of court charges for refusing to testify before the grand jury about her reporting on the Plame case.
Cooper testified only after Time Inc. said it would comply with Fitzgerald’s demands for Cooper’s notes and reporting on the Plame matter, particularly regarding his dealings with Rove.
Libby, 54, didn’t return a phone call seeking comment.
The varying accounts of conversations between Rove, Libby and reporters come as new details emerge about a classified State Department memorandum that’s also at the center of Fitzgerald’s probe.
A memo by the department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research included Plame’s name in a paragraph marked “(S)” for “Secret,” a designation that indicated to anyone who read it that the information was classified, the Washington Post reported yesterday.
State Department Memo
The memo, prepared July 7, 2003, for Secretary of State Colin Powell, is a focus of Fitzgerald’s interest, according to individuals who have testified before the grand jury and attorneys familiar with the case.
The three-page document said that Wilson had been recommended for a CIA-sponsored trip to Africa by his wife, who worked on the CIA’s counter-proliferations desk.
Bush had said in his State of the Union message in January 2003 that Iraq was trying to purchase nuclear materials in Africa. Days after Wilson’s article — in which he said there was no basis to conclude that Iraq was trying to buy nuclear material in Africa and that the administration had exaggerated the evidence — the White House acknowledged that the Africa assertion shouldn’t have been included in the speech.
The memo summarizing the Plame-Wilson connection was provided to Powell as he left with Bush on a five-day trip to Africa. Fitzgerald is exploring whether other White House officials on the trip may have gained access to the memo and shared its contents with officials back in Washington. Rove and Libby didn’t accompany Bush to Africa.
One key to the inquiry is when White House aides knew of Wilson’s connection to Plame and whether they learned about it through this memo or other classified information.
Some Bush allies hope that the Fitzgerald investigation, which dominated the news in Washington for the first part of July, will subside as attention shifts to Bush’s nomination of Judge John Roberts to fill the first vacancy on the Supreme Court in 11 years.
Fitzgerald’s term of service lasts until October, which is also the length of time remaining for the grand jury hearing evidence in the case.
Well, you know, it’s not the sex, it’s the lying!
Only this time, it’s lying about something that actually matters. It will be very instructive to see how wingnuts try to spin this one. Oh, I know! Fitzgerald’s secretly a Democrat, right?
July 21st, 2005 at 8:38 pmJust the tip of the iceberg, a preview of coming attractions. Be prepared to wave goodbye to DUHbya and the Right-wingnuts as they sing their finale: “You Took My Job and Shoved It!”
July 21st, 2005 at 8:50 pmThis is all well and good, and I suppose it’s a start, but we’re still miles away from the REAL issue - we were lied to about the need to go to Iraq. Let’s hope the snow keeps building.
July 21st, 2005 at 8:56 pmI guess MEMOS can be pretty important after all.
Gee…
July 21st, 2005 at 9:11 pmHow do you know a CONservative is lying? Just when they open their mouth and words come out, and that’s how you know…
July 21st, 2005 at 9:12 pmWhen will everything be linked for the rest of America to see that this administration sent us to war on false premises…
July 21st, 2005 at 9:19 pmthe DSM+Leaking of the CIA agent + Richard Clarks account + O’NeiL = impeach Bush, Cheney & Rice. Jail the other criminals!
when will america wake up and start impeachment proceedings????!!!!
Corollary too #5:
You can lead a conservative to logic but you can’t make him think.
July 21st, 2005 at 9:24 pmI never thought they could be this stupid.
As a Red Sox fan, it’s kinda like beating the Yankees (at least in game 5). We’ll see if we can take this all the way.
July 21st, 2005 at 9:30 pmI really want to know who was on Air Force one when the memo was received. Was Condi there? Who called who to and from the plane. What news media was there? Perhaps Miller? Why was Powell walking the aisle with the memo? Was he really pissed off?
July 21st, 2005 at 9:31 pmWould be interesting to know.
The nice thing about all this is we are now seeing the MSM starting to dig and compete for the next day’s strong breaking story. Even WSJ is getting into the act–tomorrow’s lead: Memo marked “Top secret”. Keep those sources coming, baby!!!!!
July 21st, 2005 at 9:34 pm[…] Wow, I must say Bloomberg is doing–by far–the best reporting on PlameGate and the rest of the leak investigation. Think Progress has the text of the article up here, and here’s an excerpt: “Two top White House aides have given accounts to the special prosecutor about how reporters told them the identity of a CIA agent that are at odds with what the reporters have said, according to persons familiar with the case. […]
July 21st, 2005 at 9:37 pmWho’s got the answers?
Did Libby and Rove get any calls from administration sources during the five-day African trip?
Who went with Bush to Africa?
Parenthetically, my own feeling is that Bush learned who leaked the day it happened. He talked both to Rove and Libby and has known about their guilt for two years. But does Fitzgerald have the nerve to charge the son of a bitch with obstruction of justice?
July 21st, 2005 at 9:38 pmWho is leaking the evidence, drip by drip?
It’s not just Karl & Scooter that should go down — try bigger fish, like Cheney, Bush or Condi.
They all were on that plane.
July 21st, 2005 at 9:43 pm[…] UPDATE: And look at this, via Bloomberg: […]
July 21st, 2005 at 9:47 pmOK, we are supposed to believe that Rove and Libby got the top secret info from the reporters and not the other way around? We have to also wonder why Rove and Libby never asked these reporters how they knew or why they had such info. Please! What a joke. How would the reporters know about this secret info unless high ranking white house officials told them. Who are the only known high ranking white house officials to have spoken to these reporters? You guessed it, Rove and Libby.
July 21st, 2005 at 9:55 pmOh. That’s Going to Hurt
Think Progress has an article that Bloomberg will be putting up:
July 21st, 2005 at 9:57 pmChangeAmerica.net: Drip, Drip, Drip. It took 2 years to impeach Nixon, but he was a lot smarter than Bush. I wonder how long he can hold on when half his staff are found to be TRAITORS. I personally like the name TRAITORGATE. I can’t wait till the beating of the drums brings some Republicans (who know they can’t win an election supporting traitors) come on board, and start asking questions. It is only a matter of time before the whole house crumbles under the weight of the Bush Administration’s lies, and crimes. I have read on many occasions that there is no way a crime this big (lying to the world to invade a country for false reasons) can not all come out in the wash eventually. Too many people hate Bush/Republicans, and are demanding answers to obvious questions, and known lies. It is only a matter of time….
http://www.ChangeAmerica.net
Stop Government Corruption Now!
July 21st, 2005 at 10:07 pmbush and cheney would never be on the same plane.’(safety thing)
July 21st, 2005 at 10:07 pmwhat i would like to REALLY know, was Bolton on that plane?
let’s get em all if we can.
bloggers unite!
The information on Rove is not knew. This was already put out on July 15:
http://www.tblog.com/ templates/ index.php?bid=reducto&static=1969717345
Rove stated basically that Novak told him about plame, but he (rove) already knew this and just corrobarated it to Novak. In the words he spoke, “so you know this too.”
When asked where he found out originally about the CIA operative, ROve said it may have been yet another journalist, but he just couldn’t remember.
July 21st, 2005 at 10:10 pmInteresting how both Rove and Libby seemed to have the same cover story, at odds with what the journalists said. Wasn’t Fitzgerald supposedly investigating the possibility of a conspiracy to obstruct justice?
JDW — the big deal here is the reporting that Rove’s story is conflicting with that of other witnesses.
July 21st, 2005 at 10:14 pmJust keep the VOLUME HI.
