BOB NOVAK, My Leak Case Testimony - Cites Who's Who as source

The Drudge Report ^ | july, 11,2006 | drudge

[blogblogginaway]

BOB NOVAK, My Leak Case Testimony: 'I learned Valerie Plame's name from Joe Wilson's entry in 'Who's Who in America'... MORE Published reports that I took the Fifth Amendment, made a plea bargain with the prosecutors or was a prosecutorial target were all untrue... MORE... My primary source has not come forward to identify himself... Bill Harlow, the CIA public information officer who was my CIA source for the column confirming Mrs. Wilson's identity. I learned Valerie Plame's name from Joe Wilson's entry in 'Who's Who in America'... I answered questions using the names of Rove, Harlow and my primary source... I considered his wife's role in initiating Wilson's mission, later confirmed by the Senate Intelligence Committee, to be a previously undisclosed part of an important news story. I reported it on that basis.

[kabar]

There is one point that I do believe that Joe Wilson did tell the truth about, his trip to Niger was NOT his woman Val gal's initial idea.

I think it was. Wilson's trip was all about garnering business for himself. He went to Niger twice on the CIA's tab. He didn't make a written report. It was a boondoggle, which Wilson decided to turn to his own advantage so he could latch on to the Kerry campaign and be rewarded with a plum USG job.

[Always Right]

That makes sense. Somebody says "Wilson's wife recommended him for the job, she works for the CIA." Novak looks up Wilson in Who's Who and learns her name. He calls Harlow for confirmation and is given the info because Plame is a desk jocky.

Somebody = Colin Powell. Nobody wants to or would prosecute Powell.

[Freedom is eternally right]

At an appearance in December, Novak said President Bush knows his source, too. On Wednesday, he called those remarks "indiscreet."

Novak said he would reveal more "in time, when this investigation, if it ever ends, ends."

Novak: Feds know who outed CIA agent

[old_sage_says]

Congrats LS. I'll be listening, as will be millions of others.

[kabar]

Did Wilson have another wife that he divorced in 1997, or did someone lie to the reporter of the article you linked? The Who's Who listing says that he divorced his first wife in 1986.

Yes, Jacqueline C. Wilson.

Before meeting and marrying Joseph Wilson, Jacqueline Marylene Giorgi was the Cultural Counselor at the French Embassy in Bujumbura, Burundi. Wilson met her there while being stationed at the US Embassy as Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM), (1982-85). (Source: Vanity Fair article January 17, 2004)

Wilson divorced his wife, Susan Dale Otckis on April 27, 1986 after 12 years of marriage and two children. (Source: Who’s Who in America 2002). According to Wilson, it was in Burundi that Susan "decided she'd had about enough of me" and left him, he says. (Source: Vanity Fair article January 17, 2004)

Jacqueline married Joseph Wilson IV on July 1, 1986 and joined him back to the US for a one-year assignment to Washington on his congressional fellowship to work in the offices of Al Gore and then Tom Foley (1985-86). She then accompanied him on his subsequent overseas assignments as DCM to our embassies in Brazzaville, Congo (1986-88) and Baghdad (1988-91), and as US Ambassador to Gabon, Sao Tome and Principe (1992-1995). We do not know if she accompanied Wilson as political advisor (POLAD) to Commander-in-Chief, US Armed Forces, Europe (CINCEUCOM) in Stuttgart, Germany(1995-97). (Source: Who’s Who in America 2000)

Joseph Wilson IV claims that, “He had met Plame in February 1997 at a reception at the Washington home of the Turkish ambassador. He says that when his eyes fell on her from across the room he thought he knew her. He realized as he drew near that he did not-and that it was love at first sight. From that moment on, he says, "she did not let anyone into the conversation, and I did not let anyone into the conversation." . (Source: Vanity Fair article January 17, 2004) Presumably, Wilson was in Washington on consultations, because he in February 1997, he was still assigned to EUCOM.

Records show that Wilson and his second wife, Jacqueline, to whom he was married for 12 years, were divorced in 1998. The divorce must have been in early 1998, since Joseph Wilson IV married Valerie Plame on April 3, 1998. (Source: Vanity Fair article January 17, 2004 and Who’s Who in America)

Jacqueline registered as a foreign agent of Gabon on June 17, 1998 under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), which requires every agent of a foreign principal to register with the Department of Justice and file forms outlining its agreements with, income from, and expenditures on behalf of the foreign principal.

[McGavin999]

LOL, this is really tooooooo funny.

[Perdogg]

Col Mustard in the green room with the candlestick? :)

[maica]

Thanks for posting that. I wonder if we will ever learn if there is any connection between Wilson, Jacqueline, the French govt or operatives, and the forged letter that Wilson seemed to know about before it surfaced through intelligence channels.

[popdonnelly]

Among other things, Wilson seems to have a penchant for marital infidelity, leading to divorce, leading to quick re-marraige.

[kabar]

I think the story here is that Wilson was probably still in business with his former wife. In 1998 Wilson divorced her, married Valerie, bought an expensive home in Georgetown, and retired from the State Department ($125K a year job) to form a one man consulting business dealing with Africa.

Why would Wilson retire from the State Department with about 25 years service, which would have given him a pension of about $60K, tops. Without knowing the particulars of his divorce settlements with his first and second wives, they would have entitled to a portion of Wilson's pension by law, i.e., they were each married to him for over 12 years. Wilson would have been lucky to receive $30K after his wives received their shares. Add to this that he had two college age kids with his first wife. This raises many questions concerning the timing of his retirement. The business dealings of his second wife may explain it.

