Woodward Apologizes to Post for Withholding Knowledge of Plame

Washington Post ^ | November 16, 2005; 1:18 PM | Howard Kurtz

[NewMediaFan]

Bob Woodward apologized today to The Washington Post's executive editor for failing to tell him for more than two years that a senior Bush administration official had told him about CIA operative Valerie Plame, even as an investigation of those leaks mushroomed into a national scandal.

Woodward, an assistant managing editor and best-selling author, said he told Leonard Downie Jr. that he held back the information because he was worried about being subpoenaed by Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the special counsel in the case.

"I apologized because I should have told him about this much sooner," Woodward said in an interview. "I explained in detail that I was trying to protect my sources. That's Job No. 1 in a case like this. . . .

"I hunkered down. I'm in the habit of keeping secrets. I didn't want anything out there that was going to get me subpoenaed."

Downie, who was informed by Woodward late last month, said in a separate interview that his most famous employee had "made a mistake." Despite Woodward's concerns about his confidential sources, Downie said, "he still should have come forward, which he now admits. We should have had that conversation . . . I'm concerned that people will get a misimpression about Bob's value to the newspaper and our readers because of this one instance in which he should have told us sooner."...

[Defiant]

Thanks for refreshing my memory. I read Silent Coup a long time ago, and found that tie between Woodward and Haig very interesting, especially in light of the later "I'm in charge here" incident. I never trusted Haig, and always thought he was DT, notwithstanding that FBI guy who now claims it was him. That is just too convenient.

Whether the Watergate breakin was done to protect John Dean's girlfriend or not, I don't know. It was certainly an interesting theory, and if Republicans had any control of DC or law enforcement at the time, it might have been investigated, but instead we are left with just suppositions.

[GOPJ]

I'm in the habit of keeping secrets..."

IMHO Woodward's been used so much by "intelligence" groups that if he was a woman and they were men, he'd be a major slut. Luckily, he's not a woman.

[LibWrangler]

Why would someone wait until two weeks after Libby had been indicted to mention Woodward?


I don't believe this scenario.

[CFC__VRWC]

Fitz should have immediately vacated the indictments of Libby, ALL of them.

That'll never happen. In fact, what the media and the Dims will use this for is an excuse to keep Fitzgerald investigating Rove and the rest of the White House all through the 2006 campaign, leaking a slow, steady drip of misinformation to keep Republicans constantly on defense.

[sageb1]

"Something smells funny here"

I agree. Woodward is trying to protect his behind for some reason.

[USS Alaska]

The reason that the dirtbag, woody came forward and testified is because the gvmt official testified on Nov 3rd naming woody. Fitzy then had to supoena woody. No honor here. I'm just wondering who the gmnt official is and why is he talking? There is more here than meets the eye. I was over at du and the dummies are all spitting and using the f word, calling woodward names that I don't even call hildabeast.

[sageb1]

"Woodward would like a re-run of WATERGATE!!"

More importantly, he doesn't want a rerun of rathergate.

[popdonnelly]

"Why would someone wait until two weeks after Libby had been indicted to mention Woodward?"

Because said person knew Libby was being screwed. The conversation has been confirmed by the Administration official and by Woodward, under oath. So it almost certainly took place.

[FreedomCalls]

Woodward, an assistant managing editor and best-selling author, said he told Leonard Downie Jr. that he held back the information because he was worried about being subpoenaed by Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the special counsel in the case.

How many other people are withholding knowledge that they knew Plame was a covert CIA agent because they are worried about being subpoenaed by Fitzgerald? How many other people have changed their stories just so they won't get subpoenaed (like Andrea Mitchell)?

[eureka!]

Re#66 LOL. DU is nuts over this--I took a peak earlier. As I posted elsewhere, I hope that Fitz figures that he was gamed by the presstitutes, is p*ssed and will reexamine who is telling the truth....

[Sacajaweau]

Hmmmm.....I know Woodward was mouthing off....and I think it was about a month ago.