This is a total outrage and should be the subject of every conversation.
July 21st, 2005 at 10:15 pmWhere are the trolls?
July 21st, 2005 at 10:16 pmThe very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. Instead of altering their views to fit the facts, they alter the facts to fit their views - which can be very uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that needs altering. You have my condolences, Ambassador Joseph P Wilson III and your wife Valerie Plame.
Bush’s absolute power and incredible stupidity is a very dangerous combination, indeed. Germany’s King William I suffered from the same problem and started WW I. So did Germany’s Adolf Hitler starting WW II. We could also say the same for England’s King George III’s precipitation of our American Revolution.
Where is George Washington when you need him? Is Patrick Fitzgerald our latter day George Washington?
July 21st, 2005 at 10:17 pmComment by JDW
Some people just don’t get it.
July 21st, 2005 at 10:17 pmCheney is at the center of this whole thing. He pushed the CIA to cook intelligence, he wanted this war more than anything if not for his buddies at Halliburton. And now he is nowhere to be found.
Why is it the man who was front and center pushing for this war is not out defending Rove, or making some kinda comment?
July 21st, 2005 at 10:23 pmAlso, the Wall Street Journal will report tomorrow, that the secret memo about Valerie Plame was a TOP SECRET memo, which means that nobody, not even a friendly country can look at it. If it is true, Rove and possibly Libby as well, could be brought up on treason charges.
July 21st, 2005 at 10:23 pmTannen,
This Talking Points Memo Cafe reader submitted the attached press gaggle transcript from the AF1 trip the day Powell got the State Dept. report. According to this, it was Condi who went to the press to smear Wilson, though Ari was there too. Worth reading…
July 21st, 2005 at 10:23 pmWilliam, We can only start impeachment proceedings if we win back the House of Representatives in 2006. The republicans, (or I should say the neocons and the republicans in congress who are either toadies or are being blackmailed into submission (Gannon/Guckert?)), not only own torture, but also treason. We need to hang this double albatross on their necks in the run up to the 2006 midterm election.
July 21st, 2005 at 10:24 pmBUSH is the leaker!
July 21st, 2005 at 10:25 pmHe’s the one with the vengeful, spiteful, arrogant temper!
But he told only Rove, who will DIE—for real—before he rats on Dubya.
I appears that this bag o’crap keeps getting bigger and bigger. I’m sure the party that is originally responsible for the leak s#it a brick when the story first broke and they are hoping it will go away soon. Was the Supreme Court nomination just a diversion? When will Osama be led down Pennsylvania Avenue? I believe he has been tucked away at Camp David for quite sometime waiting to be sprung on us when the time is right (or the when the ultimate diversion is needed).
July 21st, 2005 at 10:25 pmThe problem with at least the Rove side of this is that you have two different conflicting stories about what Rove testified. One source claims that Rove testified that he only corrobarted with Novak and actually learned about the operative from some unknown journalist.
http://www.tblog.com/ templates/ index.php?bid=reducto&static=1969717345
On the other hand Bloomburg (new) source claims that Rove testified that he actually learned it first from Novak himself. So there are two different sources for Roves supposed testimony. The problem is which one do you believe? Or are they both wrong?
July 21st, 2005 at 10:27 pmETA: I definitely agree with the thought posted above about Gannon/Guckert. Big-time blackmail.
July 21st, 2005 at 10:28 pm“…neocons and the republicans in congress who are either toadies or are being blackmailed into submission (Gannon/Guckert?….”
Actually, investigative reporter Jason Leopold broke this story last week. See http://www.jasonleopold.blogspot.com
It also ran on a bunch of other news sites.
Did Karl Rove Lie to the FBI?
By Jason Leopold
(c) 2005 Jason Leopold
Looks like Karl Rove did break the law, the same federal law that got Martha Stewart sentenced to six months in prison.
It now appears that Rove, President Bush’s chief of staff, may have lied to the FBI in October 2003â€â€a federal crimeâ€â€when he was questioned by federal agents who were investigating the source responsible for leaking the true identity of an undercover CIA operative to the media.
During questioning by the FBI about his role in the Valerie Plame affair, Rove told federal agents that he first started sharing information about Plame’s undercover status to reporters and White House officials after conservative columnist Robert Novak identified her as a covert spy in his column on July 14, 2003.
But Rove wasn’t truthful with the FBI what with the recent disclosure of Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper’s emails, which reveal that Rove spoke to Cooper about Plame nearly a week before Novak’s column was published. Rove, we now know, was the source for Cooper’s own July 2003 story identifying Plame as a CIA operative. Cooper’s email correspondence with his editor proves as much. In addition, according to previously published news reports, Rove spoke to a half-dozen other reporters about Plame as early as June 2003.
“It was, KR said, (former Ambassador Joseph) wilson’s wife, who apparently works at the agency on wmd [weapons of mass destruction] issues who authorized (Wilson’s) trip,” Cooper’s July 11, 2003, email to his editor, obtained by Newsweek, says. “Wilson’s wife is Plame, then an undercover agent working as an analyst in the CIA’s Directorate of Operations counterproliferation division. (Cooper later included the essence of what Rove told him in an online story.) The e-mail characterizing the conversation continues: “not only the genesis of the trip is flawed an[d] suspect but so is the report. he [Rove] implied strongly there’s still plenty to implicate iraqi interest in acquiring uranium fro[m] Niger … ”
Moreover, evidence suggests that President Bush was aware as early as October 2003 that Rove and I. Lewis “Scooter� Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff, were the sources who leaked Plame’s undercover CIA status to reporters and after the president was briefed about the issue the president said publicly that the source of the leak will never be found.
Furthermore, a few aides to Condoleeza Rice, then head of the National Security Council, may have played a role as well by being the first officials to learn about Plame’s role as a CIA operative and then gave that information to Rove, Libby and other senior administration officials who used it to undermine former Ambassador Joseph Wilson’s credibility.
Wilson, an outspoken critic of the Iraq war had alleged that President Bush misspoke when he said in his January 2003 State of the Union address that Iraq had tried to acquire yellow-cake uranium from Niger.
Wilson knew the statement was false because was recommended by Plame, his wife, to travel to Niger more than a year earlier to investigate the yellow-cake claims. Rove, Libby and other administration officials sought to discredit Wilson because they claimed that Wilson had said publicly that he was sent to Niger at the request of Cheney’s office. Cheney did in fact contact the CIA at first to arrange the mission but Plame ultimately recommended Wilson. Still, in February 2002, Wilson traveled to Niger and reported back to the CIA that intelligence reports saying Iraq attempted to purchase uranium from Niger were false.
Here’s the fullest account yet of how the events leading up to the disclosure of Plame’s identity unfolded, and how it all leads back to Rove. But first let’s get to the real story behind the leak, the catalyst behind this issue.
Bush and senior administration officials mislead Congress and the public into supporting a war predicated on the fact that Iraq was concealing weapons of mass destruction that threatened its neighbors in the Middle East and posed a grave threat to the United States.
In his State of the Union address in January 2003, two months prior to the Iraq war, Bush said Iraq tried to buy yellow-cake uranium, the key component used to build a nuclear bomb, from Niger. The uranium claim was the silver bullet in getting Congress to support military action two months later. To date, no weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq and the country barely had a functional weapons program, according to a report from the Iraq Survey Group.
