Hubris (Responding to Corn Responding to Me) - Victoria Toensing

NationalReview ^ | 9-17-06 | Victoria Toensing

[STARWISE]

It’s a shame David Corn chose to show his displeasure with my September 15, 2006, Wall Street Journal op-ed about Richard Armitage’s role in the Valerie Plame so-called leak by making a baseless personal attack against me.

I wrote: “The first journalist to reveal Ms. Plame was ‘covert’ was David Corn on July 16, 2003, two days after Mr. Novak’s column. The latter [Robert Novak] never wrote, because he did not know and it was not so, that Ms. Plame was covert. However, Mr. Corn claimed Mr. Novak ‘outed’ her as an ‘undercover CIA officer,’ querying whether Bush officials blew ‘the cover of a U.S. intelligence officer working covertly in…national security.’

Was Mr. Corn subpoenaed? Did Mr. Fitzgerald subpoena Mr. Wilson to attest he had never revealed his wife’s employment to anyone? If he had done so, he might have learned Mr. Corn’s source.”

Corn blogged, “Toensing is flat-out wrong — sloppy wrong. Any intelligent lawyer who bothered to peruse the piece I wrote could discern that I was engaging in a thought exercise, not an act of disclosure.”

I did indeed scrutinize Corn’s piece. That’s why I have a September 11, 2006, yellow-underlined copy of it in my file. (I had read it before, but not printed it.) Here’s what made me add the above quote about Corn to my criticism of Special Counsel Fitzgerald.

-Corn praises Wilson and the CIA’s choice of him for the trip to Niger. That was strange since every major journalist involved in this area was asking why Wilson was sent, as he had no WMD experience and had served in Niger as a very low-level government employee decades before. Even Armitage had responded to Novak’s “Why Wilson?” by saying, “A lot of people are asking that question.”

[STARWISE]

Amen.

[woofie]

Corn Poned

[Lancey Howard]

"Yes it is true she recommended her husband to do the job that needed to be done but the decision to send Joe Wilson on this mission was made by her bosses."

It's interesting that Larry uses the phrase, "the job that needed to be done". A little dissection of that phrase yields a whole lot of Barbra Streisand, doesn't it? Note that Larry doesn't say "mission" here. Larry's interesting wording caused my ears to perk up.

The word "mission" would imply that somebody outside of the CIA - - somebody who was authorized (the White House) - - ordered the CIA to obtain certain intelligence about rumored yellow cake discussions between Iraq and Niger. However, since this operation appears to have had its entire genesis within the State Department, Larry avoids use of the word "mission", and I believe that this was the result of a "Freudian slip" on Larry's part. The State Department isn't supposed to send the CIA on "missions" without the knowledge of the White House. So, subconsciously, Larry couldn't bring himself to call Wilson's trip a "mission" because if he did he might ultimately be asked the question for which there has never been a credible, verifiable answer - - WHO ORDERED THE MISSION, LARRY???

In fact, from Larry's point of view "the job that needed to be done" is a more sensible phrasing in Larry's mind; "the job that needed to be done" was the job of poking George W. Bush in the eye because Larry Johnson, Valerie Plame, Joseph Wilson, and the rest of that pathetic State Department/rogue CIA ilk don't like that their failed, liberal Democrat, chickencrap appeasement policies were shoved aside by the Bush White house.

[onyx]

His point is: don't listen to what the media say to us, listen to what they say in court .. and exhibits the proof.

True enough!

[PeskyOne]

Thanks for the ping. I wish Victoria Toensing and Joe DeGenova would expose Colin Powell's role in the Armitage scandal. I'm really disappointed in Powell's disloyalty to the President. He should have told the President Armitage was the one who leaked, and Fitzgerald wouldn't have had the opportunity to do all the damage he has done to Libby, plus waste all the taxpayer money. It would serve Fitzgerald, Armitage, the Wilson's, Powell and all those who sat on the truth right if they had to pay all Scooter's attorney fees plus refund the taxpayers' money! That would put a stop to these lies, leaks, and dastardly acts that some resort to in trying to bring down a President.

[river rat]

Victoria kicked Corn's ass so hard - he'll have to stand to pee.

Semper Fi

[windchime]

Thanks! 

There's that hubris word again.

From the article:

"The new imperialists will not rest until governments that ape our worldview are implanted throughout the region, a breathtakingly ambitious undertaking, smacking of hubris in the extreme."

