Posted on 07/14/2005 9:13:31 PM PDT by HAL9000
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Presidential confidant Karl Rove testified to a grand jury that he learned the identity of a CIA operative originally from journalists, then informally discussed the information with a Time magazine reporter days before the story broke, according to a person briefed on the testimony.The person, who works in the legal profession and spoke only on condition of anonymity because of the secrecy of grand jury proceedings, told The Associated Press that Rove testified last year that he remembers specifically being told by columnist Robert Novak that Valerie Plame, the wife of a harsh Iraq war critic, worked for the CIA.
Rove testified that Novak originally called him the Tuesday before Plame's identity was revealed in July 2003 to discuss another story. The conversation eventually turned to former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, who was strongly criticizing the Bush administration's Iraq war policy and the intelligence it used to justify the war, the source said.
The person said Rove testified that Novak told him he had learned and planned to report in a weekend column that Wilson's wife, Plame, had worked for the CIA, and the circumstances on how her husband traveled to Africa to check bogus claims of alleged nuclear material sales to Iraq.
Novak's column, citing two Bush administration officials, appeared six days later, touching off a political firestorm and leading to a federal criminal investigation into who leaked Plame's undercover identity. That probe has ensnared presidential aides and reporters in a two-year legal battle.
Rove told the grand jury that by the time Novak had called him, he believes he had similar information about Wilson's wife from another reporter but had no recollection of which reporter had told him about it first, the source said.
When Novak inquired about Wilson's wife working for the CIA, Rove indicated he had heard something like that, according to the source's recounting of the grand jury testimony.
Rove told the grand jury that four days later, he had a phone conversation with Time magazine reporter Matt Cooper and _ in an effort to discredit some of Wilson's allegations _ told Cooper that Wilson's wife worked for the CIA, though he never used her name.
An e-mail Cooper recently provided the grand jury shows Cooper reported to his magazine bosses that Rove had described Wilson's wife in a confidential conversation as someone who "apparently works" at the CIA.
Robert Luskin, Rove's attorney, said Thursday his client truthfully testified to the grand jury and expected to be exonerated.
"Karl provided all pertinent information to prosecutors a long time ago," Luskin said. "And prosecutors confirmed when he testified most recently in October 2004 that he is not a target of the investigation."
Rove's conversation with Cooper took place five days after Wilson suggested in a New York Times opinion piece that some of the intelligence related to Iraq's nuclear weapons program was twisted to exaggerate the Iraqi threat. Novak's column identifying Wilson's wife as a CIA employee and Cooper's magazine piece came out a few days later.
Pressed to explain its statements of two years ago that Rove wasn't involved in the leak, the White House refused to do so this week.
"If I were to get into discussing this, I would be getting into discussing an investigation that continues and could be prejudging the outcome of the investigation," McClellan said.
So, when was the last time Ms. Plame was undercover, and who told anybody that she was ever an "operative"??????????
Joe Wilson was very, very foolish to ever write the column he wrote. If anyone put his wife in danger, it was he.
So why were these folks so dead set against going to war with Iraq? What was their motive? Were they afraid that all the talk of Saddam's WMD would be found out to have been a lie? Or were they truly afraid Saddam would use them against us? Oh the tangled web . . . .
My Lord, ROVE IS TOTALLY INNOCENT in ALL of this. How in the world can the media and the Dems carry on like they have? Sheesh, it was the MEDIA who revealed her name.
political contributors are required to list employer.
Now when are when gonna see the splash stories about what was written on the documents that Sandy Berger stuffed in his underwear??????? Where are the investigative reporters on this? Why aren't they speculating wildly about it? What could be so important to the Clinton administration to cover up by stealing classified documents from the National Archives? Surely there is a RAT leaker somewhere who would tell.
According to liberals, they all are partisan gunslingers.
Why would Ms. Miller go to jail if Rove gave the OK to release his name? Because he is not her source and its someone like Chuck Schummer that released the information.
