Sources: State Department official source of Plame leak

CNN ^ | August 30, 2006

[rightwingintelligentsia]

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage was the source who revealed the identity of CIA officer Valerie Plame to syndicated columnist Robert Novak in 2003, touching off a federal investigation, two sources familiar with Armitage's role tell CNN.

The sources said Armitage revealed Plame's role at the CIA almost inadvertently in a casual conversation with Novak, and it is not clear if he knew her identity was classified at the time.

Armitage was not indicted by the federal grand jury that investigated the disclosure of Plame's name to Novak and other journalists. Deliberately revealing the identify of a CIA operative can be a crime.

The revelation that Armitage was the source of Novak's column is somewhat anticlimactic for Bush administration critics who had used the story as a weapon in Washington's partisan battles.

During the run-up to the Iraq war in 2003, Armitage was viewed as one of the more skeptical voices in the administration about the need to depose Saddam Hussein by force.

In a July 14, 2003, column, Novak noted that Plame was a CIA operative, citing two senior administration officials. The column was primarily about Plame's husband, Joe Wilson, a former career diplomat and critic of the intelligence underlying the invasion of Iraq.

[squarebarb]

I simply cannot fathom WHY Bush or Rove hasn't said,

"But she was noty a classified agent at the time..."

Why? Why not????

[T.L.Sink]

Byron York has an excellent article in NRO (8/28) "CIA LEAK FIASCO". It explains this theatre of the absurd episode better than any I've read.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

The flip side of your question should be, "when is the president going to fire a few of these people" ?

[INSENSITIVE GUY]

These false charges caused "scooter" to lie to protect himself which is no big deal!Bush should pardon him if charges are not dropped.

[Loyal Buckeye]

Is Armitage the culprit or is he covering for Powell?

[rightwingintelligentsia]

I'm wondering if the Plames are going to drop their bogus lawsuit.

[Suzy Quzy]

Judith Miller only gave in when Futzy made the deal to ONLY ask her about her conversations with Libby!!!

[radar101]

http://armitageinternational.net/team/member.php?id=1

The Honorable Richard L.

At the U.S. State Department, Mr. Armitage helped shape, direct and lead U.S. foreign policy during one of the most trying and intriguing eras in modern history. Mr. Armitage is uniquely qualified to deal with the challenges stemming from international policy and business and how best to succeed.

Beginning March 2005, Richard L. Armitage became President of Armitage International. Previously, his nomination as Deputy Secretary of State was confirmed by the Senate on March 23, 2001. He was sworn in on March 26, 2001.

Prior to returning to government service in 2001, Mr. Armitage was President of Armitage Associates L.C. from May 1993 until March 2001. He had been engaged in a range of worldwide business and public policy endeavors as well as frequent public speaking and writing.

From March 1992 until his departure from public service in May 1993, Mr. Armitage (with the personal rank of Ambassador) directed U.S. assistance to the new independent states (NIS) of the former Soviet Union.

From 1989 through 1992, Mr. Armitage filled key diplomatic positions as Presidential Special Negotiator for the Philippines Military Bases Agreement and Special Mediator for Water in the Middle East. President Bush sent him as a Special Emissary to Jordan’s King Hussein during the 1991 Gulf War.

In the Pentagon from June 1983 to May 1989, he served as Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs.

In May 1975 Mr. Armitage came to Washington as a Pentagon consultant and was posted in Tehran, Iran, until November 1976. Following two years in the private sector, he took the position as Administrative Assistant to Senator Robert Dole of Kansas in 1978. In the 1980 Reagan campaign, Mr. Armitage was senior advisor to the Interim Foreign Policy Advisory board, which prepared the President-Elect for major international policy issues confronting the new administration. From 1981 until June 1983 Mr. Armitage was Deputy assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia and Pacific Affairs in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

Born in 1945, Mr. Armitage graduated in 1967 from the U.S. Naval Academy, where he was commissioned an Ensign in the U.S. Navy. He served on a destroyer stationed on the Vietnam gunline and subsequently completed three combat tours with the riverine/advisory forces in Vietnam. Fluent in Vietnamese, Mr. Armitage left active duty in 1973 and joined the U.S. Defense Attache Office, Saigon. Immediately prior to the fall of Saigon, he organized and led the removal of Vietnamese naval assets and personnel from the country.

