Posted on 01/29/2007 10:34:34 AM PST by Sub-Driver
Fleischer: Plame came up over lunch
By MATT APUZZO, Associated Press Writer 39 minutes ago
Former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer testified Monday that then-colleague I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby told him over lunch that the wife of a prominent war critic worked at the CIA.
Fleischer said the conversation happened June 7, 2003, days before Libby told investigators he was surprised to learn about the CIA operative from a reporter. That discrepancy is at the heart of Libby's perjury and obstruction trial.
Fleischer, who was the chief White House spokesman for the first 2 1/2 years of President Bush's first term, said Monday that Libby invited him to lunch to discuss Fleischer's planned departure from the White House. He said it was the first time he and Libby had eaten lunch together.
They talked about Fleischer's career plans and their shared interest in the Miami Dolphins football team, Fleischer testified. He can't remember who brought it up but he said the conversation then turned to the growing controversy over former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, who accused the White House of ignoring prewar intelligence on Iraq.
"Ambassador Wilson was sent by his wife," Fleischer recalled Libby saying. "His wife works for the CIA."
Fleischer said Libby also used the woman's name, Valerie Plame, and told him it was "hush hush."
"My sense is that Mr. Libby was telling me this was kind of newsy," Fleischer said.
Fleischer testified under an immunity deal with prosecutors and arrived in court with his attorneys. He sought the deal because he discussed Plame with reporters. Libby's attorneys plan to argue during cross-examination that the immunity deal makes Fleischer's testimony less credible.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
"The entire trial is about 3 days of time. "
What a joke. How many millions to prove something that is meaningless?
Actually, he took the trip on his own dime. But it still was a serious case of nepotism to begin with here.
Libby never saw that memo.
When it was done in June only Carl Ford and Marc Grossman of state saw it--and apparently briefed Armitage on it.
In July it was mysteriously redated and sent to Powell and Armitage on AF 1 and witnesses said they saw Fleischer reading it on the plane.
Wrong. The CIA paid his expenses as they did on a pevious trip in 1999 when his wife also played a part in sending him.
Unfortunately, it's D.C. so no Dem is going to be convicted and no Rep will find a fair trial.
I am curious about how this trip started. Do you suppose he went to try and find something to use against President Bush?
And he might have saved his ass if he had gone back before the grand jury and admitted that he may have been incorrect. Like Rove did. You have till the end of the grand jury to ammend your comments. I guess the fact that he lied to the FBI too was the killer.
Yeah, what I said came from testimony summarized in the indictment.
There is no defense in the Grand Jury. The person answers the questions asked period. There is no defense attorney allowed in the Grand Jury. [I was Foreman of the Cook County Grand Jury for a month during the 1980s.]
So it was a different and earlier memo from the state department that he did see which identified Plame as Wilson's wife and said he recommended that he be sent to Africa.
They didn't have to have lunch to talk to each other. They worked in the same place.
I agree. Same people who were for impeachment are saying this doenst matter. Thing that amazes me is that so many people dont even have a clue what Libby is charged with.
Generally speaking, yes. More and more people here seem to treat politics as a team sport. They support the Republicans in the same way that a cheese head supports the Packers. They love them when they suck and they love them when they're great.
This sort of view has no place in politics, in my opinion. But you see it more and more. Coservitives supporting liberals "because they can win", or conservatives siding with law breaking, lying, evidence-destroying cops because the guy they lied about shooting was a Mexican drug runner. So willing to sacrifice principle for a moments gain.
If true, he should get the Martha Stewart treatment; however, it has NOT YET BEEN ESTABLISHED whether Libby lied under oath.
No. There is no evidence he saw that. And the earlier memo is identical to the later memo so I see no reason why it simply was not redistributed with a different cover letter.
Here's a little bit about the trip to Niger which you might read to like--you know--actually know what you're posting about.
http://www.americanthinker.com/2005/11/the_wilson_gambit.html
In respect to the first four witnesses--there was a wide divergence from their testimony and what appeared in the indictment.
Gee, would it have sent a worse message than giving immunity to the guy(s) actually responsible for the crime he was tasked to investigate? Would it have sent a worse message than the pass Wilson has been given, despite the multiple protocols broken in his trip, or Corn or any of the others involved? I support following the letter of the law, but that means all of the letters and Fitzgerald is suspect.
Should have slowed down and chewed better, then.
The trip to Niger is totally irrelevant. It might just as well never happended. Libby is being tried basically for lying to investigators and to the grand jury.
Dave, I'd rather pound my head against the wall---Have fun.
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