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PARTISAN ATTACKS ON KARL ROVE RESEARCH AND TALKING POINTS
E-Mail forwarded by Texas GOP National Committeewoman, Denise McNamara | 7/12/05 | Scott Jennings

Posted on 07/12/2005 10:05:04 PM PDT by anymouse

- The Democrats Are Engaging In Blatant Partisan Political Attacks.

- Karl Rove Discouraged A Reporter From Writing A False Story Based On A False Premise.

- The False Premise Was Joe Wilson’s Allegation That The Vice President Sent Him To Niger And That His Report Was Shown To The Vice President.

- The Senate Select Committee On Intelligence Confirmed That Rove Was Right And Wilson Was Wrong: The Vice President Didn’t Send Wilson Anywhere.

- Both The Senate Select Committee On Intelligence And The CIA Found Claims Wilson Has Made To Be Inaccurate.

- Karl Rove Has Fully Cooperated With This Investigation For More Than A Year And Has Permitted Any Reporter He Spoke With About Joe Wilson To Discuss Their Conversations.

- Government Investigators Have Specifically Asked Every Witness In This Case, Including Karl Rove, Not To Discuss The Subject Matter Of The Investigation.

- Time Magazine Reporter Matt Cooper Called Karl Rove, Rove Didn’t Call Cooper.

- Cooper Told Rove He Called To Discuss Welfare Reform And Brought Up Wilson In Their Conversation.

- Rove Said He Was Willing To Discuss The Wilson Situation Only If Cooper Promised Not To Use, In An Effort To Kill An Inaccurate Story.

Cooper’s Own Email Claims Rove Warned Of Potential Inaccuracies In Wilson Information:

“[Time Reporter Matt] Cooper Wrote That Rove Offered Him A ‘Big Warning’ Not To ‘Get Too Far Out On Wilson.’ Rove Told Cooper That Wilson’s Trip Had Not Been Authorized By ‘DCIA’ - CIA Director George Tenet - Or Vice President Dick Cheney.” (Michael Isikoff, "Matt Cooper’s Source," Newsweek, 7/18/05)

Karl Rove’s Lawyer, Robert Luskin: “A Fair-Minded Reading Of Cooper’s E-Mail Is That Rove Was Trying To Discourage Time Magazine From Circulating False Allegations About Cheney, Not Trying To Encourage Them By Saying Anything About Wilson Or His Wife.” (Pete Yost, “White House In A Bind Over Rove E-Mail,” The Associated Press, 7/12/05)

· Luskin: “The Fair Inference ... Is That Rove Was Trying To Warn Time ... Away From Perpetuating Things That Turned Out To Be False, And Not Try To Encourage Him To Say Anything About Wilson’s Wife.” (Richard Simon and Richard B. Schmitt, “Democrats Take Aim At Rove In Leak Case,” Los Angeles Times, 7/12/05)

Rove Didn’t Know Wilson’s Wife Name; Rove Didn’t Say Her Name:

Newsweek Reporter Michael Isikoff Said Cooper E-Mail Does Not Indicate Rove Knew Plame Was Covert Operative. “[A]s many people have pointed out, and we pointed out, Karl Rove doesn’t identify Valerie Plame by name, so that’s an important distinction. And there’s nothing in the e-mail that indicates whether or not Rove knew that she was a covert operative. In fact, there’s nothing in the e-mail that indicates he does.” (CNN’s, “Inside Politics,” 7/11/05)

“Luskin Said Yesterday That Rove Did Not Know Plame's Name And Was Not Actively Trying To Push The Information Into The Public Realm.” (Josh White, “Rove Told Reporter Of Plame's Role But Didn't Name Her, Attorney Says,” The Washington Post, 7/11/05)

Joe Wilson Falsely Claimed That It Was Vice President Cheney Who Sent Him To Niger, But The Vice President Has Said He Never Met Him And Didn’t Know Who Sent Him:

Wilson Says He Traveled To Niger At CIA Request To Help Provide Response To Vice President’s Office. “In February 2002, I was informed by officials at the Central Intelligence Agency that Vice President Dick Cheney’s office had questions about a particular intelligence report. … The agency officials asked if I would travel to Niger to check out the story so they could provide a response to the vice president’s office.” (Joseph C. Wilson, Op-Ed, “What I Didn’t Find In Africa,” The New York Times, 7/6/03)