Like another poster stated, all the Dims are on record saying the person who released the name should be in jail.
Maybe Sandy Berger?
Early in anything, you just say, "Our guy's innocent." You don't go into details.
I don't even consider it a leak. A leak is insider info. This is simple background that any story-teller would want to know.
It wasn't his rich uncle who set him up, it was his wife.
Is nepotism now considered national secrets?
Great picture. LOL...
Not to nit-pick, but "operative" or former operative"?
As you'll recall, Kristof's column in May, 2003 was the first to discuss Wilson's trip to Niger (without mentioning Wilson's name).
Well, I just went back and read the Vanity Fair article which featured the now infamous photo of Wilson and Plame in their Jaguar convertible. The article says:
In early May, Wilson and Plame attended a conference sponsored by the Senate Democratic Policy Committee [no partisanship here...no sireee!], at which Wilson spoke about Iraq; one of the other panelists was the New York Times journalist Nicholas Kristof. Over breakfast the next morning with Kristof and his wife, Wilson told about his trip to Niger and said Kristof could write about it, but not name him. At this point what he wanted, Wilson says, was for the government to correct the record... [I'm virtually certain the "with his wife" is referring to Wilson's wife, not Kristof's because she is mentioned as attending the conference, whereas Kristof's wife isn't].The entire article gives one a good impression of Wilson's concerted effort to create an atmosphere where he would "just HAVE TO correct the record" by disclosing his role in the Niger trip.
But, I'd forgotten that SHE was there at the initial breakfast with Kirstof.
Now I'm wondering if KRISTOF is the source Judith Miller is protecting?!
Oops. Here's the link to Vanity Fair
http://www.jimgilliam.com/2004/01/vanity_fairs_profile_on_joseph_wilson_and_valerie_plame.php
Here's another possibility...Cooper, of course, already knew who Plame was--knew she had already been "outed" but instead has been playing phony-baloney all along that it was Rove who "outed" her to him (Cooper). Talk about a set-up for sure to try to snag a "big fish" in the Administration. Cooper's been lying all along I believe. Then acting like he was "sweating bullets" about going to jail and then feigned a big sigh of relief when he was supposedly "released" by Rove as a confidential source. Cooper is just as big a slimeball in this as anybody, I believe.
IE: On September 7, 2002, Miller and Times reporter Michael R. Gordon reported the interception of metal tubes bound for Iraq. Her front page story quoted (unnamed) "American officials" and "American intelligence experts" who said the tubes were intended to be used to enrich nuclear material
Miller appears to have done quite a bit of reporting on the same interests the Plame-Wilsons had, and were involved with. Perhaps that is why Miller will not disclose her source. The Plame-Wilsons have both been in positions to pass on information to her. Some of her pieces seem to indicate that she was in touch with one or both of them at particular times, and was aware of Plame's position as an operative-analyst because one of them told her, or she simply figured it out.
CTDs.
"Experts" like Plame.
That's not what I meant; but you knew that, right?
I hope you and I live long enough to see that.
Evidnetly they didn't get to mix up the big batch because they SNORTED the Kool-Aid before they could even add the water. :-)
Hypocrisy, thy name is Schumer.
I'm almost to the point where I don't even want to check in with DU anymore! EVERY single time we seem to get some traction on something, THE subject gets changed or "Fuzzed"! So what about DSM??? What about the War??? What about Impeachment??? I get all hyped up that something will happen, then "Poof" we get MORE OF THE SAME!!! Where the F--K are OUR Representatives & Senators??? I certainly can't appeal to mine down here in Florida!! I'm so SICK & TIRED, and TIRED & SICK!!
I'm late getting this excellent news, but you seem to be 100% correct about the withdrawal having begun.
Now, if only there were some cameras on Joe Wilson--watching him throw tantrums and roll into a fetal ball on live camera would just make my day!
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