Why would Wilson walk away from a job that paid approximately $125K and accept a drastic reduction in salary given his increased financial commitments for a new expensive house and probable new obligations to help fund his children's college education? The answer seems obvious to me. He had reason to believe that he could parlay his connections as a former Ambassador to Gabon, Charge' in Iraq, and on the NSC to make more money than his salary at State and he had to strike while the iron was hot. He formed a one man consulting firm, JC Wilson International Ventures

According to FARA records, Jacqueline Wilson (#5262)received the following payments by year: 1998 ($280,0000), 1999 ($250,000); 2000 ($75,000 missing pages for last half year); 2001 ($39,000); and 2002 ($8,000). This amounts to a total of $652,000 with most of it frontloaded in 1998 and 1999. Mrs. Wilson was still connected to Gabon in June 2005, based on some newspaper articles. As late as 1998, her telephone number was the same as Wilson's address in Georgetown.

Jacqueline Wilson’s business dealings with Gabon and its leader, Omar Bongo, raise some important and germane questions about Joseph Wilson’s CIA-sponsored trips to Africa in 1999 and 2002. A strong case can be made that Wilson’s trips had more to do with personal business and financial interests than with addressing substantive government issues.

It was after the fact that this trip was used by Wilson aided and abetted by others in the Agency to undermine Bush as well as to further Wilson's political ambitions. I don't believe that the February 2002 trip was planned initially by Wilson, et. al. to undermine Bush, but rather, for the mundane purpose of furthering his flagging business interests. Wilson had no inkling that the famous 16 words would appear in Bush's STOU address in January 2003.

[kabar]

Exactly. It appears that he was having an affair with Jacqueline while married to Susan and then repeated the same with Valerie, i.e., having an affair with her while still married to Jacqueline. Wilson was married for 12 years each to his first and second wives so Valerie should start worrying around 2010.

[AndrewC]

If he was, he'd be Quick Draw McGraw

That's Queeks Straw -- Bobbalouie

[Common Tator]

I would bet Colin Powell was the source.

Is is possible that someone other than Novak and the Leaker knew who the leader was? I think so... well sort of... Novak says that when he testified before the grand jury Fitzmas already knew the identity of the leaker.

That means the leaker had to testify before Novak.

Powell testified in July of 2004. Surely Novak testified before that.

People at the level of secretary of state tend to cover their rumps. They don't really leak anything that might come back to bite them.. They have it leaked by someone who hints to the reporter that he is really speaking for the real source.

That way the real source can truthfully say I did not leak this story.

It may be that Powells designated leader is the original source.

[JennysCool]

[maica]

Great stuff! What is your source, and what are FARA records?

I remember right after the Novak article that I came across the Wilson International Ventures website [just one page] just by googling his name. And I am pretty sure that Valerie Plame was listed as a consultant. I lost the page in a computer problem, and it disappeared from the internet.

Obviously, he saw a brighter future for himself outside the State Dept. What a sleazeball. I'm glad he is not representing our country anywhere in an official capacity.

[Common Tator]

At an appearance in December, Novak said President Bush knows his source, too.

Note that Novak does not say the leak was inadvertant. Novak says his source called him the next day to tell him it was inadvertant.

Hummm. You know what I told you yesterday? Uh HUH. Well I didn't really mean to tell you that.. OK...

And if the source did not mean to say it, and it should not have been said, then why did Rove not have a problem confirming it?

[popdonnelly]

It has all been a lie. It has all been a lie. It has all been a lie.

I think you're on to something ;)

[InterceptPoint]

A couple of things that people still don't seem to get:

1. The fact that Valerie Plame is named as Joe Wilson's wife is simply not relevant. The "source" said Joe Wilson's WIFE worked for CIA and that was the supposed "outing". The fact that her name was Valerie Plame and not Mary Wilson really doesn't matter at all.

2. Novak is NOT GOING TO DIVULGE HIS SOURCE ON BRIT HUME'S SHOW TOMORROW. Not going to happen. Why anyone thinks it will is beyond me. If we learn anything from Brit's interview it will be a miracle.

3. There is very little new news in the Novak column. It is a nice summary but about all we learned that hadn't been known was some details about his Fitzgerald interviews and the fact that Fitz knew who the source was independent of Novak.

4. So the bottom line is we are going to be just as much in the dark tomorrow as we are today. Where oh where is the NYT when we really need them and they could do some real good by divulging what I'm sure they know.

[altura]

Interesting data about news watching habits.

We haven't watch the regular MSM newscasts for years. Can't remember when we stopped, or why.

I wonder why Fox has never considered putting the Brit show on its regular station at 5 PM. It is far and away the best news show on television and the only one I watch.

[kabar]

Great stuff! What is your source, and what are FARA records?

I have done my own research. Other Freepers like Fedora have done a lot as well. Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) records are on the Internet. FARA

Plame was never mentioned on Wilson's website as a consultant. She was mentioned in his bio on a think tank he was associated with.

Obviously, he saw a brighter future for himself outside the State Dept. What a sleazeball. I'm glad he is not representing our country anywhere in an official capacity.

I found his sudden retirement and timing of it to be very curious. I believe he got out quickly to share in the up front money that his second wife received from Gabon working as a foreign agent. It would be very interesting to see if they maintained a business relationship after their divorce and his retirment.