Cooper Details Rove Conversations About Plame

Fox News ^ | 7/13/05

[areafiftyone]

WASHINGTON — Journalist Matt Cooper (search) on Wednesday told reporters he would give them details of his grand jury testimony detailing a conversations with White House aide Karl Rove (search) about a CIA operative — in a future issue of Time magazine.

"I'm not going to scoop myself today," Cooper, a White House correspondent for the news weekly, said outside the U.S. District Court Wednesday afternoon.

Cooper spoke after a two-and-a-half hour appearance before the grand jury investigating the leak of CIA officer Valerie Plame's (search) identity. He was one of several journalists to whom Plame's identity was leaked following the publication of an editorial written by her husband, former ambassador Joseph Wilson (search), in which Wilson criticized the Bush administration.

One of those journalists, Judith Miller (search) of The New York Times, is in jail for her refusal to name the person who revealed Plame's identity to her. Last week, Cooper escaped a similar citation for contempt of court when he told the judge his source had waived confidentiality, freeing him to testify before the grand jury.

"Today I testified and agreed to testify solely because of a waiver I received from my source," Cooper said outside the courthouse. "Once a journalist makes a commitment of confidentiality to a source, only the source can end that commitment."

The grand jury is tasked with finding out if whoever leaked her identity to the press two years ago did so with the intent of burning her cover, possibly in retaliation for Wilson's criticisms of the administration's claims that Iraq's nuclear program.

[Conservative Infidel]

I thought what was said in a grand jury stays in a grand jury?

Exactly! Therefore, this person can fabricate a completely new story out of whole cloth and the prosecutor will not be able to dispute it. I couldn't figure out why he agreed to testify in the first place. Now I understand!

[Shermy]

"Once a journalist makes a commitment of confidentiality to a source, only the source can end that commitment."

B.S. Jail scared him. Rove (if he's the only source) gave a waiver long ago.

Miller's got guts, admire her for that.

[Steve_Seattle]

"Miller's got guts, admire her for that."

Maybe, but possibly the identity of her source would be a profound embarrassment both to her and her employer, the NYT, an embarrassment compared to which jail time would be preferable.

[OESY]

Karl Rove and Occam's Razor


There's an old law in logic called "Occam's Razor." It states that, when presented with multiple solutions for a given problem, the simplest one is usually the best one.

I figured I'd apply Occam's Razor to the Rove/Plame issue, and see what comes out.

Let's see. Ambassador Joseph Wilson goes to Africa to investigate rumors that Iraq is looking to buy uranium to develop nuclear weapons. He pokes around a bit, drinks some tea, comes home, and writes his report.

Then he starts talking publicly about his investigation, saying that he found no evidence to support those rumors.

The only problem is, his report actually DOES support them.

So, at the White House, they have a dilemma. Wilson is out-and-out lying about his report, but they can't contradict him because his report is classified.

So, when reporters start calling White House officials for comment, they can't tell them that Wilson is talking out of his ass. Instead, they try to warn off the reporters from putting too much stock in his statements.

"So, Rove, we have Joe Wilson saying Cheney sent him to Africa, and then completely lied about his report. Does the White House have any comment?"

"You know we can't comment on classified reports. But I can tell you that Cheney didn't send Wilson."

"Oh, he didn't. Then the CIA Director did?"

"From what I understand, his wife works at the CIA, and she pushed him forward. All I know is, nobody here even heard of him before he was recommended for the job by someone at CIA."

Again, that's just speculation. And I have no problems with the ethicality of that. To me, it looks more and more like Wilson exploited his wife's position for his own political purposes, in effect politicizing her for his own gains. At the point she went along with it, she stopped being an "honest employee" at the CIA and instead became a political operative and forfeited any claim to protection from political retaliation. Once you decide to play political games from your job, you run the risk of people taking similar measures to fight back. It's the nature of politics.

