MoveOn PAC Calls for Rove's Resignation, Questions President's Failure to Act

U.S. Newswire ^ | 7/11/05

[areafiftyone]

Contact: Trevor Fitzgibbon, Jessica Smith, Steve Smith or Alex Howe, 202-822-5200, all of Fenton Communications

WASHINGTON, July 11 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Michael Isikoff reports in the July 18 issue of Newsweek that White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove revealed to Time Magazine reporter Matt Cooper that Valerie Plame, the wife of Ambassador Joe Wilson, worked for the CIA.

Statement by Tom Matzzie, Washington Director, MoveOn PAC:

"This report makes two things clear:

"First, in revealing the identity of a covert CIA agent, Rove either knowingly broke the law, or committed an act of gross negligence. In either case he should resign or the President should fire him.

"Second, the President failed to act upon learning that his chief political adviser blew the cover of a CIA agent.

"These facts raise several questions to which the President owes the American people answers: What did he know? When did he know it? And why did he fail to act?

"Clearly Rove sought to retaliate against Plame's husband, Ambassador Joe Wilson, for correctly refuting Administration claims that Saddam Hussein sought to acquire 'yellowcake' uranium in Africa, part of the case the President was attempting to make for invading Iraq. Clearly, Rove put the protection of President Bush's political agenda ahead of national security when he disclosed Plame's identity. He jeopardized the safety of an under cover intelligence agent who was working to stop the spread of nuclear weapons. Clearly Rove's and the President's willingness to remain silent about this until the very last minute caused significant pain and anguish to two journalists, one of whom is now in jail, for refusing to reveal Rove as their source."

http://www.usnewswire.com/

[kcvl]

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.

The report also said Wilson provided misleading information to The Washington Post last June. He said then that he concluded the Niger intelligence was based on documents that had clearly been forged because "the dates were wrong and the names were wrong."

"Committee staff asked how the former ambassador could have come to the conclusion that the 'dates were wrong and the names were wrong' when he had never seen the CIA reports and had no knowledge of what names and dates were in the reports," the Senate panel said. Wilson told the panel he may have been confused and may have "misspoken" to reporters. The documents -- purported sales agreements between Niger and Iraq -- were not in U.S. hands until eight months after Wilson made his trip to Niger.

Wilson's reports to the CIA added to the evidence that Iraq may have tried to buy uranium in Niger, although officials at the State Department remained highly skeptical, the report said.

[kcvl]

Plame ceased to be an undercover agent in 1994. Since then her husband Joe Wilson entered her name in "Wilson's Who's Who" and both Joe Wilson and Valerie Plame have made large contributions to the Democratic Party where they both used their real names and employers on the Federal Election Commission forms they signed with the donations.

[kcvl]

Per the NYT’s Kristof, the CIA brought Plame and others back to Washington for safety reasons out of concern that Aldrich Aimes had disclosed their identities to the Russian’s before his arrest in 1994.

[rockrr]

It cracks me up how the LSM is cooking this story, "push a string" style!

"It doesn't matter who is destroyed, as long as we bring down the Rove!"

[tet68]

But, she was "WORKING TO STOP THE SPREAD OF NUKULAER WEAPONS", no wonder they are foaming at the mouth.

Hillery! better watch out there might just be an ambitious
young female staffer out to become president someday.

[an amused spectator]

Karl Rove IS Keyser Söze...

[an amused spectator]

The Bush administration owes Mr. and Mrs. Wilson an apology for wrecking her CIA career. Aren't Bush and Rove men enough to apologize to the Wilsons?

If the Bush Administration apologized to all the Demmie plants in the State Department and other government agencies, they wouldn't have time for anything else.

But you knew that, didn't you, MM? ;-)

[Mr. Silverback]

Aren't Bush and Rove men enough to apologize to the Wilsons?

Joe Wilson's wife was outed by:

Aldrich Ames
Joe Wilson (in his Who's Who entry)
Joe Wilson (on his website)
Numerous members of the DC cocktail party circuit

All that was before Rove talked to Cooper or Novak wrote his story.

Now, the Senate intelligence committee said that Joe Wilson lied about his findings, and it appears he did so for political purposes? when will you be woman enough to apologize for supporting this traitor? When will Valerie Plame apologize for sending a political operative to do intel work in a time of war? When will Joe Wilson apologize for lying to the American people?