Joe Wilson: “What They Did, What The Office Of The Vice President Did, And, In Fact, I Believe Now From Mr. Libby’s Statement, It Was Probably The Vice President Himself ...” (CNN’s “Late Edition,” 8/3/03)

Vice President Cheney: “I Don’t Know Joe Wilson. I’ve Never Met Joe Wilson. … And Joe Wilson - I Don’t [Know] Who Sent Joe Wilson. He Never Submitted A Report That I Ever Saw When He Came Back.” (NBC’s “Meet The Press,” 9/14/03)

CIA Director George Tenet: “In An Effort To Inquire About Certain Reports Involving Niger, CIA’s Counter-Proliferation Experts, On Their Own Initiative, Asked An Individual With Ties To The Region To Make A Visit To See What He Could Learn.” (Central Intelligence Agency, “Statement By George J. Tenet, Director Of Central Intelligence,” Press Release, 7/11/03)

Tenet: “Because This Report, In Our View, Did Not Resolve Whether Iraq Was Or Was Not Seeking Uranium From Abroad, It Was Given A Normal And Wide Distribution, But We Did Not Brief It To The President, Vice-President Or Other Senior Administration Officials.” (Central Intelligence Agency, “Statement By George J. Tenet, Director Of Central Intelligence,” Press Release, 7/11/03)

Wilson Denied His Wife Suggested He Travel To Niger, But Documentation Showed She Proposed His Name:

Wilson Claims His Wife Did Not Suggest He Travel To Niger To Investigate Reports Of Uranium Deal; Instead, Wilson Claims It Came Out Of Meeting With CIA To Discuss Report. CNN’S WOLF BLITZER: “Among other things, you had always said, always maintained, still maintain your wife, Valerie Plame, a CIA officer, had nothing to do with the decision to send to you Niger to inspect reports that uranium might be sold from Niger to Iraq. … Did Valerie Plame, your wife, come up with the idea to send you to Niger?” JOE WILSON: “No. My wife served as a conduit, as I put in my book. When her supervisors asked her to contact me for the purposes of coming into the CIA to discuss all the issues surrounding this allegation of Niger selling uranium to Iraq.” (CNN’s “Lade Edition,” 7/18/04)

But Senate Select Committee On Intelligence Received Not Only Testimony But Actual Documentation Indicating Wilson’s Wife Proposed Him For Trip. “Some [CIA Counterproliferation Division, or CPD,] officials could not recall how the office decided to contact the former ambassador, however, interviews and documents provided to the Committee indicate that his wife, a CPD employee, suggested his name for the trip. The CPD reports officer told Committee staff that the former ambassador’s wife ‘offered up his name’ and a memorandum to the Deputy Chief of the CPD on February 12, 2002, from the former ambassador’s wife says, ‘my 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.’” (Select Committee On Intelligence, “Report On The U.S. Intelligence Community’s Prewar Intelligence Assessments On Iraq,” U.S. Senate, 7/7/04)

Wilson’s Report On Niger Had “Thin” Evidence And Did Not Change Conclusions Of Analysts And Other Reports:

Officials Said Evidence Was “Thin” And His “Homework Was Shoddy.” (Michael Duffy, “Leaking With A Vengeance,” Time, 10/13/03)

Senate Select Committee On Intelligence Unanimous Report: “Conclusion 13. The Report On The Former Ambassador’s Trip To Niger, Disseminated In March 2002, Did Not Change Any Analysts’ Assessments Of The Iraq-Niger Uranium Deal.” (Senate Select Committee On Intelligence, “Report On The U.S. Intelligence Community’s Prewar Assessments On Iraq, 7/7/04)

“For Most Analysts, The Information In The Report Lent More Credibility To The Original Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Report On The Uranium Deal, But State Department Bureau Of Intelligence And Research (IN) Analysts Believed That The Report Supported Their Assessments That Niger Was Unlikely To Be Willing Or Able To Sell Uranium.” (Senate Select Committee On Intelligence, “Report On The U.S. Intelligence Community’s Prewar Assessments On Iraq, 7/7/04)