Like other officials who were attacked for speaking out against Bush’s rationale for war, including former Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill and counterterrorism expert Richard Clarke, both of whom provided evidence that Bush and senior members of his administration of being obsessed with attacking Iraq shortly after 9/11 and manipulating intelligence reports as a way to get Congress and the public to back the war, the White House launched a full-scale attack against Wilson beginning in June 2003, when Wilson was quoted anonymously in various news reports as saying that the 16 words in Bush State of the Union address alleging that Iraq bought yellow-cake uranium from Niger was totally untrue.
On July 14, 2003, Novak first disclosed Plame by name in his column as well as her undercover CIA status, citing two “senior administration officials.� Novak said Wilson wasn’t trustworthy because his wife recommended him for the trip to Niger.
According to a preliminary FBI investigation, White House officials, including Rove and Libby, first learned of Plame’s name and CIA status in June 2003 when questions surrounding Wilson’s Niger trip were first brought to the attention of Cheney’s aides by reporters, according to an Oct 13, 2003 report in the Washington Post.
“One reason investigators are looking back (to June 2003) is that even before Novak’s column appeared, government officials had been trying for more than a month to convince journalists that Wilson’s mission wasn’t as important as it was being portrayed,â€? the Post reported.
Several CIA officers assigned to the White House and working mainly on the National Security staff may have been the first individuals to have learned that Plame was an undercover operative and that Wilson was her husband. According to Oct. 13, 2003 story in the Post, a “former NSC staff member said one or more of those officers may have been aware of the Plame-Wilson relationship� and briefed Cheney and Rove about her status, that she was married to Wilson and that she recommended him for the fact-finding trip to Niger.
A May 6, 2003, column by Nicholas Kristoff in the New York Times was the first public mention of Wilson’s trip to Niger but Kristoff’s column did not identify Wilson by name. Kristoff had been on a panel with Wilson four days earlier and said that Wilson told him that intelligence documents that proved Iraq attempted to buy uranium from Niger were forged and the White House should have known that before allowing Bush to include it in his State of the Union speech.
Wilson told Kristoff he could write about his trip and the forged documents but asked the columnist not to print Wilson’s name as the source behind those statements. The column also mentioned for the first time the alleged role Cheney’s office played in sending Wilson to Niger.
“That was when Cheney aides became aware of Wilson’s mission and they began asking questions about him within the government,â€? the Post reported, citing an unnamed administration official.
Shortly after Kristoff’s column appeared in the Times, a handful of reporters started searching for Kristoff’s anonymous source.
At this time Wilson spoke to two congressional committees that were investigating why Bush had mentioned the uranium allegation in his State of the Union address. Also in early June, Wilson told his story to The Washington Post on the condition that he not be named. On June 12, 2003, the Post published a detailed account of Wilson’s trip and the fact that there was no truth to the claims that Iraq had tried to purchase yellow-cake uranium from Niger.
Beginning that week, officials in the White House, Cheney’s office, the CIA and the State Department repeatedly played down the importance of Wilson’s trip in interviews with several reporters, and his oral report to the CIA, which was turned into a 1 ? page CIA intelligence memo for the White House and the National Security Council. By tradition, Wilson’s identity as the source, even though he traveled to Niger on behalf of the CIA, was not disclosed.
As soon as the Post’s story was published a number of officials in the Bush administration became concerned and started questioning who Wilson was and why he was criticizing the president, a senior administration official told the Post.
By Wilson’s own account, he said he ratcheted up the pressure on the White House to come clean about its error in giving credence to the Niger uranium claims by calling some present and former senior administration officials who knew then National Security adviser Condoleezza Rice, asking his colleagues to tell Rice she was flat wrong in saying on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on June 8 that there may be some intelligence “in the bowels of the agency” but that there was no doubt the uranium story was true.
Wilson said Rice told him through intermediaries that she was uninterested in what he had to say and urged Wilson to tell his story publicly if he wanted to state his case. So he did.
On July 6, 2003 Wilson was interviewed for a story that appeared in the Washington Post and accused the White House of “misrepresenting the facts on an issue that was a fundamental justification for going to war.” That same day he wrote an op-ed in the New York Times which said that “some of the intelligence related to Iraq’s nuclear weapons program was twisted to exaggerate the Iraqi threat.”
The very next day, July 7, 2003, the White House admitted it had erred in including the references about uranium in Bush’s State of the Union speech. Two days later, two top White House officials disclosed Plame’s identity to at least six Washington journalists, an administration official told The Post in an article published Sept. 28, 2003.
Those two officials were Karl Rove and Lewis Libby.
“The source elaborated on the conversations last week, saying that officials brought up Plame as part of their broader case against Wilson,� the Post reported in the Sept. 28, 2003 story.
On July 12, 2003, two days before Novak wrote his column, a Washington Post reporter was told by an administration official that the White House had not paid attention to the former ambassador’s CIA-sponsored trip to Niger because it was set up as a boondoggle by his wife, an analyst with the agency working on weapons of mass destruction. Plame’s name was never mentioned and the purpose of the disclosure did not appear to be to generate an article, but rather to undermine Wilson’s report.
That source was Karl Rove and the unidentified reporter was Walter Pincus who covers the White House for the Washington Post.
Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper’s emails show that Rove gave Cooper the same exact information about Plame that he gave to the Post. Moreover, Rove called several other reporters that week in July 2003 and reportedly said that Wilson’s wife was “fair game� because Novak had already blown her undercover status by identifying her in his column.
A day earlier, on July 11, 2003, the day Rove spoke with Cooper about Plame on what Cooper referred to as “double secret super background,” Cooper also interviewed Libby on the record about Wilson’s trip to Niger.
Libby told TIME: “The Vice President heard about the possibility of Iraq trying to acquire uranium from Niger in February 2002. As part of his regular intelligence briefing, the Vice President asked a question about the implication of the report. During the course of a year, the Vice President asked many such questions and the agency responded within a day or two saying that they had reporting suggesting the possibility of such a transaction. But the agency noted that the reporting lacked detail. The agency pointed out that Iraq already had 500 tons of uranium, portions of which came from Niger, according to the International Atomic Energy Administration (IAEA). The Vice President was unaware of the trip by Ambassador Wilson and didn’t know about it until this year when it became public in the last month or so. ”
A few months later, on Oct. 7, 2003, President Bush and his spokesman, Scott McClellan, said during a press conference that the White House ruled out three administration officialsâ€â€Rove, Libby and Elliot Abrams, a senior official on the National Security Council, as sources of the leakâ€â€a day before the FBI questioned the three of themâ€â€based on questions McClellan said he asked the men.
A day later Rove told FBI investigators that he spoke to journalists about Plame for the first time after Novak’s column was publishedâ€â€a lie, it appearsâ€â€based on Time reporter Matthew Cooper’s emails, the contents of which were reported by Newsweek earlier this month.
That same day in October 2003, in an unusual move, Bush said he doubted that a Justice Department investigation would ever turn up the source of the leak, suggesting that it was a waste of time for lawmakers to question the administration and for reporters to follow up on the story.
“I mean this is a town full of people who like to leak information,” Bush told reporters following a meeting with Cabinet members on Oct. 7, 2003. “And I don’t know if we’re going to find out the senior administration official. Now, this is a large administration, and there’s lots of senior officials. I don’t have any idea.â€?
Sen. Frank Lautenberg, Democrat of New Jersey, responded to the president’s statement in an Oct. 10, 2003, interview with the New York Times.
“If the president says, ‘I don’t know if we’re going to find this person,’ what kind of a statement is that for the president of the United States to make?” Lautenberg asked. “Would he say that about a bank-robbery investigation?â€?
During this time the White House was facing a deadline on turning over documents, emails and phone logs to Justice Department officials probing whether or not the leak came from the White House. Bush said that the White House could invoke executive privilege and withhold some “sensitive� documents related to the leak case leading many Democrats to believe that the White House had something to hide.