Questions: How did the question of Wilson come up between Woodward and Mr. X. How did Valerie's name get added to the conversation? Who did Woodward tell??" And who in the Bush administration blew Woodward in?

I'm guessing Berger. The little creep burgled in June of 2003 for the first time. Why? Perhaps to get rid of the OLD reference of Wilson's FIRST trip to Niger during the Clinton Administration where Valerie was also the "go between".(I'd use the proper word but it's not allowed.

When Hillary was asked about the burglaries which occurred during the 9-11 Pretend Hearings, she said: The timing speaks for itself. It made no sense except there was an inference that "It could be related to something else."

So did Woodward go to Miller? She was after all the expert on WMD in the literary world. Miller contends her first source WAS NOT Libby but does not state whether it was someone within the administration or someone like Woodard.

[Alberta's Child]

Ping.

[processing please hold]

So, who's the leaker....Woodward or Pinkus?

[dynachrome]

So, Libby's defense team will now subpoena Woodward, should it ever come to trial?

[Sacajaweau]

Woodard acknowledeged Felt was not the only one involved in passing info. He was the "clearing house". Everything went to him and then to Woodard. My guess is that one of the others was Henry Grunwald....Chief OpEd for Time, Inc.. AND Mandy Grunwald's father. Henry died in Feb 2005...3 months before VANITY FAIR published an EXCLUSIVE revealing Felt.

Mandy?? Yes, Hillary's best friend and media advisor, Bubba's campaign manager and Matt Cooper's wife.

[Ditto]

Reporters are (were) expected to confide the identities of their "confidential" or "not for attribution" sources to their editor. For example, presumably, during Watergate Woodword told his editor (Ben Bradlee) the identity of "Deep Throat".

That's my understanding as well, but it is also my understanding that Woodward did not do any reporting on the story and therefore did quote any "anonymous sources" that he should disclose to his editors. Perhaps I'm mistaken on the latter point and Woodward did write on the subject.

Perhaps his reasoning now is that since he alerted Pincus before Wilson's identity became public that Wilson's wife was CIA/WMD, he should have also alerted the editors that Wilson was playing games with Pincus.

I'd also add that it seems unlikely that Pincus did not know Plame's identity long ago since she was a long term WMD specialist at Langley, not undercover in some front outfit across town. Pincus has been reporting almost exclusively on the CIA for over 30 years. Some refer to him as the CIA's in-house journalist. It was surely easy enough for Novak to get the information out of the CIA yet the guy who practically lives there is blindsided by the revelation even though he knew about Joe Wilson weeks before Novak ever heard of him? That just does not pass the smell test, IMHO. Maybe Pincus is just getting too lazy to check things out.

[Tunehead54]

"Why would Libby lie when he had to reason do do so?"

---

"Why would Libby lie when he had no reason to do so?"

---

Is that better? ;-)

[Republican Red]

I think you'd have to ask Fitzgerald and Libby's lawyer whether this is a good thing or a bad thing - and they're not talking, either.

Statement of Ted Wells, Attorney for Mr. Libby:

Woodward's disclosures are a bombshell to Mr. Fitzgerald's case. First, the disclosure shows that Mr. Fitzgerald's statement at his press conference of October 28, 2005 that Mr. Libby was the first government official to tell a reporter about Mr. Wilson's wife was totally inaccurate. Second, Woodward's disclosure that he talked to Mr. Libby on June 20 and June 27, 2003 and that Mr. Libby did not mention WIlson's wife undermines Mr. Fitzgerald's key theme that Mr. Libby was involved in a scheme to discredit Wilson by telling reporters about Wilson's wife's employment at the CIA. Hopefully as more information is obtained from reporters like Bob Woodward, the real facts will come out.

NRO

[ttdriver]

Excellent analysis. Pincus was either asleep at the switch or (perhaps) he knows much more than he's willing to pass on.

[aculeus]

I apologize for not caring about either WaPo or Woody.