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

[sinkspur]

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.

So? There is no crime in "getting" Wilson. In fact, it ought to earn the getter a medal, or at least a night on the town.

[mosquitobite]

Have a ham sandwich doesn't refer to a comment by:
Former Chief Judge of the New York State Court of Appeals* Sol Wachtler in 1985**
about the overreaching ability of District/State's Attorneys to achieve indictments before Grand Juries. *In New York State, the Supreme Court is the lowest, the Appellate Division is next, and the Court of Appeals is the highest. **seven years after, he was indicted for sexual harassment and stalking... but I digress"Even a modestly competent district attorney can get a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich."

Now does it?

[Alia]

Article title: Why There Are No Insurgents in Iraq

George Tenet and the Central Intelligence Agency agreed with Colin Powell and the U.S. State Department: ''Iraq has in the past provided training in document forgery and bomb making to al Qaeda. It also provided training in poisons and gases to two al Qaeda associates; one of these associates characterized the relationship as successful. Mr. Chairman, this information is based on solid foundation of intelligence. It comes to us from credible and reliable sources. Much of it is corroborated by multiple sources.'' -George Tenant, Senate Arms Services Committee Testimony, February 12, 2003.

[nuffsenuff]

I can't help it.

;-)

[Alice au Wonderland]

That she used to be an overseas covert agent 6 years before this story broke...

According to an NRO article published this past summer, the media claimed in court papers that Plame's identity had been outed in the mid 1990's, therefore, no crime had been committed.

Here's the link to the article:

http://www.nationalreview.com/mccarthy/mccarthy200507180801.asp

[Dave Burns]

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.

So I guess there is no problem and we can all go home and forget about everything. Or perhaps, Ms Plame has been leaking information for years.

[Dr. Bogus Pachysandra]

'This headline is totally bogus."

I had nothing to do with this headline!

[Dolphy]

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.

Not so quick there...you forgot to mention that Wilson's public rhetoric and political affiliation puts him at the center of the alleged attempts to "get" the neo-cons. Since Wilson's story has been refuted by a bi-partisan Senate committee, I'm guessing we might find a few more bent rules and laws in his CIA/State/media circle of contacts.

[mosquitobite]

see post #82

[saveliberty]

I think it's a shame that Wilson won't be charged with having unlawful access to some of the files that he inferred that he'd seen prior to being assigned this specific work.

[rip033]

Exactly! That's what stinks about this whole story. Everyone needs to remember the anti Bush crowd have been after him since the day he announced his bid for the presidency. It's a full time job or career for some of these folks.

[ShandaLear]

I confess, I did it.

[popdonnelly]

While we're speculating, maybe it was Tenet who gave Plame's name to Novak. And/or Miller.

[popdonnelly]

"Someone must pay. I choose Al Franken."

I agree wholeheartedly. It's not the facts, it's the seriousness of the charges.

[victoria wilson]

Notes obtained by Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald identify then-CIA Director George Tenet as the person who gave up Plame's secret

It wasn't a secret and the leaking of the content of these notes adds to the mountain of evidence showing that.

[victoria wilson]

W was dumb to keep Tenet on so long.

Yes, bad Tenet...BAD. He should NOT have told Cheney that Wilson was sent to Niger because his wife recommended him. That was the truth and we can't have that.

[victoria wilson]

If Tenet did indeed tell Cheney that Plame worked for the CIA, but did not say she was covert, does that mean he broke any laws? Since he was talking to someone WITH clearance?

It means she wasn't covert. Saying Plame worked at the CIA was as illegal as saying Tenet worked at the CIA.

[Waco]

Tenet leaked her name, while Ames is sitting in the Fed Pen for leaking her idenity? Now, that makes a lot of forking sense don't it now???

[Steve_Seattle]

"What I see out of this whole thing...is bits and pieces. Someone in the CIA screwed up by just linking the husband to her, and then they screwed up by half-admiting what she does for a living."

I think that's about right, and that's why I think it's a misnomer when people say this is about a "leak." A "leak" is when confidential information is passed on in order to further some sort of agenda. What happened here, in my opinion, is that information was passed on as a way of explaining something, i.e., why Wilson was sent to Niger. That's also why I think the spin that Plame was "outed" is just that - spin - because it doesn't accurately describe why the information was initially divulged. It was not to "get" or "punish" or "muzzle" someone, but simply to explain what happened.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Also there is this:

The Untold Story: Joseph Wilson, Judith Miller and the CIA