At the same time, the White House first started to lay the groundwork for a defense, specifically related to the role Rove played in the leak and whether he or anyone else in the administration knew Plame was covert CIA operative and intentionally blew her cover in order to undercut Wilson’s credibility.
On Oct. 6, 2003, McClellan, in response to questions about whether Rove was Novak’s source, tried to explain the difference between unauthorized disclosure of classified information and “setting the record straight” about Wilson’s public criticism of the administrations handling of intelligence on Iraq.
“There is a difference between setting the record straight and doing something to punish someone for speaking out,â€? McClellan said. “There were some statements made (by Wilson) and those statements were not based on facts,” McClellan said. “And we pointed out that it was not the vice president’s office that sent Mr. Wilson to Niger. (CIA Director George) Tenet made it very clear in his statement that it was people in the counter proliferation area that made that decision on their own initiative.”
The difference is crucial in that knowingly making an unauthorized leak of classified information is a federal crime. But repeating the leak when it has already been reported may not be considered a serious offense.
Still, when the Justice Department failed to convict Martha Stewart on insider trading charges, prosecutors had enough evidence to convince a jury that the style maven lied to federal investigators and obstructed justice. She wound up with a felony conviction and six months in jail.
Now that the evidence shows that Karl Rove and others White House officials lied to federal investigators about what they knew and when they knew it maybe they too will meet the same fate.
Jason Leopold is the author of the explosive memoir, News Junkie, to be released in the spring of 2006 by Process/Feral House Books. Visit Leopold’s website at http://www.jasonleopold.com for updates.
July 21st, 2005 at 10:33 pmFitz is going to have to soften the public if he is going to deal a serious blow to Bush directly. Perhaps the polls will help him along.
July 21st, 2005 at 10:34 pmLet’s hope Fitz is truly dedicated to the law and to the USA.
FUN FACTS ABOUT THE PATRIOT ACT
* The “patriot” in The Patriot Act is actually an acronym for “Phat Acronym That Really Is Orwellian, Though”.
* There are many clauses in The Patriot Act that concerns people, but all agree the scariest part of is its suspicious name.
* The Patriot Act was passed 99-1 in the Senate soon after 9/11, with the onc Senator voting against it being labeled an enemy combatant and indefinitely imprisoned as ordered by The Patriot Act.
* The Patriot Act is out there for anyone to read, but, according to The Patriot Act, that is considered a suspicious activity and makes you a person of interest.
* The Patriot Act allows the FBI to look at library records. This power has yet to be used, though, since pretty much no one uses a library anymore.
* The FBI wanted The Patriot Act to allow them to look at Google searches, but Google protested saying they only work in compliance with Communist countries to oppress people.
* Many people have raised objections to The Patriot Act - some of whom have even read it. According to The Patriot Act, these people are enemy combatants, and you must shoot them on site or be considered an enemy of the state yourself.
* The Patriot Act gives great new surveillance technology to the FBI, allowing them to spy on you through what looks like a period at the end of this sentence.
* Stop staring at that period!
* Yeah, they still need to use an exclamation point for audio.
* The Patriot Act allows more wire-tapping ability for law enforcement, something that’s been denounced by numerous people so boring that you couldn’t pay people to spy on them.
* The provisions of The Patriot Act has helped law enforcement capture numerous terrorists and, through a mix-up, one terrier.
* President Bush is currently urging Congress to renew The Patriot Act. This doesn’t mean he supports it, though, as, according to The Patriot Act, the President must urge its renewal or be considered an enemy combatant.
* If ever attacked by The Patriot Act, imprison yourself indefinitely to steal its thunder.
* While The Patriot Act is immune to most attacks, it is scared of fire.
* In a fight between Aquaman and The Patriot Act, Aquaman would be locked up indefinitely and then be forgotten. After years of solitary confinement, he’d begin to believe he has the power to talk to cockroaches… which is just crazy!
* Some judges have ruled against clauses in The Patriot Act. They were all mysteriously killed as dictated by the Patriot Act.
* I guess the deaths aren’t so mysterious since they were ordered by The Patriot Act, but The Patriot Act says you need to act like they were mysterious or you will be considered an enemy combatant.
* According to The Patriot Act, the fact that you consider The Patriot Act an enemy and want to find information about makes you an enemy combatant. In compliance with The Patriot Act, I have now sent your IP address to the FBI. Thanks for participating in this IMAO sting operation, and may your indefinite detention be a pleasant one.
By Frank J
This satire was used without the permission of IMAO.
As for Rove, blah blah blah, we will see kiddies.
July 21st, 2005 at 10:34 pmNo goal.
July 21st, 2005 at 10:39 pmHeh, heh, heh. Gotta love it.
Murderous warmongering yellow-dog traitor vs. the blowjob.
Now we’ll see whether all that flag hugging has taught Republicans what it means to love their country.
July 21st, 2005 at 10:39 pmWhat was that Bruce Cockburn song about “rocket launchers”…
July 21st, 2005 at 10:44 pmPatrick Fitzgerald will go down in history as America’s first hero of the 21st century, a champion of justice and the rule of law!
July 21st, 2005 at 10:46 pmWhat was that Bruce Cockburn song about “rocket launchers�…
Comment by Bob the Niihilist  July 21, 2005 @ 10:44 pm
great song. If I had a rocket launcher, some sonuvabitch would die.
July 21st, 2005 at 10:55 pmGood!
Throw their asses in a Federal prison to rot!
Hey, where are the FOXNews(GOP-TV) trolls when an announcement like this comes down the pike?
I guess they’re waiting for their talking points.
. . .
July 21st, 2005 at 10:59 pmThe Rove pool has started.
Make your guess on Karl Rove’s sentence in the Whack-a-Mole Contest today!
July 21st, 2005 at 11:05 pmFox News is probably reporting on real news.
Where were all of you who are so outraged at lying politicians when Bill “I never had sexual relations with that woman” Clinton was caught lying under oath by the entire country? Defending him? Perjury is perjury. I thought we were a country of equal protection — if Clinton can perjure himself and walk free, then all perjurers should be able to walk.
Oh, and as far as GW Bush being dumb — how does his whipping the lefties asses in two elections in a row (along with a huge Congressional victory in 2002) make the Dems look? For a party that picked Howard “Secreaming Mimi” Dean as its leader, I would be careful at who is calling who dumb!
And, finally, where is George Washington when we need him? He’s in the White House having dinner with Laura :)
July 21st, 2005 at 11:12 pmThings Are Getting Mighty Curious…
…in the PlameGate department. First, Think Progress has the summary of a Bloomberg story claiming that Libby Lewis told Special Prosecutor Fitzgerald that he was told of Plame’s identity by Tim Russert of Meet the Press fame, a claim that Russert d…
July 21st, 2005 at 11:15 pm?Bruce Cockburn that was weak when it came out. Why fantasize about weapons you can’t get, hell I had my copy of the Anarchists Cookbook at 15. If you hate us so much dooo something girlyman.
No goal.
Comment by Brian
and Gore won in 2000, I’m seeing a trend here.
July 21st, 2005 at 11:19 pmSo let me get this straight. Karl Rove is a liar because his account is different than two MSM reporters? What a joke. You lefties are absolutely pathetic! Keep it up schmucks.
July 21st, 2005 at 11:23 pmStarts With a P
And ends with Rove? We’re talking perjury, folks. ThinkProgress and American Prospect have the story.
ThinkProgress runs a Bloombert story with the following.