CIA Said Wilson’s Findings Did Not Resolve The Issue. “Because [Wilson’s] report, in our view, did not resolve whether Iraq was or was not seeking uranium from abroad, it was given a normal and wide distribution, but we did not brief it to the president, vice president or other senior administration officials. We also had to consider that the former Nigerien officials knew that what they were saying would reach the U.S. government and that this might have influenced what they said.” (Central Intelligence Agency, “Statement By George J. Tenet, Director Of Central Intelligence,” Press Release 7/11/03)

The Butler Report Claimed That The President’s State Of the Union Statement On Uranium From Africa, “Was Well-Founded.” “We conclude that, on the basis of the intelligence assessments at the time, covering both Niger and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the statements on Iraqi attempts to buy uranium from Africa in the Government’s dossier, and by the Prime Minister in the House of Commons, were well-founded. By extension, we conclude also that the statement in President Bush’s State of the Union Address of 28 January 2003 that: ‘The British Government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.’ was well-founded.” (The Rt. Hon. The Lord Butler Of Brockwell, “Review Of Intelligence, On Weapons Of Mass Destruction,” 7/14/04)

Sens. Roberts, Bond And Hatch All Dismissed Wilson’s Claims:

Sens. Pat Roberts (R-KS), Kit Bond (R-MO) And Orrin Hatch (R-UT) All Stated, “On At Least Two Occasions [Wilson] Admitted That He Had No Direct Knowledge To Support Some Of His Claims And That He Was Drawing On Either Unrelated Past Experiences Or No Information At All.” (Select Committee On Intelligence, “Additional Views Of Chairman Pat Roberts, Joined By Senator Christopher S. Bond And Senator Orrin G. Hatch; Report On The U.S. Intelligence Community’s Prewar Intelligence Assessments On Iraq,” U.S. Senate, 7/7/04)

“The Former Ambassador, Either By Design Or Through Ignorance, Gave The American People And, For That Matter, The World A Version Of Events That Was Inaccurate, Unsubstantiated, And Misleading.” (Select Committee On Intelligence, “Additional Views Of Chairman Pat Roberts, Joined By Senator Christopher S. Bond And Senator Orrin G. Hatch; Report On The U.S. Intelligence Community’s Prewar Intelligence Assessments On Iraq,” U.S. Senate, 7/7/04)

“[J]oe Wilson Told Anyone Who Would Listen That The President Had Lied To The American People, That The Vice President Had Lied And That He Had ‘Debunked’ The Claim That Iraq Was Seeking Uranium From Africa … Not Only Did He NOT ‘Debunk’ The Claim, He Actually Gave Some Intelligence Analysts Even More Reason To Believe That It May Be True.” (Select Committee On Intelligence, “Additional Views Of Chairman Pat Roberts, Joined By Senator Christopher S. Bond And Senator Orrin G. Hatch; Report On The U.S. Intelligence Community’s Prewar Intelligence Assessments On Iraq,” U.S. Senate, 7/7/04)

Rove Has Cooperated Fully With Special Investigator:

“[Luskin] Said Rove Had Fully Cooperated With Special Prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald And The Grand Jury Probe.” (Richard Simon and Richard B. Schmitt, “Democrats Take Aim At Rove In Leak Case,” Los Angeles Times, 7/12/05)

Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald Has Said Rove Was Not The Focus Of Investigation:

“[Luskin] Said He Has Received Repeated Assurances From Fitzgerald’s Office That Rove Is Not A Target In The Case.” (Bill Saporito, “When to Give Up a Source,” Time, 7/11/05)

Cooper Called Rove; Rove Didn’t Call Cooper:

“Rove’s Lawyer, Robert Luskin, Said [Time Reporter Matt] Cooper Called Rove During The Week Before Novak’s Story Appeared …” (Bill Saporito, “When To Give Up A Source,” Time, 7/11/05)

Cooper Told Rove He Was Calling To Talk About Welfare Reform:

“[Luskin] Said Wilson’s Wife Came Up As An Afterthought In A Conversation That Cooper Had Initiated, Primarily For A Story About Welfare Reform.” (Richard Simon and Richard B. Schmitt, “Democrats Take Aim At Rove In Leak Case,” Los Angeles Times, 7/12/05)

During Cooper/Rove Conversation, Cooper Raised The Question Of Wilson’s Trip:

