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.

[nopardons]

bttt

[Texas Songwriter]

We know France had no compunction about ripping off starving children in the Oil-for-food scandal. This would create no searing of canscience for any of those involved.

[marron]

The best thread I've seen on Wilson's background is by Fedora, who posted her/his work here, with complete sourcing.

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

I've seen this information elsewhere, but finding it quickly will be tough.

A couple of other links are here, on French/Nigerienne/Libyan uranium smuggling:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1161297/posts

and on the supposedly fake documents, which the Niger embassy created, and which the French passed to us:

http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/issues/iraq/justify/2004/0802niger.htm

Actually, Fedora's work is encyclopedic, and the links are live and easy to follow so you can do your own research.

[Ann Archy]

THANKS!!!!!

[danamco]

Double YIKES!! Thanks for reminding everyone of the Saudi money. Isn't Wilson tied somehow to Alamoudi who is in prison? Something about sharing Rock Creek International offices and other things?



I have not read wilson's NYT's article, but if he publicly reveals his mission he was sent on by CIA that one would think is classified (?) , has he then not committed a high crime himself by his disclosure in itself???

[agincourt1415]

Or "I bragged about my wife being a spook at so many Washington Parties and Back Yard BAR B Qs, that I can't remember who didn't know she was a CIA Spook".

[kcvl]

Despite our hard and successful work to deliver a unanimous report, however, there were two issues on which the Republicans and Democrats could not agree: 1) whether the Committee should conclude that former Ambassador Joseph Wilson’s public statements were not based on knowledge he actually possessed, and 2) whether the Committee should conclude that it was the former ambassador’s wife who recommended him for his trip to Niger.

[danamco]

Wow! Are you saying Fitzgerald might actually uncover dirty tricks to influence the 2004 election, and might actually hold some Dems accountable? That would make him kind of a vastrightwing fanatic, and hell kind of frozen over, wouldn't it?


If so they may be both be eligible for a orange "Gitmo" jump suit, however, dan blather tried the same and skated unharmed, thanks to 2 weasels of investigators later on

[ScaniaBoy]

I have a question: the area that Plame worked in, could that have been the area where the "bad information" from the CIA was coming from?

She is a WMD expert......the "bad" information was in the WMD area.....Well!?

[danamco]

...and, marron, you've put your finger on the crux of the matter. This is what Fitzgerald is delving into - the Plame-Wilson/Niger-France WMD smuggling cover-up connections. That's the "big picture." Clearly, it has nothing whatsoever to do with Rove or even Novak, but it does have to do with Miller & Cooper, although in this 3 ring circus, ole Cooper is "odd man out."


Maybe the "Food for Oil" scandal can be added to the mix without being accused of tin-foil hat???

[randog]

Excellent insight, but I might add one thing--why are the dems jumping up and down and flinging all their poo at this? Because their oxe is getting lined up for a goring, too.

[adam_az]

That's a distinct possibility.

Who is Miller really protecting, besides herself, and why?

Answer that, and we know the truth... which is why she'd rather rot in prison than talk.

[kcvl]

“a little literary flair.”

[angelr1076]

From all of the stories that I've read so far, all I can make of it is that noone can be blamed for any kind of leak. There is no violation here. In order for someone to be charged with breaking this 1982 statute, the exposed operative protected by this law has to have been an active, overseas, covert agent within the past 5 years. She doesn't fit any of the criteria.

This investigation seems like it's going to reveal some huge &%*#, and Rove isn't going to be one of those crucified. There are going to be some major heads rolling.

Also, it seems like the liberals are going to be really upset, they've come up with countless conspiracy theories in hopes of throwing Karl Rove over the fence. It looks like they've just opened a pandora's box and there's no way they'll be able to make light of it once it comes rolling back at them.

[Howlin]

Works for me. You?

[Howlin]

**Credit: Jennyscool

[ScaniaBoy]

Works for me. You?

It sure does!

:-)

[CHARLITE]

" It looks like they've just opened a pandora's box and there's no way they'll be able to make light of it once it comes rolling back at them."

This is a BIGGIE!......and I really can't wait to enjoy their stuttering embarrassment, because I know in my heart of hearts that this plot originated with Plame herself, who leaked the whole Niger-Wilson-"no yellowcake" deal to Judith Miller........and, oh yes...heads are going to roll and Frank Rich, David Corn, Kristina vander Heuvel and all of the "little Ward Churchills" are going to be wiping egg off of their faces for a long time to come.

Thanks for your comments, angel!

Char :)

[CHARLITE]

RE: your post # 63. Thanks. Very useful. We MUST stay on top of this story! It is extremely important that we jump on all of the liberal media's lies. We owe it to President Bush and to Karl Rove, to help out, as many of you did during the Kerry campaign.

We are in an internal political civil war. That's how I see it. I plan to stick around and fight. America deserves our energy.......in this and in anything else that these putrid Democrats attempt to concoct........and just wait until Hillary begins her "let's roll" campaign! Oh mercy. What a long road ahead it's going to be.

Char :)

[Grampa Dave]

"If anyone committed a crime leaking, my guess is it was Valerie Plame leaking top secret data to Miller for years."

Many of us feel the same way. If Miller told her sources instead of protecting them, Plame/Wilson, Plame's last CIA boss, Foley would be up on big charges.