Two top White House aides have given accounts to the special prosecutor about how …
July 21st, 2005 at 11:25 pmNot only is Fitzgerald a Democrat party mole, he is a gay man. And French. Really, really French. The give away, as anyone should have known at once, is his black love child.
That said, Miller was NOT on the plane. And as I understand it, the memo that Was on the plane did not name Valerie Plame but only Joe Wilson’s wife. Someone went from what was in the memo to ADDING her undercover NOC identity. Someone seriously was trying to out her.
The CIA agents and insiders who will testify Friday should have a lot more to say about the vast consequences of this treason to our undercover ops and the lives of our agents and their international associates.
The Demagogue and his maladministration are not just criminals, not just determined to subvert democracy, destroy the institutions of this nation, and destroy the middle class, they are stupid. Incompetent. They’ve got what I call the Midass Touch– everything they touch turns to santorum.
Does ANYONE think Bush has not known who did this? Does anyone think he was forced into war against his will? With perjury, conspiracy, treason, coverup, and obstruction within a finger’s reach of both Bush and Cheney, with Condi and perhaps Bolton up to their eyebrows in these pre-war crimes as well, how long can the two misleaders escape the consequences of their viciousness?
July 21st, 2005 at 11:29 pmThe crime at the bottom of it all: 9/11
On Friday, July 22, 2005, one year to the day after the release of the “9/11 Commission Report,” Project Censored founder, Dr. Peter Phillips will lead a National Press Club briefing entitled “The Failure of the 9/11 Commission Report and the Mainstream Media’s Disregard.” The briefing will feature scores of detailed examples of the Commission’s flawed findings, self-censorship, misrepresentations and conflicts of interest that call the accuracy and integrity of their entire investigation into doubt.
Time: 1:00-2:30 PM, Friday, July 22, 2005 Place: Holeman Lounge, National Press Club, Washington, DC Sponsor: DC Emergency Truth Convergence http://truthemergency.us
July 21st, 2005 at 11:36 pmIsn’t leaking classified material, no matter what it may contain, in time of war an act of treason? Nothing is fair game. To the rocket-scientist above, I bet Rove would rather had a sexual contact than gossiping classifieds.
July 21st, 2005 at 11:39 pmhey mike…
let me see if i understand you. pergury is your standard, and dismissal is a problem? so….if rove is guilty of perjury, you want him to get off like bill clinton?
now i REALLY understand the GOP threshold for ethics violations…
thanx mike…you as_holes despised clinton, and now you use him as a benchmark…???
moron…
July 21st, 2005 at 11:41 pmhmmm, Duhbyas Chief of Staff and Cheney’s Chief of Staff… makes it hard to believe that Bush and Cheney weren’t aware of what was going on with the situation. Even recent cases against powerful CEO’s, where they plead ignorance and/or stupidity, their stories didn’t stand up…
The easiest, most logical answers are usually the correct ones. These guys all knew what was going down. Throw the lot of them in jail… traitors!
July 21st, 2005 at 11:43 pmIt appears to me the more spin we hear from the White house, the more stories come out totally refuting the spin doctoring, this administration has been coasting too long with their veils of secrecy and villifying anyone who questions their policies so it is about time that they have finally got caught
July 21st, 2005 at 11:46 pmhopefully it will steamroll as watergate did, because this country is becoming dangerously divided and our president and his band of merrymakers is to blame!
[…] Bloomberg Reporting That Rove, Libby May Be Subject To Perjury Charges Two top White House aides have given accounts to the special prosecutor about how reporters told them the identity of a CIA agent that are at odds with what the reporters have said, according to persons familiar with the case. […]
July 21st, 2005 at 11:51 pmTwo Rove Lies Exposed:
ROVE CAUGHT IN LIE
ROVE TESTIFIED TO FEDERAL INVESTIGATORS THAT HE LEARNED PLAME’S -NAME- FROM NOVAK:
Times says that Rove has told federal investigators that he received a telephone call from columnist Bob Novak on July 8, 2003. In that call, the source tells the Times, Rove “learned from the columnist the -NAME- of . . . Valerie Plame, and the circumstances in which her husband, former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV, traveled to Africa to investigate possible uranium sales to Iraq.”
YET A YEAR LATER, ROVE CLAIMS HE DID NOT KNOW THE AGENT’S NAME:
Rove “I didn’t know her NAME.� CNN -2004
THIS CONTRADICTS HIS TESTEMONY ABOVE THAT HE KNEW HER NAME LONG BEFORE HE SPOKE TO COOPER.
UNDERSTAND THAT ROVE MAY NOW FACE PERJURY CHARGES. HE LIED ABOUT HIS TESTOMONY.
ROVE CAUGHT IN ANOTHER LIE:
Report Shows Rove May Have Lied to FBI, A Felony
Friday, 15 July 2005, 3:24 pm
Opinion: Jason Leopold
Report Shows Karl Rove May Have Lied to Federal Agents, a Federal Crime, During Oct 2003
Testimony Into CIA Agent Leak
By Jason LeopoldLooks like Karl Rove did break the law, the same federal law that got Martha
Stewart sentenced to six months in prison.
It now appears that Rove, President Bush’s chief of staff, may have lied to the FBI in October
2003â€â€a federal crimeâ€â€when he was questioned by federal agents investigating who was responsible
for leaking information about a covert CIA operative to the media.
During questioning by the FBI about his role in the Plame affair, Rove told federal agents that
he only started sharing information about Plame with reporters and White House officials for the
first time after conservative columnist Robert Novak identified her covert CIA status in his
column on July 14, 2003.
But Rove wasn’t truthful with the FBI, what with the recent disclosure of Time magazine reporter
Matthew Cooper’s emails, which reveal Rove as the source for Cooper’s own July 2003 story
identifying Plame as a CIA operative, and show that Rove spoke to Cooper nearly a week before
Novak’s column was published and, according to previously published news reports, spoke to a
half-dozen other reporters about Plame…
July 21st, 2005 at 11:51 pmPerjury Implications for Karl Rove, Scooter Libby
Two top White House aides have given accounts to the special prosecutor about how reporters told them the identity of a CIA agent that are at odds with what the reporters have said, according to persons familiar with the case……
July 21st, 2005 at 11:53 pmWhat a bunch of arrogant dumbasses, to pick a fight with the CIA was the height of stipidity. Where do you think these leaks are comming from? Straight from the moles who got double crossed I bet. Why do you think they were furiously purging the CIA once Porter Goss came aboard? Looks like the jokes on you Bush. This man will be reviled in history and his “architect” placed on the trash heap of failed propagandists past.
July 21st, 2005 at 11:59 pmSo Fitzgerald’s gay AND French?
Does he sing Sondheim too?
July 22nd, 2005 at 12:03 amMaybe when this is cleared up we can discover how Senaotor Kennedy got away with drowning a woman in 1969 and not going for help (except from his lawyers) for ten hours.
Perhaps Bloomberg can touch on that later as “Breaking News”
I do enjoy reading Democrats screaming about injustice while failing to recognize it in their own party for 36 years.
Rebuttal please?
July 22nd, 2005 at 12:09 amtHIS IS NO LEAK…IT IS A CONSPIRACY TO DESTROY THOSE WHO WERE TELLING THE TRUTH ABOUT WMD AND NUCLEAR CAPABILITIES OF IRAQ. No leak…just a down right dirty trick by the master of dirty tricks, Karl Rove. He intentionally revealed an agents status…a felony and then conspired to cover it up and to obstruct justice, and perjure himself to grand jury. Measure the orange jumpsuits! For Bush, when did he know and what did he do about it?
