Pingeroonie! I am sure I missed some folks, so ping anyone you think might be interested.
They considered him too partisan to question? How's that?
You mean we have to have a congressional investigation because ONE reporter actually questioned Bush without insinuating he is a liar, doesn't as Bush to name any and all mistakes he has made over his WHOLE life, and doens't even ask whether Bush ever reported for duty in Alabama.
Because Jeff Gannon wasn't obviously out to play GOTCHA journalism, they are SURE that Bush himself planted this guy and paid him to ask "friendly" questions----
Okay--if I were Bush, this is what I would do---next time Scott McClellen is supposed to go to Press Room for the daily press briefing, I (Bush) would go in instead with the letter this witch congresswoman wrote, hold it up while slamming my other had down on the podium and I would say---
I'VE HAD JUST ABOUT ENOUGH OF THIS CRAP FROM YOU THE MEDIA, AND FROM THE DEMOCRATS----HOW MUCH OF YOU LOSE, I WIN, DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND!!!!
I am becoming convinced as the day rolls on this has to do with the Plame investigation closing in and they are lashing out per the usual playbook.
I'll find some links to an article or two about this "secret memo" that will give proper background so people know what these dems are up to now.
This story isn't going to go away for a while, it seems.
You missed me but thats ok.;^)
So it seems Mr Gannon may get some attention anyway.Thats sure gonna tick of somebody even more.
Pot, meet kettle.
Mr. President, will you answer the question?
Bush has a special talent for avoiding tough questions and reporters who ask them. Here's what the White House press corps should do to smoke him out.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
By Dan Froomkin
Bush Atty. Gen. Nominee Gonzalez Fought to Hide Bush Drunk Driving Arrest
November 16, 2004
By: Joe Strupp
Editor and Publisher
December 31, 2003
The Washington Post reported Friday that according to their sources, the Central Intelligence Agency believes people in the Bush administration are continuing to release classified information to damage figures at the center of the Niger "yellowcake" controversy.
According to the Washington Post story, the CIA has alleged that one or more senior administration officials revealed the name of a covert operative to columnist Robert Novak. The complaint has led to an FBI investigation of the White House to determine circumstances surrounding the release of the identity of Valerie Plame to the media.
Plame's husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, claims someone at the White House sought to destroy his wife's career because of the report he filed after his mission to Africa in 2002. Wilson disputed the administration's statements about Saddam Hussein's efforts to buy uranium from Niger to advance his WMD programs.
The Washington Post cites an unnamed source who says, "The CIA is angry about the circulation of a still-classified document to conservative news outlets." They point to a memo referenced in a Talon News interview of Wilson that suggests his wife was instrumental in his selection for the fact-finding trip to Africa.
Talon News was the only service identified by the Washington Post as having knowledge of the memo's existence. The newspaper goes on to say that CIA officials have challenged the accuracy of the document purportedly written by a State Department official who works for the Bureau of Intelligence and Research.
Jeff Gannon, the White House correspondent and Washington Bureau Chief for Talon News declined to reveal whether he had seen the memo or had its contents described to him.
While he would not disclose his source, Gannon said, "I will tell you that the information did not come from inside the administration."
"For something that is supposed to be classified, it seems that this document is easily accessible," Gannon added. "Washington is leaking like a cheap umbrella. Just look at what's happening over on Capitol Hill."
Gannon was referring to private Senate Intelligence and Judiciary Committee memos that have been leaked to various media outlets in the last few months.
Gannon's exclusive interview with Wilson focused on the many unanswered questions about the "outing" of his wife.
Gannon points out that other possibilities exist which might explain how Plame's name was revealed without the malice that Wilson believes was retribution for his decision to go public with criticism of the White House.
"When Bob Novak asked why a known partisan like Wilson would be sent on a critical mission to help the administration build its case to go to war with Iraq, the answer might have been that his wife got him the job, not realizing her identity was classified," Gannon said. "It's not as if nepotism is unheard of in Washington."