But let's AGAIN look at the facts. The evidence against Rove is -- as of this writing -- virtually nonexistent. Nor is there real evidence that a law was broken. It's highly questionable at best whether or not the law would have covered Ms. Plame, or Mr. Rove, for that matter. Nonetheless, Democrats are fighting over microphones in order to publicly call for his firing.

This is nothing new. In the summer of 2003, Wilson himself said he wanted to see Rove "frog-marched out of the White House in handcuffs" over the publication of his wife's employment.

And again there seems to be no one who wants to actually get the best evidence in the whole Plame dustup, and talk to Robert Novak. If whoever told Mr. Novak that Plame worked for the CIA broke a law, then his publishing of that name was a crime of at least equal magnitude. He could settle the whole matter in seconds, but apparently no one wants to do just that.

But again, I have no "inside knowledge" of what's going on, nor do I want any. I'm just one guy sitting back and looking at as much of the big picture as possible, and trying to make sense of it all.

And that last part is what separates me from a lot of people on the left, who have their conclusions already worked out (Rove must go!) and are working backwards from there to try to make the evidence fit their goal.

-- Jay Tea, wizbangblog.com/

[ravingnutter]

Since Miller is known for her WMD stories, I believe she sent Cooper down a bogus trail on the Cheney/Wilson story and then he, although possibly inadvertently, set Rove up. Otherwise, why would she be involved at all, considering she did not write a story about the Plame leak. Remember, Cooper originally called about a story he was doing on welfare reform, not the Cheney/Wilson controversy. That in itself is suspicious.

[OESY]

You'll have to speak up, I'm liberal


I have absolutely no use nor respect for Michael Savage, but one thing he says a lot (it's kind of hard to avoid people quoting him) is that "liberalism is a mental disorder." I dunno if I'd go quite that far, but I think I've started to notice that certain strains of liberalism do seem to have a poor medical effect.

In particular, on their hearing. They hear certain things, but for some reason, it comes out another way. Here are a few examples:

1) Bush says about the Plame leak: If any laws have been broken, appropriate measures will be taken.

Translation: As soon as there's the slightest evidence that Rove might've been even tangentially involved in this, I'll fire his ass. But for heaven's sake NOBODY go to the horse's mouth -- Novak -- and find out the TRUTH!

2) Bush says we have evidence that Saddam is pursuing weapons of mass destruction, and he is resisting our attempts to make sure he isn't -- in clear violation of the terms of the 1991 ceasefire.

Translation: Saddam's got nukes! He's gonna use 'em!

3) Bush says Iraq clearly isn't an imminent threat, but we don't have the luxury of waiting for him to pose one -- he has to be dealt with BEFORE he progresses that far.

Translation: Saddam's got the nukes on a five-minute countdown! We gotta hit him NOW before he hits us!

4) Ambassador Joseph Wilson's report on his trip to Niger clearly supports other evidence that Saddam was looking to obtain uranium -- despite his frequent public comments to the contrary.

Translation: Wilson found no proof Saddam was trying to get WMDs, and he's being crucified for being honest!

I think it's time for some serious federal funding into investigating this spreading disorder. It's already showing signs of becoming an epidemic.

-- Jay Tea, wizbangblog.com

[uvular]

Regarding Miller, is it true her source also waived confidentiality? If so, if Miller won't divulge their name, why won't the 'source' come forward?

Sorry if this has been discussed into the ground before; been woefully busy and unable to keep up lately. Any opinions welcome to help me get up to date!

[Primetimedonna]

I heard Rush say yesterday that Valerie Plame had not been an outside Agent in over nine years. Can anyone verify that? If so, why aren't we hearing more of that. If she was just a regular CIA employee, not a covert agent, what would be the crime?

[Cboldt]

I heard Rush say yesterday that Valerie Plame had not been an outside Agent in over nine years. Can anyone verify that? If so, why aren't we hearing more of that. If she was just a regular CIA employee, not a covert agent, what would be the crime?

CIA officer named prior to column - July 23, 2004
By Bill Gertz
THE WASHINGTON TIMES

The identity of CIA officer Valerie Plame was compromised twice before her name appeared in a news column that triggered a federal illegal-disclosure investigation, U.S. officials say.

