Posted on 09/01/2006 8:50:56 PM PDT by rightgrafix
WASHINGTON, Sept. 1 An enduring mystery of the C.I.A. leak case has been solved in recent days, but with a new twist: Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the prosecutor, knew the identity of the leaker from his very first day in the special counsels chair, but kept the inquiry open for nearly two more years before indicting I. Lewis Libby Jr., Vice President Dick Cheneys former chief of staff, on obstruction charges.
Now, the question of whether Mr. Fitzgerald properly exercised his prosecutorial discretion in continuing to pursue possible wrongdoing in the case has become the subject of rich debate on editorial pages and in legal and political circles.
Richard L. Armitage, the former deputy secretary of state, first told the authorities in October 2003 that he had been the primary source for the July 14, 2003, column by Robert D. Novak that identified Valerie Wilson as a C.I.A. operative and set off the leak investigation.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Get a load of Armitage's version via the NY Times.
Maybe the Daley machine set him up.
< };^)
Maybe they have to role play to get any satisfaction.....him as a 'James Bond' type and her as 'Emma Peel'.
It was known that a CIA officer's identity was blown, it was known that there was a leak. We needed to figure out ....why.....
And, given that national security was at stake, it was especially important that we find out accurate facts.
Fitzgerald began his investigation accepting that Plame's identity was blown. He never doubted Wilson's (and the Left's) claims. He wanted to know why it happened (again accepting Wilson's premise that it was punitive) rather than proving it even did happen.
There was no national security at stake, and the fact is Fitzgerald already knew "who" leaked and was misleading the public when he said it was Libby.
This deserves much more attention than it is getting.
And again we have the possibility of those stolen FBI files coming into play again.
not only is it flying,
it's doing a barrel roll!
I think the republicans should have an investigation into Patrick Fitzgerald....I think he was paid off by the democratic party to keep this investigation open to see if he couldn't snar Vice President Cheney or President Bush into something...
FULL MONTE guys....total investigation for at least 2 years.....call all the dems in and have them testisfy before a grand jury....starting with William Jefferson and Hillary Rodham Clinton.....
What exactly did Powell do or not do? And where did you get your information?
He accepted the Lefty assertions that Plame was outed as revenge against Wilson, without questioning the validity.
I am genuinely shocked that Fitzgerald would make public comments about Libby being the first source of Plame's identity when he knew that was not the case.
His motives are suspect.
btw:
Libby, Miller = June 2003
Armitage, Novak = July 2003
Novak's piece is what set it all in motion. It didn't begin with Miller. And for all we know, she was lying along with Russert and associates.
Free Scooter Libby!!!
I don't think so. Ten year old FBI files would not have much of value.
No argument about suspicion but it just makes no sense to me that he would have gone out on a limb like this for no good reason. He did not need Treason Media accolades. His work against the Machine here could have led to high office without this nonsense. The last such prosecutor went on to serve 5 terms as governor.
I don't think so. Ten year old FBI files would not have much of value.
Fitzgerald ought to be behind bars for what he (and others) did to this country.
LOL
http://americanthinker.com/comments.php?comments_id=5986
"For more than three years, Mr. Rove and Mr. Libby have been accused, falsely, of being the source of the leak. Mr. Armitage, Mr. Powell, and Justice department officials knew the truth, but said nothing. Clarice Feldman, a Washington, D.C. lawyer, described Mr. Armitage's silence as "inexplicable and perfidious.""
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2006/08/plame_and_the_bush_lied_meme.html
"As most of us have long suspected, the man who told Novak about Valerie Plame was Richard Armitage, Colin Powell's deputy at the State Department and, with his boss, an assiduous underminer of the president's war policy. (His and Powell'sand George Tenet'sfingerprints are all over Bob Woodward's "insider" accounts of post-9/11 policy planning, which helps clear up another nonmystery: Woodward's revelation several months ago that he had known all along about the Wilson-Plame connection and considered it to be no big deal.)"
"Armitage identified himself to Colin Powell as Novak's source before the Fitzgerald inquiry had even been set on foot. The whole thing couldand shouldhave ended right there."
"But Powell and his aides feared the White House would then leak that Armitage had been Novak's sourcepossibly to embarrass State Department officials who had been unenthusiastic about Bush's Iraq policy. So Taft told Gonzales the bare minimum.."
http://www.slate.com/id/2148555/
"Powell, Armitage and Taft, the only three officials at the State Department who knew the story, never breathed a word of it publicly and Armitage's role remained secret."
"But Powell and his aides feared the White House would then leak that Armitage had been Novak's sourcepossibly to embarrass State Department officials who had been unenthusiastic about Bush's Iraq policy. So Taft told Gonzales the bare minimum:"
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14533384/site/newsweek
And who is the source for this info? Reportedly, Powell told WH counsel Gonzalez (AG now) that he knew, but he was told to not tell the WH. That is the way things work. And the POTUS stayed protected.
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