The Talon News reporter added, "Some people out there see a clandestine war going on between the White House and the CIA. It is generally perceived that a substantial amount of blame for intelligence failures that otherwise might have prevented the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 has been laid at the agency's doorstep by the administration. They suggest the agency is fighting back with an allegation of a wrongdoing in the Plame matter."
In related matters, Attorney General John Ashcroft recused himself from the leak investigation on Tuesday and called on Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the U.S. Attorney in Chicago, to serve as a special prosecutor.
Fitzgerald led the investigation of former Illinois Gov. George Ryan, who was charged with 22 counts of corruption.
In a Tuesday press conference, Deputy Attorney General James Comey said that Ashcroft's decision was not based on a conflict of interest but rather the desire to eliminate any appearance of conflict or favoritism.
"The attorney general in an abundance of caution believed that his recusal was appropriate based on the totality of the circumstances and the facts and evidence developed at this stage of the investigation," Comey said. "I agree with that judgment."
~snip~
I'll see if I can find Jeff Gannon's piece about his exclusive with Wilson.
Wilson Talks about Niger Mission; Blasts Bush Foreign Policy
October 28, 2003
excerpt:
TN: Did your wife suggest you for the mission?
Wilson: No. The decision to ask me to go out to Niger was taken in a meeting at which there were about a dozen analysts from both the CIA and the State Department. A couple of them came up and said to me when we're going through the introductory phase, "We have met at previous briefings that you have done on other subjects, Africa-related."
Not one of those at that meeting could I have told you what they look like, would I recognize on the street, or remember their name today. And as old as I am, I can still recognize my wife, and I still do remember her name. That was the meeting at which the decision was made to ask me if I would clear my schedule to go.
TN: An internal government memo prepared by U.S. intelligence personnel details a meeting in early 2002 where your wife, a member of the agency for clandestine service working on Iraqi weapons issues, suggested that you could be sent to investigate the reports. Do you dispute that?
Wilson: I don't know anything about a meeting, I can only tell you about the meeting I was at where I was asked if I would prepare to go, and there was nobody at that meeting that I know. Now that fact that my wife knows that I know a lot about the uranium business and that I know a lot about Niger and that she happens to be involved in weapons of mass destruction, it should come as no surprise to anyone that we know of each others activities.
~snip~
I believe Gannon came to believe Plame was not covert. And that brings us to the findings of the 9/11 Commission:
Plame's Input Is Cited on Niger Mission
excerpts:
Former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV, dispatched by the CIA in February 2002 to investigate reports that Iraq sought to reconstitute its nuclear weapons program with uranium from Africa, was specifically recommended for the mission by his wife, a CIA employee, contrary to what he has said publicly.
~snip~
Wilson's assertions -- both about what he found in Niger and what the Bush administration did with the information -- were undermined yesterday in a bipartisan Senate intelligence committee report.
The panel found that Wilson's report, rather than debunking intelligence about purported uranium sales to Iraq, as he has said, bolstered the case for most intelligence analysts. And contrary to Wilson's assertions and even the government's previous statements, the CIA did not tell the White House it had qualms about the reliability of the Africa intelligence that made its way into 16 fateful words in President Bush's January 2003 State of the Union address.
~snip~
The report states that a CIA official told the Senate committee that Plame "offered up" Wilson's name for the Niger trip, then on Feb. 12, 2002, sent a memo to a deputy chief in the CIA's Directorate of Operations saying her husband "has good relations with both the PM [prime minister] and the former Minister of Mines (not to mention lots of French contacts), both of whom could possibly shed light on this sort of activity." The next day, the operations official cabled an overseas officer seeking concurrence with the idea of sending Wilson, the report said.
Wilson has asserted that his wife was not involved in the decision to send him to Niger.
~snip~
I don't have an account at the WSJ and am too lazy to sign up right now to read the whole thing, but here's the FR thread and some posts fill in some info:
October 17, 2003
It was not only Gannon who had heard about the "secret" memo unlike the latest dem spin/lie.