Parsing Powell

The American Thinker ^ | 7/9/07 | Clarice Feldman

[Laverne]

From Aspen we get this report of a talk by Karl Rove and a comment from the audience by former Secretary of State Powell:

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell stood up in the audience during the question-and-answer period to say that it was his deputy secretary of state, Richard Armitage, who sparked the CIA leak case. Powell said that Armitage responded to a question by Novak about Wilson, saying "I think she works for the CIA..."

Powell said that Armitage later called him and told him he had been the one who had talked to Novak about Wilson. Powell and Armitage then met with the FBI on the matter.

"The FBI knew on day one of Mr. Armitage's involvement," Powell said.

And so did Patrick Fitzgerald, Powell said. Fitzgerald was the special counsel brought in to find out if someone had maliciously exposed Ms. Wilson's undercover identity with the CIA, where she was known as Valerie Plame.

"If everybody who had any contact with a reporter during that period, had done what Armitage had done, I think this would have ended early on and not dragged out the way it has dragged out," Powell said, adding that he knew early on that no crime had been committed in the incident. "Mr. Libby got in trouble for an entirely different set of reasons and circumstances."

Let's take a closer look at what this whitewashing of his and Armitage's role in this affair.

First, Powell leaves out the fact that in defiance of the President's orders, he and Armitage kept from the White House the information that Armitage was the blabbermouth, a fact which would have hurt the duo's reputation, but surely would have led to the end of the matter.

In fact, both Armitage and Powell then cooperated with Fitzgerald's order to keep quiet about Armitage's role, subjecting the White House, and in particular Rove and Libby, to three years of press calumny.

Second, there is no record of evidence that Libby tried to conceal any contact with reporters. In fact, he told the Special Counsel the names of several reporters he may have discussed Plame with, but those reporters said he was in error - he had never discussed the matter with them, suggesting that the details of these unremarkable press contacts were forgotten or mixed up, but there was not an active effort to conceal on Libby's part.

Third, Armitage was, in fact, less than forthright even under the cloak of secrecy - he never disclosed his conversation with Woodward which preceded any record conversation by anyone about Plame.

Fourth, he seriously underplays Armitage's conversation with Novak saying,"Armitage responded to a question by Novak about Wilson, saying ‘I think she works for the CIA...'"

Here's Novak's version - one which suggest Armitage sought him out and urged him to publish the Plame information:Here's Novak's version of that conversation:

"Well," Armitage replied, "you know his wife works at CIA, and she suggested that he be sent to Niger." "His wife works at CIA?" I asked. "Yeah, in counterproliferation."

He mentioned her first name, Valerie. Armitage smiled and said: "That's real Evans and Novak, isn't it?" I believe he meant that was the kind of inside information that my late partner, Rowland Evans, and I had featured in our column for so long. I interpreted that as meaning Armitage expected to see the item published in my column.

[Laverne]

Some parsing by Powell regarding Armitage....what a crying shame that this whole thing went down the way it did. This just shows what scum Fitzy really is. He knew from the very start (confirmed here by Powell) yet he pursued a witch hunt against the White House anyway. All the while, Powell and Armitage were silent while LIbby spent millions in defense of his misremembering that Fitzy called perjury. Shameful stuff.

[ozzymandus]

I still don’t see why Armitage isn’t the one in trouble.

[Laverne]

Because he is a democrat.

[hgro]

Colon Bowell is guilty as hell in the the Scooter Libby lynching.

[hgro]

Colon Bowell is guilty as hell in the the Scooter Libby lynching.

[LS]

Reading the “Reagan Diaries” right now. Guess what? Powell OPPOSED Reagan’s attempts to make the USSR back down. He was wimpy in the 1980s, and didn’t get any better.

[Duffboy]

Powell, for some reason, was given intellectual credentials way back when. I always felt he was promoted and got to his level of power via affirmative action.
This latest proves my point.

[jazusamo]

I would add Armitage and Powell to your scum list, they remained silent for nearly three years and watched Libby and the Bush administration be hung out to dry.

[avital2]

Armitage isn’t being prosecuted because: Valerie wasn’t undercover so there was no crime.

[Cyber Liberty]

We already know Powell stabbed Bush in the back by refusing to tell him about Armitage spilling the beans. Anything Powell says is colored by that fact.

[ClaireSolt]

What kind of people could watch that fiasco knowing that innocents were going to jail and being harassed in an investigation that was a charade. Can’t say I respect that.

[jackv]

bttt

[Enchante]

This must be a new meaning for the word 'parsing' (while trying to give Powell the benefit of any doubt). A better word for what Powell said would be 'dissembling' or 'deceiving' or 'distorting' or 'obfuscating' ..... both Woodward and Novak have said emphatically that Armitage asserted without doubt that Valerie-the-spy worked at the CIA and was involved in sending hubby to drink green tea in Niger, and that Armitage explicitly meant this as an explanation of why Joe Wilson was/is not credible. Powell is blowing a smokescreen after 4 years of devastating silence and dishonesty when he and Armitage could and should have ended this fiasco early on.

Here's Novak's version - one which suggest Armitage sought him out and urged him to publish the Plame information:Here's Novak's version of that conversation: "Well," Armitage replied, "you know his wife works at CIA, and she suggested that he be sent to Niger." "His wife works at CIA?" I asked. "Yeah, in counterproliferation." He mentioned her first name, Valerie. Armitage smiled and said: "That's real Evans and Novak, isn't it?" I believe he meant that was the kind of inside information that my late partner, Rowland Evans, and I had featured in our column for so long. I interpreted that as meaning Armitage expected to see the item published in my column.

[Suzy Quzy]

I PRAY that Libby SUES POWELL and ARMITAGE’s PANTS OFF!! I want to see them PAY BIG MONEY out to Libby!!

[Suzy Quzy]

Powell was ALWAYS Bush’s WEAKEST LINK!! The most OVERATED person in Politics.