He has received numerous U.S. military decorations as well as decorations from the governments of Thailand, Republic of Korea, Bahrain, and Pakistan.

On December 15, 2005, Mr. Armitage was awarded a KBE and became a Knight Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George.

Mr. Armitage currently serves on the Board of Directors of: ConocoPhillips,[Big Oil] ManTech International Corporation and Transcutaneous Technologies, Inc. (TTI), is a member of The American Academy of Diplomacy as well as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS.) He was most recently awarded the Department of State Distinguished Service Award. He has been awarded the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service four times, the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Award for Outstanding Public Service, the Presidential Citizens Medal, presented by the President to citizens who have performed exemplary deeds of service, and the Department of State Distinguished Honor Award.

[weegee]

So the media is propagating a lie that Libby was her only source.

[Suzy Quzy]

I think he's covering for Powell.....Novak has been cagey.

[Suzy Quzy]

I want them to sue Powell/Armitage!!!

[mikeandike]

I think a lot of apologies are in order, starting with Joe Wilson. I will pop some popcorn and watch the news tonight waiting to see who will step forward first.

[shield]

it is not clear if he knew her identity was classified at the time.

I'VE GOT NEWS FOR THEM IT WASN'T CLASSIFIED....hint that's why HE WASN'T INDICTED...there was NEVER A case there at all...

So fitz had to satisfy the left...he kept going on and on and on trying as hard as he could to find perjury in the Bush Administration...boy did he try really hard to get Rove to do that...instead Libby [being so busy...actually forgot his different conversations] was charged with perjury. Libby did not commit perjury.
SHAME ON FITZ

[Suzy Quzy]

WOW!! All those wonderful medals he's received, yet he is such a coward and Powell is such a coward that they let innocent people twist in the wind and get put thru the legal grinder and made to spend 10's of THOUSANDS of dollars!!! WOW...what MEN!!!

Hey Armitage/Powell....REAL MEN don't do what you creatures have done!!

[Loyal Buckeye]

One of the comments Novak made was that he was surprised (shocked) he was able to talk to the individual for 1 hour, given that the individual was extremely busy, etc.

I always thought that description was oriented more towards Powell than anyone else. The little bit I have seen and heard about Armitage makes me think 1 hour would have been no problem.

[BusterBear]

They still have to dance around the fact that she WAS NOT classified at the time.

Well, they can always lie about it.
NY Times, article by Neil A. Lewis, posted August 30th, 2006: Ms. Wilson was a covert employee

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/30/washington/30armitage.html?hp&ex=1156996800&en=a6e9275f2042ee8c&ei=5094&partner=homepage

[Suzy Quzy]

Amen!! Novak said it was hard to get an interview with this person...that doesn't fit Armitage either. i have always thought the Dick was covering for the Colin.

[Waco]

With 2-3 phone calls, the FBI could have shot the whole thing down fore it got off the ground.

[Loyal Buckeye]

LOL. I think you just put things in context.

[norwaypinesavage]

"These false charges caused "scooter" to lie..."

We know that Novak and Woodward knew for sure that it was Armitage in June. We think that Miller and Cooper also knew. We know that Andrea Mithell said that the story was all over Washington DC that Plame worked for the CIA. This was the biggest story around DC, at the time. Do you think it was also possible that Andrea discussed this story with her boss (Tim Russert), too? It would be hard to believe that she didn't. It would also be extremely possible that Timmy discussed it with Libby, as well. This makes Libby's story completely true. We know that either Timmy, or Libby lied (or don't have similar memories about the story). Based on my experience with Timmy, I would have to say that Libby is likely the truth teller.