July 22nd, 2005 at 12:10 amimpeachment????
> Rove says that Cooper called him to talk about welfare reform and the Wilson connection was mentioned later in passing.
See, I love (and by “love” I mean “loathe with a contempt as white hot as a thousand suns”) that TurdBlossom’s defense is that he was cavalier with top secret, covert information, rather than intentionally revealing it.
Even if I believed that to be true, it would be no defense.
I wonder if Karla is still curious as to what law Mr. Rove broke?
And, Mike D., by your logic, no murderers should be prosecuted because OJ was acquitted. I realize the Republican Party is an ethics free zone, but you really ought to think your arguments out a bit better, Mandrake.
July 22nd, 2005 at 12:11 amThis is not Plamegate it is TreasonGate! Lets start using language to our advantage for a change!
July 22nd, 2005 at 12:16 amThat’s gonna be the next phase of the spin by the right, there gonna start smearing fitzgerald, you cant trust any of his finding’s he’s a part of the radacial gay lobby.
July 22nd, 2005 at 12:18 amIs that all you got? Teddy boy 36 years ago? Jeesh dude, wake up man, you missed the 80’s and Iran Contra, the October Surprise and then the pardons, you slept through the partisan impeachment of a duely elected president in the 90’s, and evidently you have fallen off the bridge to the 21st century. 36 years ago is past the statute of limitations for outrage. Wake up!
July 22nd, 2005 at 12:18 amAbe, do you get that upset over William Shatner too?
July 22nd, 2005 at 12:22 am*Ahem*
RULE OF LAW! RULE OF LAW! RULE OF LAW!
July 22nd, 2005 at 12:22 amHey, wtmoore,
What I am really saying, butt wipe, is what is good for Wet Willy Clinton is good for Karl Rove and any others, Democrat or Republican. After all, if the President cannot be believed while he is testifying under oath, then why should any others be held accountable?
I was simply asking where were your ethical sensibilites when Clinton was commiting his indiscretions? Perhpas you were under the desk with Monica.
What it really boils down to, crap face, is that you and millions of others of your left wingnuts still cannot get over the election of 2000.
Wait until 2008. Viva Jeb Bush!!!
That’s all I got to say about that…
July 22nd, 2005 at 12:25 amAbe,
Before you hurl stones of hipocrisy, how do you justify Laura Bush running over her boyfriend in a car and get away with it. And while we’re at it, neither Kennedy nor Ms.Bush were responsible for an illegally misrepresented war - an act of treason. If you think the stupid actions of a younger man/woman which resulted in the ‘reckless’ death of an individual is the same as the wilful intent to lie, perjure and go to war while attempting to destroy anyone who tells the truth is the same thing - then you’re a sadly twisted and stupid little retard…
Or in ‘christian’ terms, 2 wrongs don’t make a right, so if you’re as ‘righteous’ as stupid conservatives like yourself always claim - why do rationalize your screw ups by simply pointing out it’s the same as what the other side commits? Frankly it just shows how little you actually believe in this moral superiority and how quick you are to dismiss your own failures as justifiable. Grow a spine, and learn to admit when you and your party are stupid idiots!
July 22nd, 2005 at 12:25 amMike,
If you believe someone denying an affair is the same as a willful intent to smear and destroy someone who was vital to american security, simply because they told the truth when asked, then you are such a partisan idiot that you should just send emails to yourself - because to those of us capable of using logic you look like a complete moron!
July 22nd, 2005 at 12:29 amHey, Ryan!
Get over it you lost 2000, 2002, and 2004, and, with you and idiots like you in the Democratic Party, Republicans will win election after election after election, ad inifinitum…
Keep your shrill about the Christian Right. You can never win an election without them. Alienating millions of voters will never help you. You Demoncrats are such sore losers, but losers all the same.
July 22nd, 2005 at 12:31 amHey, Ryan!
Democrat logic = oxymoron, moron.
July 22nd, 2005 at 12:32 amTurd Blossom and Libby were relying on journalists keeping quiet and going to prison. Instead, Russert totally contradicted Libby and Rove and Cooper’s sworn testimony don’t jive.
How is Fox News going to stuff this?
July 22nd, 2005 at 12:33 amEverglades Angler,
Hey, do you live in Florida, the home of the next President of the United States, the Honorable Jeb Bush?
I hope you voted for him.
July 22nd, 2005 at 12:35 amThe great thing here is that so many Republicans and the radical religious right have said so much about how important perjury is (no matter how insignificant the lie is about) and how the rule of law must be maintained.
This will be hysterical watching Fox news and right wing thug radio try to shake this off.
July 22nd, 2005 at 12:36 amEverglades Angler,
I suppose you subsribe more to the NBC Dan Blather kind of media. Figures. You better fill up on your Kool Aid.
July 22nd, 2005 at 12:37 amBy the way, isn’t itintersting that you left wingnuts who are so symathetic to the Gitmo thugs have already tried and convicted Rove, et al?
Seems sort of hypocritcal to me.
Of course, you are probably those few who thought O.J. (and Clinton) were innocent.
July 22nd, 2005 at 12:39 amIs that all I got? Murder…driving without a licence, leaving the scene of an accident, not reporting an accident for 10 hours, enlisting an attorney to cover it up, learning later she suffocated slowly (I believe that’s REAL torture even by Senator Kennedy’s standards), a judge who refused to allow an autopsy, a Grand Jury that says they were mislead…
I’m looking for your take on this murder and you bring up Laura Bush.
Try to stay on the subject at hand. A Democratic Senator killed a woman 36 years ago and never served a minute’s time for it.
I’ll help you out, what would your thoughts be if it had been Karl Rove who killed Mary Jo Kopechne? If your answer is anything less than “demand the death penalty” you’re a hypocrite.
That’s all I got
July 22nd, 2005 at 12:50 amJohn Roberts Does Not Belong To The Federalist Society: The Washington Post reports:
July 22nd, 2005 at 12:51 amEveryone knows that, like all good Republican lawyers, John G. Roberts Jr. is a member of the Federalist Society, the conservative law and public policy organization where right-of-center types meet to denounce liberalism and angle for jobs in the Bush administration.
And practically everyone  CNN, the Los Angeles Times, Legal Times and, just yesterday, The Washington Post  has reported Roberts’s membership as a fact. One liberal group opposed to Roberts’s nomination, the Alliance for Justice, has noted it on its Web site.
But they are wrong. John Roberts is not, in fact, a member of the Federalist Society, and he says he never has been.
This part of the story is particularly funny:
Upon reflection, some Federalist Society members conceded that they had never actually seen Roberts at meet-and-greets such as the society’s annual black-tie dinner.
“That’s a good question, let me think. Now that you mention it  no,” was former Bush Justice Department official Viet Dinh’s response when asked if he had ever spotted Roberts at any Federalist events.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ wp-dyn/ content/ article/ 2005/ 07/ 20/ AR2005072002431.html
[…] From Think Progress Below is a Bloomberg article which is reporting that Karl Rove, senior adviser to the President and deputy chief of staff, and Lewis Libby, chief of staff to Vice President Cheney, are being investigated for having lied to a federal grand jury about how they learned the identity of a covert CIA agent, Valerie Plame (Murray Waas at the American Prospect wrote a similar story yesterday). […]
July 22nd, 2005 at 12:55 amThe Senate should have some fun with this one.