“Cooper Had Called Rove To Discuss Other Matters On A Friday Before Deadline, And The Topic Of Wilson Came Up Briefly. Luskin Said Cooper Raised The Question.” (Josh White, “Rove Told Reporter Of Plame's Role But Didn't Name Her, Attorney Says,” The Washington Post, 7/11/05)

Rove Believed He Was Only Discussing Wilson On Background:

“Cooper Proceeded To Spell Out Some Guidance On A Story That Was Beginning To Roil Washington. He Finished, ‘Please Don't Source This To Rove Or Even WH [White House]’ And Suggested Another Reporter Check With The CIA.” (Michael Isikoff, "Matt Cooper's Source," Newsweek, 7/18/05)


TOPICS: Announcements; Foreign Affairs; Government; Politics/Elections; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: bush; cia; cialeak; cooper; democrats; france; iraq; leak; liberals; media; niger; plame; rove; timemagazine; uranium; wilson; yellowcake
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To: Howlin; anymouse
Some of it looks like it's actual headlines of articles, which would be written that way if copied and pasted; but other parts don't seem to have that lame excuse.

I tried copying it to Word and changing the case to Sentence Case ... and it made most of it small letters, including most of the names ... ??? I guess that's because it was looking for periods to indicate new sentences and they are sparse. Someone should trade in some caps for punctuation marks.

It would be quite tedious to go through and re-format it by hand. anymouse, I certainly understand why you didn't do that.

At least it's a little more reader-friendly than the all-caps bulletins that the meteorologists distribute. You'd think someone at the NWS would catch on that we don't use teletype any more! Can't they afford word processors?!

21 posted on 07/12/2005 11:01:02 PM PDT by kayak (Have you prayed for your President today?)
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To: concerned about politics

Fitzgerald has said that Rove is not the target of the Grand Jury.

Somewhere along the way, the focus of this GJ changed. I just can't figure out what or why.


22 posted on 07/12/2005 11:06:07 PM PDT by Howlin (Who is Judith Miller covering up for?)
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To: Howlin
Fitzgerald has said that Rove is not the target of the Grand Jury. Somewhere along the way, the focus of this GJ changed. I just can't figure out what or why.

Oooo. A mystery. Right now I'm searching everything I can find on Miller. She's got something they really really want out of her.

23 posted on 07/12/2005 11:08:48 PM PDT by concerned about politics ("A people without a heritage are easily persuaded (deceived)" - Karl Marx)
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To: Howlin

You have mail


24 posted on 07/12/2005 11:15:17 PM PDT by concerned about politics ("A people without a heritage are easily persuaded (deceived)" - Karl Marx)
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To: digger48
"Wasting your time dealing in fact....."

You noticed this also...lol.

25 posted on 07/12/2005 11:54:11 PM PDT by Khurkris (yes...I am tagless...a sad story...very sad...)
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To: William Terrell

You've got Rove confused with the entire US Government.


26 posted on 07/13/2005 12:35:55 AM PDT by zarf
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Comment #27 Removed by Moderator

To: concerned about politics

The investigation of the CIA leak is going to die a rapid and ignoble death. The press is milking it for headlines so that it can influence the opinions of the ignorant people who only read headlines. Once they've convinced enough people that Rove was the responsible party, and that he is guilty of treaty - the truth will come out that he wasn't. They print a brief story about that, and then bury it within hours.

They want to leave a lasting impression that the Bush Administration and the Republican Party are morally and ethically corrupt. If the facts don't support that conclusion in the end, the media doesn't care. What the media people believe is that they are the tail that wags the dog. That the truth is determined not by empirical facts, but by how long something stayed a headline.


28 posted on 07/13/2005 4:16:32 AM PDT by coconutt2000 (NO MORE PEACE FOR OIL!!! DOWN WITH TYRANTS, TERRORISTS, AND TIMIDCRATS!!!! (3-T's For World Peace))
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To: concerned about politics
Weren't there numerous leaks from the State Dept before, during and after the war to the Times &/or Novak?

And did the INR (The Sate Dept's in-house intelligence operation) fund Wilson's Niger trip - not the CIA?

