Posted on 07/16/2005 10:31:17 AM PDT by Pikamax
Memo Is a Focus of CIA Leak Probe
By Mike Allen and Jim VandeHei Washington Post Staff Writers Saturday, July 16, 2005; A06
Federal prosecutors investigating the leak of former CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity have asked several witnesses in the case whether they read a State Department memorandum mentioning her that circulated inside the Bush administration in the days before she was publicly named, according to people familiar with the testimony.
FBI agents showed the State Department memo to several witnesses during the interviews over the past two years, according to lawyers in the case, in an effort to determine whether it was the source of information about Plame's role at the CIA. A key mystery in the leak case is how senior administration officials first learned of Plame's identity and her relationship to a key critic of President Bush's Iraq policy, before her name appeared in news reports.
Lawyers familiar with the testimony of White House senior adviser Karl Rove said he has admitted discussing Plame, though not by name, but said he learned of her role from a reporter. Several legal sources said the prosecution has shown strong interest in the State Department memo, which circulated on Air Force One during the Africa trip -- just days before Plame's name was made public in a column by Robert D. Novak.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Joe took the Islamicists' side,
When he wrote that the President lied
The Times spread the tale
Please keep them in jail
And, certainly, Joe should be fried.
And the left continues to piss up a rope...was the media this aggresive in reporting and investigating Bill Clinton's campaign funds contributions received from the Chinese?
Is this another one of those fake "memos" made up to look like it MIGHT have been original, but then photocopied a dozen time to obliterate some sort of identifying mark that may have incriminated an outside party?
Since the printing devices used would be in current use, the scam might just get pulled off.
Notice that it is the comPost keeping this alive. They cannot believe that they haven't lied enough to pillory the WH yet.
Furthermore, I understand that outside information shows that Karl Rove was not aboard Air Force One when this memo was being shown to others. And that was the only window of opportunity for Rove to have seen this before Robert Novak wrote his essential column.
Congressman Billybob
What reporters were on board AF1 for this trip?
Cabinet members?
Guests?
Congressmen and/or congressional staffers?
More to the story?
"Rove said of the memo that he "had never seen it, had never heard about it and had never heard anybody else talk about it," according to a lawyer familiar with his testimony. Rove's attorney, Robert Luskin, said he can say "categorically" that Rove did not obtain any information about Plame from any confidential source, such as a classified document.
This important quote was near the end of the article. I bet the WashPost did that on purpose.
The reporter gave an ON AIR book review on CNN or MSNBC. I forget which. It was a station I don't often watch.
In that news segment, the reporter said Wilson gave all the credit for his upcomminmg book to his wife Valerie Plame. The reporter went on with her comments. She eventually said the book mentions Wilson's wife is an undercover CIA agent but didn't give her name. It did give her name! Right in the credits!
About a week later, I heard on the news that someone leaked the name of a CIA agent. The book printing was put on hold. It was delayed. Wilson then rewrote the book, and added the leak of his wife's name.
I believe once the leak was out, the reporters called Rove to verify. It set him up. I think Wilson himself told the press. Blaming Rove was pay back for Bush ruining his reputation after the bogas Niger trip.
How do I know all this? I watched the on air super secret preprinting book review right on TV with my own eyes. I'm so sure of what I saw, I e-mailed the White house to get them to check it out. I hope, because Washington gets millions of e-mails each day, that they'll notice mine. I'd hate to see the wrong person take the fall for this. Wilson put it right in the first draft of his book, and gave it to the female reporter to read.
This story will die very quickly in the left wing media if this memo is the root and was leaked by one on the Clintonistas (who W refuses to purge) still on the payroll.
Bush should not react to Democrat prodding one way or the other. He should nominate a judge (not an appointee) when he's had him or her completely checked out and ready for Democrat smear attacks. Or would you prefer he rush someone out there who hasn't been thoroughly looked at? Wouldn't you be complaining then that he didn't innoculate himself from further attacks?
What show was this on?
I mean, Cheney's office didn't send her husband to Niger. Bush didn't send him. No one knows who the hell sent Joey on his little "mission" to Niger to uncover the truth about yellowcake.
And yet here's Joey and his wife - and evidenly a few liberal reporters - fabricating a story about how Hussein never *bought* yellowcake from Niger.
Of course, Bush didn't say that they *bought* anything. And no one sent Wilson to do anything. But liberals are now wondering what evil lurkc behind the fact that the administration had any interest at all in this outright lie.
What???? You mean he showed the press his book before it was published?
I don't know what shows are on CNN and MSNBC. I was just cruising stations. The reporter seemed giddy about "yellow cake", so I listened. That's when she was letting out some of the info in Joe's upcoming book. She said "Super secret sneak peek." That's when she mentioned the credits, and a other few things in the book.
The reporters that called Rove said something similar about the CIA agent. They called it "Super secret."
Interesting. I wonder if those pulped books are landfill somewhere.
The State Department would know perfectly well that Ms. Plame would have been a "covert agent" per the definition of 50 USC 426 and there's no way on the planet they would have exposed her name IN ANY MEMO TO ANYONE if that were the case.
If anything, this proves conclusively that she was not a covert agent and her exposure didn't do the least bit of damage to her career or any kind of covert operations.
Is it possible this book review was on C-SPAN? Also, what time frame are we talking about? Current or 2 years ago?
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