Posted on 09/27/2003 4:07:19 PM PDT by AntiGuv
The DOJ opens a preliminary probe into whether the White House illegally unmasked a CIA operative
The Justice Department has opened a preliminary inquiry into whether a Bush Administration official illegally revealed the identity of a CIA employee whose husband criticized the Administration's handling of intelligence on Iraq, TIME has learned. The probe will determine whether to order a full-fledged FBI investigation.
The CIA triggered the Justice inquiry with a memo saying that there may have been an unauthorized disclosure about the wife of Joe Wilson, a former U.S. ambassador. Columnist Robert Novak wrote in July that Wilson's wife was a CIA "operative" who suggested that he be sent to Niger to investigate intelligence that Saddam Hussein was trying to buy a large volume of Niger's yellowcake uranium to build a nuclear weapon.
Wilson found no evidence that Saddam was seeking yellowcake — the International Atomic Energy Agency later determined this was probably untrue — but the CIA and National Security Adviser Condoleeza Rice failed to fully vet the intelligence and President Bush used it in his State of the Union Address this year. After Wilson wrote an op-ed over the summer criticizing the Administration's handling of the intelligence about Saddam's weapons of mass destruction progam, Novak wrote that "two administration officials" told him Wilson's wife had suggested sending him to Niger to investigate.
The CIA is required to notify Justice if it believes there may have been an unauthorized disclosure. The notification was first reported Friday by MSNBC. The White House has denied being a source of any story about Wilson's wife.
CIA and Justice spokespersons declined comment, but an Administration official told TIME that the Justice is conducting a preliminary inquiry to "determine whether or not there should be an investigation" by the FBI.
Wilson would not discuss his wife and said he knew nothing about any investigation. But, he said, "It was clear to me from the beginning that this was really done as a signal to others who might step forward,” to criticize the Administration's handling of intelligence on Iraq.
Tenet is not going to file some damaging charges against the White House, which has given him just about everything he has asked for. Nope.
However, this is a handy way to hoist Wilson on his own petard. I am pleased to see it.
My first reaction was that Rove did this. Then again, I watched Wolfowitz tonight on C-SPAN from last Sunday, and he qualifies as a snake too.
A senior administration official said two top White House officials called at least six Washington journalists and revealed the identity and occupation of Wilson's wife.
Sources familiar with the conversations said the leakers' allegation was that Wilson had benefited from nepotism because the Niger mission had been his wife's idea.
The official would not name the leakers for the record and would not name the journalists. The official said he had no indication that Bush knew about the calls. Columnist Robert Novak published the agent's name in a July column about Wilson's mission.
It is rare for one Bush administration official to turn on another. Asked about the motive for describing the leaks, the senior official said the leaks were "wrong and a huge miscalculation, because they were irrelevant and did nothing to diminish Wilson's credibility."
Two-faced, will say anything to appease an audience, and a Clinton-lover.
Yeah, and why do you suppose no one at the Agency has ever or will ever be fired for its politicized ineptitude?Because they work for the government, dude. Just like department of motor vehicles clerks, only they're not as professional or effective. Just as the Chinese.
Sounds like you should go *BACK* to DU!
Asked about the motive for describing the leaks, the senior official said the leaks were "wrong and a huge miscalculation, because they were irrelevant and did nothing to diminish Wilson's credibility."What an odd thing to say. Because the leaks really did diminish Wilson's so-called "credibiblity," as Novak et al reported.
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