New York Times: CIA Leaked Plame's Name

Newsmax.com ^ | 10/25/2005 | Carl Limbacher

[SirLinksalot]

Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2005 12:03 p.m. EDT

NY Times: CIA Leaked Plame's Name

The ultimate source of information identifying Leakgate accuser Valerie Plame as a CIA employee my turn out to be the CIA itself, the New York Times reported Tuesday.

Notes obtained by Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald identify then-CIA Director George Tenet as the person who gave up Plame's secret to the White House, with the Times reporting that Tenet tipped Vice President Dick Cheney to her identity.

However the notes - taken by Cheney's chief of staff Lewis Libby - "contain no suggestion that either Mr. Cheney or Mr. Libby knew at the time of Ms. Wilson's undercover status or that her identity was classified."

So far, Tenet has neither confirmed nor denied that he was the original source of the Plamegate leak, with the Times reporting that he was "unavailable for comment."

"But another former senior intelligence official said Mr. Tenet had been interviewed by the special prosecutor and his staff in early 2004, and never appeared before the grand jury."

Mr. Tenet has not talked since then to the prosecutors, the former official told the Times

[BurbankKarl]

Yesterday they said it was Cheney!

[gop_gene]

The neoprogs are going nuts with this story. You should have heard Jerry Springer yesterday. He said Libby and Rove were involved in forging those fake wmd documents. He was foaming at the mouth! Of course, he's always foaming at the mouth!

And he knows this how? He's such a weirdo.

[sarkozy]

No. It's immaterial. There is no crime in Cheney telling Libby about Plame, whether Cheney used a name or not. Both have clearance.
The purported original crime was in giving out information that could id Wilson's wife as CIA to the press. We could argue for years (and have) about whether she was undercover and whether the leakers knew it and leaked it anyway.
But now the case seems to turn on misstatements to the grand jury.
And the significance of the NYT story goes to motive. Libby has already essentially admitted talking to reporters about Wilson's wife. What he seems most interested in doing is shielding Cheney, not necessarily from proseuction, but from being tied to the Plame leak in any way.
It looks like Libby's loyalty has done him in.
In any case, to return to the original topic, Tenet's alleged comments to Cheney about Plame's CIA employment don't constitute a "leak."
The game of the day is blame the CIA. But I bet you won't find Tenet's name under the "v." on this week's indictment.

[Steve_Seattle]

"That Cheney's interest in Wilson, even before the infamous NY Times opinion piece, puts him at the center of alleged WH attempts to "get" Wilson."

Describing this as an attempt to "get" Wilson is just spin, an interpretation that goes beyond the facts. It has never been clear to me how identifying that Plame recommended Wilson for the Niger assignment involves "getting" Wilson or "punishing" Wilson. The only person who ever admitted to an agenda of personal and political destruction was Joseph Wilson himself.

[Steve_Seattle]

I have a hard time believing that Libby could be indicted for perjury for not mentioning something that was not in itself a crime or part of a crime. On top of that, he could just claim he forgot; Judith Miller can't remember who she first heard a lot of things from, either. No one's talking about charging HER with perjury.

[mosquitobite]

It's not the "game of the day" to blame the CIA, we've been discussing it for over a year here on FreeRepublic. (You wouldn't know that though since you're a newbie) We can't help that Rush and others in the media are just now starting to report what Freepers uncovered over a year ago!

[RightFighter]

How can the CIA "leak" information to high ranking cabinet members with with security clearance?

By not telling them that the information is classified or top secret - knowing that the recipient of the information will use the information to defend their position on the WMD issue. Even among "cleared" persons, information that is of a classified or secret nature has to be clearly identified as such.

[xkaydet65]

One question. What does it matter who told Cheney or Libby? I would think both had the highest security clearances and telling a classified piece of info to the holder of the highest clearance hardly constitutes a leak.

[cwb]

"Judith Miller can't remember who she first heard a lot of things from, either. No one's talking about charging HER with perjury."

---

Exactly! And it would be extremely ironic if the case against Rove/Libby hinges on any of Miller's testimony...especially considering the recent beating she's taking from her "freinds" WRT her own credibility.

[Sacajaweau]

Joe published his article in the New York Times, Yes? There's your first clue. The Times people have simply gone dumb.

Miller MUST HAVE known a lot about Wilson from being in Iraq and having a "special" security clearance. She probably knew Valerie also because of their mutual interest. I believe Miller had special clearance at the CIA also.

[muawiyah]

I think you got that right. Valerie Plame and George Tenet were not asked to appear before the grand jury. Could be they are both "targets".

[Dr. Bogus Pachysandra]

Neoprog talking points memo, I suppose!

[GOPJ]

bump

[libstripper]

"Leaked??" Come on. Tenet was the duly appointed and confirmed head of the CIA, an agency that supposedly reports to the President and whomever the President designates. Cheney was and is the duly elected Vice President, to whom the President delegated authority to converse with Tenet. That's no more a leak than a military organization's intelligence officer telling the operations officer about a new piece of intelligence that's been gathered.

[pollyannaish]

Good call RightFighter. I remember that thread.

[Dr. Bogus Pachysandra]

Searching Amazon, you find Plame the Flame's book, "Germ" Although a lot of the info supplied to her was from Chalabi, I'd wager that she got a lot of stuff from her contacts in the CIA WMD division. Namely, PLAME. I'm sure they've known each other for years. That's why Miller wanted her questions and testimony to be very limited. I was really surprised when Fitz agreed.

[muawiyah]

Miller had an idea who Plame was, but not her name. She got all of her stuff from the CIA through an intermediary.

[antceecee]

When are they going to investigate the 'leakers' leaking the details of grand jury testimony and the 'leakers' in Fitz's office leaking about the leaking?

Looks like all the leakers are accusing the other leakers of leaking??? Is that about right?

[Dr. Bogus Pachysandra]

Thanks for the correction. How did you find this out? Got a good link I can check? I figured that they probably ran in the same circles in DC.

[Dr. Bogus Pachysandra]

From Podhoretz' column:
BILL Keller, editor of the Times, clearly doesn't believe Miller. In fact, he has even intimated that she and Libby had an inappropriate personal relationship.

Ha! Jooty and Scooty. I've been kiddin' 'bout that for a few days. I'll laugh if it's true. What a mess that would be!