Actual text, Iraq provision: …to enhance the security of the U.S. by making it the policy of the U.S. to pursue a transfer of responsibility for Iraqi forces only when they are ready to assume such responsibility and not to withdraw prematurely the U.S. Armed Forces from Iraq. Requires any withdrawal to be done only with careful coordination with a decision by the elected government of Iraq which shall be reached jointly when it is clear that the aim of the establishment of a free and stable Iraq that is at peace and not a threat to its neighbors has been or is about to be achieved.
July 22nd, 2005 at 12:56 amPassed, 291-137 2 http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2005/roll397.xml
Guantanamo Provision: …to express the sense of Congress that the capture, detention and interrogation of international terrorists are essential to the successful prosecution of the Global War on Terrorism and to the defense of the U.S., its citizens, and coalition partners from future terrorist attacks; and that the detention and lawful, humane interrogation by the U.S. of detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba is essential to the defense of the U.S. and its coalition partners and to the successful prosecution of the Global War on Terrorism.
Passed, 304 - 124, 2
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2005/roll396.xml
It is so enteraining to watch these twisted, rotten Repuglicans get their due. What goes around comes around. Karl Rove is a filthy pig and he’s going down down down.
July 22nd, 2005 at 12:56 amAnd furthermore, “You didn’t hear it from me…..in fact….let’s make a deal…..Let’s tell everyone that I heard it from you…….that ought to realy confuse things.”
I was once asked by a low level government official [a county commissioner] to lie to the grand jury on his behalf. My response….no one lies to grand juries because the testimony is all confidential and the penalties for purjury are off the charts serious.
So we’ll see what happens with this grand jury….could be the grand jury of the century or just another dud. jHH
July 22nd, 2005 at 1:03 amThis woman “was” a “secret agent” but hadn’t been for 5 years. She wasn’t undercover anymore. She “was” an agent in the same way she “was” a 2 year old who messed her pants.
Would you argue that she still “is” a 2 year old that messes her pants?
Democrats are still trying to discover the meaning of “is” 7 years after your impeached president Clinton was confused by the word.
Whenever you aren’t certain how to react to something, ask yourself how you’d react if the action were done by Clinton or any other Democrat.. then comment with the same argument.
If you can’t, you might consider not making a fool of yourself and keeping still. Impossible as it may seem.
Your guy lost the election and you continue to lose seats in the House and Senate.
If you’re wondering why, it’s because most Americans think your candidates aren’t the sharpest knives in the drawer.
By the way, since you are being undertaxed by the Republicans and your refund in 2002 was a horrible mistake, have you returned it yet?
Abe
July 22nd, 2005 at 1:05 amTo all Repiglicans who brag about the elections they stole and the holier than thou attitude in the hypocrites they are. Too all those winguts on the right, I just wanna remind them that a republican prosecuter is going to take this white house down. That’s right, one of your own is going to bring down the most corrupt administration in America’s history. As a matter of fact, Fitzgerald is one of the few republicans I respect. Joe Wilson was a good republican until his own party went on a witchhunt to discredit him. Now he’s a democrat. Smart guy.
July 22nd, 2005 at 1:08 ammike said:
“butt wipe”… “crap face”… “Jeb Bush”…
1 track mind.
July 22nd, 2005 at 1:08 amMike: you had me going for a while. :-D
Brilliant parody of the nutcase right!
July 22nd, 2005 at 1:16 amAs a matter of fact, Fitzgerald is one of the few republicans I respect. Joe Wilson was a good republican
are you sniffing glue? Don’t do that, it’s not good for you, unless you smoke at the same time, then it’s ok.
July 22nd, 2005 at 1:17 amAbe:
“If you’re wondering why”
Not really. The GOP formula is simple and effective.
Scare the crap out of the public. Defame and slander your opposition with no regard for truth or respect for service. Gay bait. Appeal to the lowest common denominator. Success!
What’s your point about “losing elections” supposed to prove? That the fight is over? Nice try, but desperate though you may be, we’ll keep fighting. And we’ll see who needs to “get over it” i 2006.
July 22nd, 2005 at 1:20 amSince the repugs always do witchhunts on thier own people when they refuse to go along with the republican crime machine, I wonder how long it will be before they turn on Fitzgerald who is a staunch republican. I bet they turn own him as soon as he hands out the indictments. Anyone one bet that Fox news will be the first to go after Fitz?
July 22nd, 2005 at 1:23 amYou know, as far as stealing the election is concerned, Bush won. I know it’s hard for you to swallow, but it’s true.
The House and Senate are losing Democratic representation too.
It’s been going on for over ten years.
The times, they are a changin’ and no matter how much you wish, cry, whine, curse or attack the fact, you can’t change that fact.
It must really suck to be you eh?
Abe Noxious
July 22nd, 2005 at 1:24 amI’m waiting for Gozalez to fire Fitzgerald. National security concernes will be the justification.
July 22nd, 2005 at 1:26 amAbe, that wasn’t Karl’s call to make. Nor is it yours, nor even George W. Bush’s.
Mrs. Wilson was designated an NOC agent by the CIA. Her identity WAS NOT TO BE REVEALED even to friendly governments, it was so Top Secret.
I realize that this will not penetrate the conspiracy theory fog that passes for your intellect, and Mike D. thinks it’s the cross town rivals at the Homecoming game. That doesn’t change a damn thing. Karl Rove and Scooter Libby conspired to endanger not only this undercover agent, but anyone who worked for the cover firm or even had the most casual of interaction in the course of her activities abroad.
But for the record and for anyone reading with higher than lizard brain functions, remember this when the wingnuts try to pretend this is no big deal.
The CIA took this seriously enough to insist on investigation and prosecution. These are not a bunch of hand-wringing liberals manufacturing a case. These are hardened professionals well aware of the risks they run.
We may never know what is in the CIA after action report, but Karl Rove and Scooter Libby are as dangerous to American Security as Aldrich Ames or John Walker ever were. And they’ve got access to information at the highest levels of clearance.
I feel more secure already.
July 22nd, 2005 at 1:28 amAbe noxious,
It’s not for you in your boxer shorts in your mom’s basement typing on a 10 year old computer to decide in Plame was Covert or not - that’s the CIA’s decision and they said she was. So shove it.
July 22nd, 2005 at 1:29 amNo Abe what sucks is ignorants like yourself who follow corrupt leaders down a blind alley. There have already been convinctions in Ohio and pending Florida over REPUBLICAN voting fraud. And yes the investigations is growing ever larger as is the impending Delay indictments and those of his friends. The republican house of cards is falling.
July 22nd, 2005 at 1:29 amCan Delay and company whip up some phoney separation-of-powers-violating legislation (like they did in the Schiavo case) to terminate Fitzgerald’s pay or fire him directly?
These authoritarians will stop at nothing to keep their grip.
July 22nd, 2005 at 1:30 am[…] Bloomberg has an article that Karl Rove and Scooter Libby may be tried for purgery. That would surely make my approaching holiday season! […]
July 22nd, 2005 at 1:31 amBloomburg news hounds have nailed it. Lets see Karl Rove, was told by the prince of darkness, about Wilson’s wife? and Libby was told by tim Russert A TV news reporter? I am confused about judith miller, who wrote all those stories on the WMD. Who told her about wilson’s wife or was she clairvoyant? All these repoters are in the wrong jobs. Or are they under cover agents working for the government? Are they fair and balanced news reporters.?
July 22nd, 2005 at 1:33 amYou’ve been saying the Republican house of cards is falling for 4 years.
Clue… It hasn’t and it isn’t.
All that’s really come apart is the Democratic Party. Because of progressive thinking individuals like yourself.
It must suck to live four years of your life in complete denial with no other option than to live the next four the same way. Your doing it though.
