Dem Strategist Suggests on MSNBC that President May Be Focus of Leak Probe

MSNBC News | 07/16/2005 | MSNBC

[RightFighter]

On MSNBC a little while ago, they had a story about the "politics of the CIA leak". The reporter was interviewing Pat Buchanan and Democratic strategist Peter Fenn. What follows is the best transcript I could piece together quickly. I've quoted Fenn word for word.

PAT BUCHANAN: It's very, very serious...There is a credibility problem for the press secretary...There is no legal problem for Rove...Reporters in Washington have a gleam in their eye and smiles on their faces, and there's a reason for it...Pat Fitzgerald hasn't been digging for two years and judges haven't been sending reporters to jail because they don't have anything...Everyone in town (Washington) feels there is something very, very serious and today's story in the NY Times where a memo was floating around aboard Air Force One about Wilson's trip to Africa indicates this could be very big stuff.

ALEX: Peter, what kind of big stuff could Pat be referring to?

PETER FENN: Alex, this is not a third-rate burglary. The focus had been on White House staff. Now, as Pat says, with this memo from the State Department about Wilson, about his wife, about the connection, it was brought onto Air Force One by Secretary Powell. I cannot imagine, Alex, that if he's going up and down the aisles with that memo as he was supposed to have been, that he did not discuss it with the President of the United States. I cannot imagine that there were not phone calls from Ari Fleischer, the Press Secretary who was on board, back to the White House about this. This was precisely at the time when Wilson was about to publish his article. Folks knew about his position about weapons of mass destruction. I have a sense that this may go all the way to the top.

[Howlin]

Classic Rove

By Harold Meyerson

Wednesday, July 13, 2005; Page A21

Now Karl Rove has become "fair game."

That was the term that the president's consigliere applied to Valerie Plame, according to Newsweek, in a conversation with MSNBC's Chris Matthews immediately after the publication of Robert D. Novak's column that identified Plame as a CIA operative. And, of course, Plame was fair game: Her identity was a tool to discredit, however obliquely, the report from her husband, Joe Wilson, that the administration's claim that Saddam Hussein's Iraq had sought to purchase uranium from Niger was a bunch of hooey.

[Howlin]

Oh, where is that thread?

BTW, did you happen to read anywhere on here in the last few days about one of Plame's coworkers being on TV, talking about how she didn't hide it at all.......I'm afraid it's buried on a thread and I'll never find it!

[F16Fighter]

"I don't recall seeing any posters here on FreeRepublic during the filibuster supporting the RINO's. Name just one. Better yet, any posters on this thread who support the RINO's please respond -- NOW!"

Many Freepers defended one Arlen Specter during his Senatorial campaign against conservative Pat Toomey -- REMEMBER??

Then the same Freepers defended Specter as head of the Judiciary Committee -- REMEMBER?

Got news for you -- President Bush...IS a pseudo-RINO.

[Miss Marple]

I will ping you to the thread. Just hang on a second!

[Protect the Bill of Rights]

The rat takes the cheese

[maryz]

The MSM can't stand the fact that an investigator, a Federal Prosecutor, has been left with such an important matter.

Weren't they screaming, along with the Dems, for a Special Prosecutor to investigate Novak in the first place? I do think that -- from their point of view -- it's gotten way out of hand!

[tobyhill]

"Former covert CIA agent Fred Rustmann, Washington Times, 15 July 2005 said that "she made no bones about the fact that she was an agency employee and her husband was a diplomat...Her neighbors knew this, her friends knew this, his friends knew this." It was the position of the CIA, according to Rustmann, that she was a "non-official cover," or NOC, until 1997, and hadn't been out as that type of agent since then, instead having overt status."

This is one of the comments.

[jveritas]

You two knee jerks quit this insanely delusional thought of yours.

[Howlin]

Do you have a link to the article?

[FreeReign]

Many Freepers defended one Arlen Specter during his Senatorial campaign against conservative Pat Toomey -- REMEMBER??Then the same Freepers defended Specter as head of the Judiciary Committee -- REMEMBER?

You mistaken pragmatism for the love of anything that is less than 100% conservatism.

Got news for you -- President Bush...IS a pseudo-RINO.

Got news for you: The electorate is not very conservative.

Got news for you: The people of the Pennsylvania Republican party elected Specter.

Got news for you: The people of Pennsylvania elected Specter senator.

Got a question for you: If the people of Pennsylvania are RINO's and want Specter as Senator, then why the hell should President Bush try to lead a bunch of people to a place that they don't want to go?

[Eagles Talon IV]

"I do see a serious distraction from real news like all the economic good news coming out over the past few weeks. The dems can't stand to let that get on the front burner.

Don't forget the London bombings. Every time a terrorist strikes a free country, especially out best ally, it reminds everyone how much they DON'T want the left in power during time of war.

[Darkwolf377]

I think that press conference the other day--in which Schumer looked a lot more confident than did Wilson--was a sign that Wilson realizes he's being examined very closely. ANY charge that comes out against him from now on will result in him saying 'See, I told you they were coming after me. It's just like these Republicans, when questioned, they destroy the messenger" and blah blah blah.

WILSON: Well, I went in, actually in February of 2002 was my most recent trip there—at the request, I was told, of the office of the vice president, which had seen a report in intelligence channels about this purported memorandum of agreement on uranium sales from Niger to Iraq.

CNN's American Morning, 7/7/03

http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/post?id=1444238%2C254

[Darkwolf377]

D'OH! Wrong link:

http://www.dailyhowler.com/dh071305.shtml

[FreeReign]

"I don't recall seeing any posters here on FreeRepublic during the filibuster supporting the RINO's. Name just one. Better yet, any posters on this thread who support the RINO's please respond -- NOW!"

My above comment still remains unanswered.

[Protect the Bill of Rights]

Missed the memo-can you give me a briefing or point me to info?

[tobyhill]

http://www.antimedia.us/posts/1121317604.shtml

I'm looking for the other links

[leadpenny]

People had long ago dismissed the posts. You've revived them.

Also, did you miss my caveat?

[Eagles Talon IV]

"The dems are backed into a corner with 1 and possibly 2 more SCOTUS seats needing to be filled in the next few years.

Possibly 2? You actually believe Rehnquist will make it through 3.5 more years? LOL, if I were a betting man I would put real money on there being 3 and maybe even 4 high court nominations for Bush to make.

[Wolfstar]

Did you feel that way about Ken Starr?

I think that way about all these politically appointed post-Watergate special counsels/prosecutors. Furthermore, their records speak for themselves. Very little to show for all the angst, turmoil, financial and human costs. This isn't to say that government officials should be immune from such prosecutions. Only that the ones resulting from political firestorms rarely accomplish anything worthwhile.

[Eagles Talon IV]

RE BUSH/ENRON


On another lib forum (not DU) they were simply beside themselves when Enron broke. They were all 100% CONVINCED Bush was history.