You know..... the article is practically an outline of what the dems were going to accuse the Bush Administration in the event of military action in Iraq.

[windchime]

Thanks! 

"We'd probably know the answers to these and other questions by now if the media had given a tenth of the effort spent manufacturing a scandal to reporting professionally on the underlying facts. And if they deigned to share with their readers and viewers all the news that's fit to print ... in a brief to a federal court."

Unfortunately, the link to the brief in McCarthy's report is dead.  I was wondering if the Nation was listed among the hypocrites.

[AmeriBrit]

'Wolfstar' posted this October 2nd 2003


Set up? Anatomy of the contrived Wilson "scandal"

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/993741/posts?page=1,50

GREAT ARTICLE AND FABULOUS RESEARCH THAT STILL

STANDS UP TODAY - 3 YEARS LATER.

A long article but puts Wilson, Corn, and Pincus right in the middle

of the fabricated "scandal" and proves that Victoria's right.

[Just mythoughts]

thanks...bttt

[Just mythoughts]

"-Corn praises Wilson and the CIA’s choice of him for the trip to Niger. That was strange since every major journalist involved in this area was asking why Wilson was sent, as he had no WMD experience and had served in Niger as a very low-level government employee decades before. Even Armitage had responded to Novak’s “Why Wilson?” by saying, “A lot of people are asking that question.”"

Wonder aside from Wilson who put this bee in Corn's bonnet, as Victoria notes "every major journalist" is asking WHY Joe, Corn is planting early on the virtues of Joe.

I think Wilson took a far bigger hit than Corn did with these words. Wilson has never described himself as anything "very low-level". So maybe just maybe this will tick Wilson offfff and he will name names.

[Laverne]

I just keep think about poor Scooter; he has been indicted for something that he never should have been indicted for. He has spent millions in defense, they he never should have spent, lost his job, and now is fighting for his innocense against a prosecutor who is a liar and apparently dummer than dirt (why has he not dropped all the charges). Free Scooter, Jail Fitzy.

[CPT Clay]

bump to read later

[Carolinamom]

Everyone should catch the re-run of C-Span's Morning Journal w/David Corn....who responds (haltingly) to Novak's charges about him and continues the lie of "leaks".

A Special Place in Hell A must read. Author rakes Armitage (and Powell) over the coals! (For some unknown reason, you first get a notice that this page has been discontinued...BUT go to the homepage and there is still is.)

I anxiously await another Victoria Toensing article on this latest Corn performance.

[norwaypinesavage]

It is truly amazing how those on the left get caught with their pants down, and simply deny it. In the past, their buddies would simply ignore the story, and they would get away with the denial. The new media has changed all this. Yet, many, as Corn here, still try, and think they can succeed.

[Enterprise]

That is OUTSTANDING! But - don't tell Chrissy Matthews, it'll just confuse him.

[cpdiii]

I find it odd that Armitage called up Novak and was very insistent that this is something he would want to write about. As Christopher Hitchens says, Armitage is Colin Powell's bitch. It almost stinks of a set up and fabricated plot by Colin Powell to bring down the Bush Administration. Powell or Armitage could have stopped this whole thing with one phone call to the press before there was even a special prosecutor. They did not. Therefore, what was happening is something they wanted and perhaps plotted to do. I also have noted that Powell has not commented on this. His phone, must be ringing off the hook with calls from the media. It does make one pause for thought.

There was a time when I would have voted for Powell as President. Now jell will freeze first before I would vote for him.

[Just mythoughts]

At the very least Scooter is a lawyer himself, and he is getting his face rubbed first in the leftist attempt to prosecute a president out of office.

I see this from a global picture in that there was concern the instant it was determined that President Bush won the 2000 election, an all out assault to cripple President Bush and protect Saddam was initiated.

These Saddam supporters joined with the equalize all nations foreign policy mindset established under Clintons is as much a part of this war as these terrorists themselves.

There appears to be two different global coalitions coming out of our government and these liberals are little different than the mooolahs calling to arms.

I have wondered if there had been an actual unified demand from our (liberals) government to these terrorists and other nations, would we still be fighting the influx and/or the ever media declared 'civil war'.

Rockey running to Syria to warn them tells me the enemy is within and has been for a long long time.

[cpdiii]

jell = hell
I hate it when that happens!

[P H Lewis]

He reminds me more of Ted Bundy.