Outing Plame may not have been illegal. What is the prosecutor hunting? (the bigger picture!)

POST GAZETTE.COM ^ | JULY 17, 2005 | JACK KELLY

[CHARLITE]

Why is special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald pursuing so zealously the outing of CIA officer Valerie Plame, since it is all but impossible to prove that the leaker or leakers committed a crime?

So why is Fitzgerald acting like Inspector Javert in "Les Miserables"? The answer may lie in a sentence Walter Pincus of The Washington Post wrote on June 12, 2003.

President Bush mentioned the British findings in his State of the Union address in January 2003. In his leaks to Pincus, and earlier to New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, Wilson claimed Bush knew this was false. The key sentence in Pincus' story is this:

"Among the envoy's conclusions was that the documents may have been forged because 'the dates were wrong and the names were wrong,' the former U.S. government official said."

Wilson outed himself in an op-ed in the New York Times on July 6, 2003, "What I Didn't Find in Africa," which described his CIA-sponsored trip to Niger in 2002. On July 14, 2003, columnist Robert Novak wondered why Wilson, who had no intelligence background and strong anti-Bush views, had been selected for the Niger mission. "Two senior administration officials told me Wilson's wife suggested sending him to Niger to investigate the Italian report," he wrote. That set off the Plame name game.

Maybe Fitzgerald is investigating a different crime.

What if someone in the CIA was leaking classified information to influence the 2004 election? Uncovering a crime like that would be worthy of Inspector Javert's doggedness.

I suspect the biggest shoe in this case has yet to drop, and liberal journalists won't be happy when it does.

[Poincare]

OR, perhaps Jack Kelly's suggestion is correct and this whole manipulated story was all about throwing the 2004 election to Kerry?

So which Democrat would benefit by exposing the Kerry campaign or perhaps Kerry himself?

[Gritty]

BTTT

[djmv]

ping

[advance_copy]

BUMP-O-RAMA! There is some excellent reporting going on here at FR.

[Steve_Seattle]

Do you know what's become of cyncooper lately? Vacation? I haven't seen her on any of these recent Plame threads, and she used to be the FR's number one sleuth on this story.

[Steve_Seattle]

"Maybe it's all a coincidence. But I don't think so. And I think it's likely this scenario is precisely what Fitzgerald is investigating."

It seems to be taking an awful long time just to identify the source of a couple of leaks and to compare the circumstances of the leaks with the provisions of the pertinent law. So maybe Fitzgerald has indeed strayed into unsuspected areas. But somehow I don't think he's going to get involved with anything pertaining to foreign governments. On the other hand, he just might uncover something of a "plot" involving Plame, Wilson, and anti-Bush elements in the CIA or State Dept.

[Howlin]

Yep, she actually had the nerve to take a vacation! Hope she'll be back soon!

[McGruff]

What if someone in the CIA was leaking classified information to influence the 2004 election?

Stop, you're making me hot.

[anniegetyourgun]

Top of the hour ABC radio news still reporting that the Prez "changed his story" on what constitutes a firing offense in the case of Rove. They keep insisting that the prez now indicates if someone is found to have done something illegal, he'll fire 'em. Interestingly enough, they don't play the president's exact comment from 2 years ago. You know they have the tape/transcript.....

[mewzilla]

Thanks. Speaking of the first vs. second wifey, maybe (probably is) just a coinkydink, but the timing of Joe's marital difficulties is interesting. '97/'98. Just got me to thinking.

[mewzilla]

ROTF! I just hope they keep digging. They won't like what they'll find...

Bwah hah hah hah hah....

[petercooper]

wow

[Mr. Jeeves]

Remember that this is DC. "You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours." Even if this is 100% true, it will never come out..."for the good of the country." The result will be the typical special prosecutor/independent counsel whitewash, followed by cocktails and crab cakes for all at one of the players' Maryland estates.

[silverleaf]

How do you know that Wilson's money is coming from Saudi Arabia?

In what I have read of him, he is a very wealthy man and has been for some time, even while he was in the foreign service. The only way foreign service officers are wealthy is if they come from family money or marry it. It sure doesn't come from the salary.

Nonetheless Joe Wilson was quite flashy about his money and his profession when he met and wooed Valerie Plame in 1997- while still married to his second wife. Interesting that he has told the world that Valerie outed herself to him as a CIA agent in the grope of passion on their third date. Having held a security clearance or two in my life, this indiscretion alone makes Valerie a flake and unworthy of employment in any classified or even discreet position in any agency.

Anyhow, supposedly Joe Wilson's occupation since retiring was to start a "consulting business" which I have only read is quartered in an extremely sleepy and defunct looking building.....none of what I have read explains Wilson's $14,000 dollar watches and jaguars, not to mention his meeting financial obligations incurred during two previous marriages.

So- from where has Joe Wilson gotten his wealth?

[subrosa sam]

It has been reported in the past that Wilson and Richard Clark have received consulting contracts from the CIA's
Counter Intelligence Center. Hopefully that has stopped with the appointment of Goss.

[Steve_Seattle]

Thanks.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

Plamegate is Rove's greatest coup since Rathergate.

Does he have room on his trophy wall for any more heads?

[Steve_Seattle]

"Does anyone know whether Wilson had to get CIA approval BEFORE he penned his NY Times Op ed?"

I don't think anyone in the (liberal) media has even asked that question since it doesn't fit their story line. The media generally only question the legality of a leak or a disclosure of classified material if the leak benefits a Republican or hurts a Democrat. Leaks which benefit Democrats or harm Republicans are rarely questioned. If Clinton was in Bush's position and Wilson was questioning Clinton's policies, the press would side with Clinton and question Wilson's motives, his connections, and his veracity. How do I know? Because that's how the press treated Linda Tripp, Paula Jones, Kathleen Willey, and Kenneth Starr.

[Steve_Seattle]

"They spent a year back in Washington on a congressional fellowship, during which time he worked for Al Gore, then a senator from Tennessee, and Tom Foley, then House majority whip."

Funny how Wilson's Democratic ties have been virtually ignored by the media. If the tables were turned, we'd know all about it.

[marron]

This thread has a good decription of his business relationships with sourcing and links.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1256475/posts