Transcript of Cooper/Russert Interview

NEW YORK A transcript of Tim Russert's interview with Time magazine's Matthew Cooper on NBC's "Meet the Press," Sunday, July 17, 2005.

MR. RUSSERT: This is the cover of your magazine: "Rove on the Spot," subtitled "What I Told the Grand Jury," by Matthew Cooper. And here is an excerpt from your article, which will be available tomorrow in Time magazine:

"So did [Karl] Rove leak Plame's name to me, or tell me she was covert? No. Was it through my conversation with Rove that I learned for the first time that [Joe] Wilson's wife worked at the CIA and may have been responsible for sending him to Niger? Yes. Did Rove say that she worked at the 'agency' on 'WMD'. Yes. When he said things would be declassified soon, was that itself impermissible? I don't know."

For the record, the first time you learned that Joe Wilson's wife worked for the CIA was from Karl Rove?

MR. RUSSERT: And when Karl concluded his conversation with you, you write he said, "I've already said too much." What did that mean?

MR. COOPER: Well, I'm not sure what it meant, Tim. At first, you know, I thought maybe he meant "I've been indiscreet." But then, as I thought about it, I thought it might be just more benign, like "I've said too much; I've got to get to a meeting." I don't know exactly what he meant, but I do know that memory of that line has stayed in my head for two years.

MR. RUSSERT: When you were told that Joe Wilson's wife worked for the CIA, did you have any sense then that this is important or "I better be careful about identifying someone who works for the CIA"?

ABC News managed to cut this quote down to "I thought maybe he meant "I've been indiscreet."

Cooper calls Rove and says "Hey! Did you hear about the bank robbery last night?"
Rove answers "Yes, I did."
Therefore, Rove robbed the bank.

Cooper and his wife are very, very close friends of Hillary Clinton, who's only chance in 2008 is to destroy the reputation of the Republicans in the eyes of the voters.

The Fitzgerald investigation will land those democrats in jail again who were willing to follow a Clinton. It happens every time.

"Do you think that this matter will jeopardize your career?"

His answer, "it shouldn't" should tell us it probably will to some extent. He didn't say, NO, it won't. I sure as hell wouldn't talk to him. The sissy boy let the woman go to jail while sissy boy makes an excuse that he just this morning got permission to use his source. BS. He is lying. He had the same permission he has had for two years. Sissy boy didn't want to go to jail with Judith Miller.

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 fothe 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.

The real solution to all this mess is to quit talking to reporters! When will we learn that they are NOT our friends. The real solution to all this mess is to quit talking to reporters! When will we learn that they are NOT our friends.

I think what kills reporters about this Whitehouse is that they propably log all reporters into the Whitehouse, log all their phone calls to reporters and record every conversation whether on the record or off the record. That's why they can't spring it on Rove...he's probably got evidence of everything he's ever said to reporters.

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