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.
how embarrassing. I know it was Wilson. He burted it out to that reporter sitting in jail right now.
What an idiot.
bttt
LOL.. Funny,, Karl doesn't look Italiano.
OH MANNN it going get veryy good indeeedddddd Hal rack it LOL!!!!
Going be funny for MSN media eat their own
That picture is particularly apropos for this occasion.
You are so right! Betting pool begins on a "Hold muh Koolaid 'n watch this" alert tomorrow. Just a matter of time now.
I still say the leaker was Valarie herself. I think she's been a source of leaks on WMD to Miller for years.
Glad to see the dark side stepped in it, again!
The movie 'Groundhog Day' comes to mind. I hope they never learn and self-flaggelate themselves into obscurity
This country deserves so much more than anything they have to offer.
Night all! Too much lurking, posting on dog threads and popcorn!
Then "informally discussed it" with someone else?
Not good.
Wonder if it was pillow talk? (just being a catty, but hey, that's why I have (er, had) estrogen.
Dang, I just read that yesterday......let me see if I can find it.
The DUmmies are really bumming out. Even they read the NYT article as saying Rove not the source. Now they are looking to pin it on Cheney as the original leak. Boy, it didn't take much to crush their Rove "evidence".
How exactly do they piece that together? I surmised earlier today that they might be angling toward Rove testifying that he didn't speak to a specific reporter, when he had. What are they saying?
Thank you for alerting me to this...
The nasty web between democrats and MSM is being revealed through this investigation.
Is Ms. Miller sitting in jail because of some of those very connections?
Why did John Solomon's fantasies get placed in the caption: "Rove...political liability" comment.
"then informally discussed the information with a Time magazine reporter days before the story broke".
If this is correct, he shouldn't have done that.
Unfortunate for him, and others now, "informally" doesn't work here, and has created predictable results.
Here you go:
Times story says that Novak claims (and has testified) that Rove said "You heard it too", confirming the Plame story.
AP story says that Rove has claimed to the grand jury that he originally heard the Plame story from Novak.
If both of these men testified as written in these two reports, with two conflicting stories, hasn't one of them committed perjury before the grand jury?
I want this read into the congressional record during tomorrows senate session.
His "informal" discussion has already been made public in the Cooper e-mail. It amounted to nothing. Just like the rest of this story...with regard to Rove. Now the real question is...just who will the investigation nail?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.