?????
29 posted on 07/13/2005 4:38:13 AM PDT by falpro
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To: falpro

Here is a link to the time line of the Plame Leak. It is rather long but make interesting reading;

http://www.dkosopedia.com/index.php/Plame_Leak_timeline


30 posted on 07/13/2005 8:29:08 AM PDT by Woliff
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To: RandyRep

bttt


31 posted on 07/13/2005 8:32:07 AM PDT by ConservativeMan55 (DON'T FIRE UNTIL YOU SEE THE WHITES OF THE CURTAINS THEY ARE WEARING ON THEIR HEADS !)
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To: kayak

Your caps didn't bother me. I rather enjoyed the easy reading of it.


32 posted on 07/13/2005 6:59:31 PM PDT by processing please hold (Islam and Christianity do not mix ----9-11 taught us that)
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To: kayak

"Can't they afford word processors?!"

Yeah, but they use them for TANG memos..


33 posted on 07/13/2005 10:01:48 PM PDT by chewydog
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To: anymouse

we must look like complete baffoons in the eyes of the mossad, kgb, etc.


34 posted on 07/14/2005 12:26:09 AM PDT by wildcatf4f3 (whats wrong with a draft?)
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To: anymouse

Could minor Ambassador Joe Wilson himself have been the source in blowing his own Wife's "cover" (even if she had not been a covert CIA agent at the time of the alleged "leaks")?

It is distinctly possible, (though it may be unlikely that Joe Wilson himself directly was NY Times Judith Miller's source), since Joe Wilson himself evidently routinely bragged openly to strangers about her CIA employment, prior to such "cover" being "blown" in the press.

Here's an example of Joe's apparently routine and open bragging about Valerie being a "CIA agent," which became known directly to me over a year ago:

He certainly bragged about it per a famous and highly reliable source's (named below) account of his own face-to-face encounter with Amb. Joe Wilson prior to Valerie Plame's "outing" as a CIA agent/employee.

Based upon a personal conversation (we were in a small group eating; it was NOT an "off the record") I had with eminent historian Victor Davis Hanson (we were at a luncheon table together during a trip to Europe), it appeared entirely possible that Joe Wilson himself was the (or one source, if not the original one) possible source in revealing his own wife's status as a CIA agent or employee.

Victor Davis Hanson (Wilson presumably knew Victor Davis Hanson wrote regularly for NRO (National Review Online), had done OpEds for the Wall street Journal, and other publications, and had his own Website with a widespread following) said he (VDH) & Joe Wilson were both in the same "Green Room" before a televised debate-discussion on Iraq, etc. and Joe first warned the TV make-up person not to get powder on his $14,000 Rolex watch, then he bragged to Victor about several things (possessions and trips to Aspen, etc.), like his expensive car (I think it was a Mercedes), and then bragged about his beautiful ("hot") wife who, Joe Wilson said (braggingly) was a CIA operative.

I asked Victor Davis Hanson Why he didn't write up this account.(?) He replied that Joe Wilson would probably simply deny it, since only he (VDH) & Joe Wilson were in the Green Room together before the broadcast.

However, it is now easy to surmise that Joe Wilson is a crass, materialistic, self-promoting, vain, egotistical, bragaddocio-opportunist, so this account is perfectly consistent with Valerie Plame's TWO photo shoots in Vanity Fair.


35 posted on 07/17/2005 10:25:45 PM PDT by FReethesheeples (Gonzales appears to be quite WEAK on Property rights!)
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To: FReethesheeples

Are you Hansen? If not I think he would be more than a little upset with your spamming of this forum.


36 posted on 07/17/2005 10:27:59 PM PDT by Texasforever
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To: CyberAnt

You need to check your facts on who that memo was from...


37 posted on 07/18/2005 6:01:56 AM PDT by lugsoul ("She talks and she laughs." - Tom DeLay)
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To: Howlin

When did he say that?


38 posted on 07/19/2005 9:49:37 AM PDT by HoneyBoo
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To: HoneyBoo

He's said it at least 3 times in the last 18 months.


39 posted on 07/19/2005 9:50:53 AM PDT by Howlin (Is Valerie Plame a mute?)
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To: concerned about politics

Yes, there's something going on here, something more than we or the press know. But Fitzgerald isn't talking.


40 posted on 07/19/2005 10:01:16 AM PDT by huck von finn
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