I feel your pain and it keeps me entertained.
Abe Noxious
July 22nd, 2005 at 1:35 amWow, I’ve rarely seen brain-dead logic devoid losers like Mike & Abe outside of anywhere other than as the Star Attractions in any sleazy circus sideshow, more than likely the Geeks who bite the heads off the live chickens
Jeb Bush?
Yeah, that Schiavo thing sure did WONDERS for his career, didn’t it?
And poor Abe, blathering about “Try to stay on the subject at hand” regarding Ted Kennedy’s fiasco in a topic about Karl Rove
Good job staying “on the subject at hand” yourself, huh?
And the best part for Abe & Mike?
For once, the bumper sticker soundbite plays RIGHT into the antiRove crowd’s efforts
“Karl Rove Outed a CIA Agent For Political Payback”
ALL the wordparsing the Rovetards are screeching, all the detailed minutae, is indicative of which US President who lied under oath?
Oh Yeah!!!
Bill Clinton
Remember
A Criminal investigation
Requested by the CIA
Agreed to by the DoJ under John Ashcroft
And the dems have NO power to influence the Special Prosecutor
Yeah, if I was a Rove Lackey, I’d be railing and having a major Hissy Fit too.
July 22nd, 2005 at 1:40 amHey Abe wake up and smell the stink coming from the oval office. The administration is in trouble and a good deal of republicans accross the country are targets of investigations. And with the polls showing america increasingly unhappy with Bush and his goons, it’s not looking pretty for you guys in 2006.
July 22nd, 2005 at 1:42 amThe knuckle dragging, mouth breathing, sister marrying, mullet haired, treason loving Mike said:
“And, finally, where is George Washington when we need him? He’s in the White House having dinner with Laura”
So bush is a cuckold then.
That would explain the twins.
A “man” lacking the ‘nads to defend his country in a time of war isn’t going to sire any children.
FWIW, at least Laura owns the first lady record for the most innocent people killed by a first lady.
The bushes are certainly a bloodthirsty bunch.
I wanna know why a librarian would marry a functional illiterate- Was it to escape the vehicular manslaughter conviction that she was guilty of?
IMHO: BINGO!
The knuckle dragging, mouth breathing, sister marrying, mullet haired, treason loving trailer trash will most certainly claim that it is unfair to attack political spouses unless those spouses have a husband willing to support the USA constitution.
Joe Wilson is slimed, his wife is outed, and her career is nuked because Joe Wilson is patriot enough to refuse to lie for dubious bush.
Repugnicans can at least take heart in the fact that knuckle dragging, mouth breathing, sister marrying, mullet haired, treason loving trailer trash will always vote repugnican no matter what.
Advice to Mike:
Tape your knuckles to prevent abrasion, and always love the 12-fingered-2headed child you have with your sister.
Your 12-fingered-2headed child never asked to be born- that was your and your sister’s decision.
See you on Jerry Springer soon,
George
July 22nd, 2005 at 1:49 amKing,
You said: “Wow, I’ve rarely seen brain-dead logic devoid losers”
Let’s examine your comment shall we. First off, you voted for Kerry. Your man; (Kerry) lost, that makes you (and Kerry)a loser.
Since you were upset that a “crime” had been committed and that the guilty party (though not PROVEN guilty or even considered suspect by those investigating) might get away with it.
I knew that you were a person who cared about justice from your comment, that’s why I enlightened you to a murder that took place by a Democatic Senator.
I went through the details of the crime for you and the many facets of the crime.
I apparently touched a nerve. Murder, if committed by a Democrat, is not a problem to you. I believe your comment was… is that all you’ve got.
You, on the other hand, have nothing… except a handful of hopes, dreams and visons of a crime you wish was committed by a man who has caused intense pain your party.
You, by definition, are a loser… and a sore loser at that. Let me remind you that watching your pain, as well as that of the press and all of the Democratic hopefuls that were soundly defeated last election cycle, gives me great pleasure.
Which leads me once again to the conclusion, it sucks to be you.
Can I get a witness?
Abe Noxious
July 22nd, 2005 at 1:52 amTo George (Silva):
I may have knuckles reaching the ground, but I also have gonads which is something you peace-lovin’, French-lovin’, anti-Americas can say. Like your brains, your gonads are the size of peas. And, your mothers are ugly, too boot. I can’t say that I have ever seen an attractive female Demoncrat.
Sad, but true.
Oh, and I thought the trailer trash were Demoncrats…the “little people” that Ted Kennedy and John Kerry say they represent…yeah, right.
Mike the Red Stater
July 22nd, 2005 at 2:00 amOh, I in my list of Democratic adjectives I forgot “genocidal.” That is “baby killers” for those of you who live in the blue provinces.
Seig Heil!
July 22nd, 2005 at 2:02 amMike,
You said: A “man� lacking the ‘nads to defend his country in a time of war isn’t going to sire any children.
Can I assume you meant Clinton?
As you know, he refused to serve his country and there has been speculation that the daughter he raised isn’t his.
Surely you wouldn’t fault President Bush for not having properly served his country when former Democratic President Clinton ran away from his promise to serve… that would be hypocritical.
I know from experience that Democrats are law abiding citizens. Take Ted Kennedy for example…. remember how he claimed full responsiblity for driving off a bridge with Mary Jo, immediately went for help to save her and made a full disclosure moments after the accident.
Clinton himself took full responsiblity for his behavior. Sure he could have tried to smear Monica or make her seem like a stalker. He might have even pretended not to know her name and called her “That woman…Miss Monica…” but not him. He was (or is that is?) a man of honor.
You remember don’t you?
You don’t?
July 22nd, 2005 at 2:04 amTake another swig of Kool Aid, it’ll come to you.
Mike, I defamed you, It was George I meant to address.
I apoligize
Abe
July 22nd, 2005 at 2:05 amI am your witness, Abe :)
July 22nd, 2005 at 2:07 amAbe,
No problem. It was good no matter who it was aimed at. :)
July 22nd, 2005 at 2:09 amWhen you read Libby, think Cheney. As chief of staff, I doubt they keep any secrets from each other.
July 22nd, 2005 at 2:18 am>It must suck to live four years of your life in complete denial with no other option than to live the next four the same way.
Chin up, buckaroo. I’m sure you’ll get through them somehow.
July 22nd, 2005 at 2:23 amGeorge,
If anything I’ve said has in any way angered or upset you, my day is complete.
A bit of advice… for the next 4 to 8 years you can stop thinking about tomorrow, each one will bring you untold frustration.
Sleep well, The Republican Party has things well in hand… as I’m sure you probably have your thing in yours.
Abe Noxious
July 22nd, 2005 at 2:26 amMike and Abe,
If you call winning an election by having a-holes that never served with Kerry make outrageuous lies and get a complicit media to not challenge their rediculous assertions (Kerry should have responded faster, and for that I do fault him and his managers). Winning an election when a right wing hack in Ohio makes certain that large Democratic areas have far too few machines - yet Republican areas had more than enough. Winning with machines that EVERY time an error was discovered it benefited Bush. Winning by machines that gave NO paper trail because the rebublican thugs in congress prevented that. For the first time in history the exit polls were wrong - and statistically mathematically impossible - yet dismissed by the so called liberal media as conspiracy. I guess it helps when you have Sinclair broadcasting help spread your propaganda right? Why do assholes like you hate America? After all under the republican majority, it is ok to out a cover CIA agent. There is no equivelent to giving Gitmo preisoners a fair trial - hell they do not even exist. Rove has ALLREAD