Mrs. Plame's identity as an undercover CIA officer was first disclosed to Russia in the mid-1990s by a Moscow spy, said officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

In a second compromise, officials said a more recent inadvertent disclosure resulted in references to Mrs. Plame in confidential documents sent by the CIA to the U.S. Interests Section of the Swiss Embassy in Havana.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20040722-115439-4033r.htm

The terms "plame" "moscow" "ames" in a Google search turn up a number of similar articles.

The function of the media is not to illuminate the truth.

[WestTexasWend]

This is won't be the last run they take at Rove. They are desperate to get him out before the mid-term elections...

[Primetimedonna]

Thanks for the link. I still wonder where Rush got his info that she had not been a covert Agent in over nine years. I still would think that would be a factor.

[Cboldt]

I still wonder where Rush got his info that she had not been a covert Agent in over nine years.

Maybe somebody clipped the news and showed it to him.

Here's another ... http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2003_10/002395.php

October 11, 2003

VALERIE PLAME'S CAREER....Today's Nick Kristof column on Valerie Plame actually contains some new information:

First, the C.I.A. suspected that Aldrich Ames had given Mrs. Wilson's name (along with those of other spies) to the Russians before his espionage arrest in 1994. So her undercover security was undermined at that time, and she was brought back to Washington for safety reasons.

Second, as Mrs. Wilson rose in the agency, she was already in transition away from undercover work to management, and to liaison roles with other intelligence agencies. So this year, even before she was outed, she was moving away from "noc" which means non-official cover, like pretending to be a business executive. After passing as an energy analyst for Brewster-Jennings & Associates, a C.I.A. front company, she was switching to a new cover as a State Department official, affording her diplomatic protection without having "C.I.A." stamped on her forehead.

[rwa265]

"From what I understand, his wife works at the CIA, and she pushed him forward. All I know is, nobody here even heard of him before he was recommended for the job by someone at CIA."

Something about the e-mail that Cooper sent his bureau chief makes me wonder if Rove even mentioned that Wilson's wife worked for the CIA. Cooper wrote that Rove said it was wilson's wife, who apparently works at the agency on wmd [weapons of mass destruction] issues who authorized the trip."

What I wonder is, did Rove say "wilson's wife, who apparently works at the agency on wmd . . .", or did Rove only say "wilson's wife", and Cooper, who already knew where she worked, himself added the explanation of where she worked?

[Dave S]

Could Cooper be in trouble for writing about this matter before the investigation is complete?

No. He's free to talk about what he was asked and what he said. It better match what he said or Fitgerald may bring him to court again to find out why the discrepancy. Novak, is free to talk as well, althought the Prosecutor asked him not to. He cant force him not to.

[Repealthe17thAmendment]

The real solution to all this mess is to quit talking to reporters!

When will we learn that they are NOT our friends.

[Dave S]

If whoever told Mr. Novak that Plame worked for the CIA broke a law, then his publishing of that name was a crime of at least equal magnitude.

Novak could only be in legal trouble if he got his information from classified material which he had access to as part of his government job. But Novak doesnt work for the government. Even if someone gave him a classified document, it would not be "crime" for Novak to publish it.

[Dave S]

If she was just a regular CIA employee, not a covert agent, what would be the crime?

Even if Rove had given Plames name to Novak, highly doubtful (I think Powell or Tennant did it), he would have to have gotten the name from classified information to which he was entitled as part of his job, for it to be illegal. From what I read a few days ago there are like five or six factors that must be true for a crime to have been committed. Its likely that Fitzgerald is working on perjury charge.

[BushisTheMan]

Didn't Cooper stab Rove in the back?
Who released the e-mail to Newsweak?

[jw777]

Agent Smith, the husband of Mrs. Smith, works for the CIA. Oops. I outed someone. Call the Dems, quick.

[massgopguy]

The Special Prosecutor is forbidden by law from confirming or denying what was said. Cooper could leak. Just like the Dems leaked the Starr investigation.