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White House Denies Leaking CIA Identity
AP (Yahoo) ^
| 9/29/03
| DEB RIECHMANN
Posted on 09/29/2003 8:04:09 AM PDT by The_Victor
The naming of the intelligence officer's identity by syndicated columnist Robert Novak came shortly after her husband, former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson, had undermined Bush's claim that Iraq (news - web sites) had tried to buy uranium in Africa.
Wilson has publicly blamed Karl Rove, Bush's top political adviser, for the leak, although Wilson did say Monday he did not know whether Rove personally was the source of Novak's information.
"He wasn't involved," White House press secretary Scott McClellan said of Rove. "The president knows he wasn't involved. ... It's simply not true."
A senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, has confirmed that the Justice Department has received a letter from CIA Director George Tenet to look into the matter. The department and the FBI (news - web sites) are trying to determine whether there was a violation of the law and, if so, then whether a full-blown criminal investigation is warranted, the official said.
"It's a serious matter and it should be looked into," McClellan said.
Asked whether Bush should fire any official found to have leaked the information, McClellan said: "They should be pursued to the fullest extent by the Department of Justice (news - web sites). The president expects everyone in his administration to adhere to the highest standards of conduct and that would not be."
Schumer, D-N.Y., said matter should be investigated from someone outside the Bush administration.
"If there was ever a case that demanded a special counsel, this is it," he said. "This is a very serious national security matter where there is a clear conflict of interest for the attorney general because it could involve high-level White House officials."
The Justice Department had no immediate comment on Schumer's request.
On Sunday, Bush national security adviser Condoleezza Rice (news - web sites) said she was unaware of any White House involvement in the matter.
"I know nothing of any such White House effort to reveal any of this, and it certainly would not be the way that the president would expect his White House to operate," she told "Fox News Sunday."
Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites) also denied knowledge of the matter.
The flap began in January when Bush said in his State of the Union address that British intelligence officials had learned that Iraq had tried to purchase yellowcake uranium in Africa.
In an opinion piece published in July by The New York Times, Wilson said he told the CIA long before Bush's address that the British reports were suspect and the administration has since said the assertion should not have been in Bush's speech.
A week after Wilson went public with his criticism Novak, quoting anonymous government sources, said Wilson's wife was a CIA operative working on the issue of weapons of mass destruction.
The Washington Post on Sunday quoted an unidentified senior administration official as saying two top White House officials called at least a half-dozen journalists and revealed the identity and occupation of Wilson's wife. Disclosing the name of an undercover CIA agent could violate federal law.
"I know nothing about any such calls and I do know that the president of the United States would not expect his White House to behave in that way," Rice said on NBC's "Meet the Press."
Wilson said Monday he believes the White House leaked his wife's name "to intimidate others and to scare them and to keep them from coming forward and speaking."
Wilson had said in a late August speech in Seattle that he suspected senior Bush adviser Karl Rove. But on ABC's "Good Morning America" Monday, he backtracked somewhat from that assertion.
"In one speech I gave out in Seattle not too long ago, I mentioned the name Karl Rove," he said. "I think I was probably carried away by the spirit of the moment. I don't have any knowledge that Karl Rove himself was either the leaker or the authorizer of the leak. But I have great confidence that, at a minimum, he condoned it and certainly did nothing to shut it down."
The White House has denied that accusation.
Powell told ABC's "This Week" that he thought that if the CIA believed the identity of one of its covert employees have been revealed, it had an obligation to ask the Justice Department to look into the matter. But he added: "Other than that, I don't know anything about the matter."
Rice said the matter has been referred to the Justice Department and "I think that's the appropriate place. ... Let's just see what the Justice Department does."
Pressed whether anyone at the White House raised concerns that the Wilson matter posed a problem for the administration, she replied: "I don't remember any such conversation."
Wilson said Monday that if the administration actually took an intelligence asset "off the table," that would have been "a dastardly deed ... coming from an administration that came to office promising to restore dignity and honor to the White House. It was contemptible."
TOPICS: Breaking News; Crime/Corruption; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 16words; cia; denial; joewilson; josephwilson; karlrove; leak; nigerflap; powell; rice; whitehouse; wilson
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To: onyx
Especially the "principled" conservative! I see the a name associated with "principled" now and the hair on the back of my neck stands up!
161
posted on
09/29/2003 9:59:57 AM PDT
by
PhiKapMom
(Alpha Omnicron Pi Mom too! -- Visit http://www.georgewbush.com!)
To: Dane
You nailed it on WR. Don't know why I bother responding to Freepers like that really - it's like shifting sands and there's never anything to be gained.
Once one makes a point they cannot defend, they move on to another tactic. It's so Clintonesque!
162
posted on
09/29/2003 10:00:46 AM PDT
by
Peach
(The Clintons have pardoned more terrorists than they ever captured or killed.)
To: Peach
They think Novak is a "true conservative" because he was once a big promoter of Barry Goldwater.
Problem is, so was Hillary Clinton.
163
posted on
09/29/2003 10:02:14 AM PDT
by
piasa
(Attitude adjustments offered here free of charge.)
To: Peach
"You keep claiming Novak is conservative but when presented with opinions that Novak has espoused which are decidedly NOT conservative..."
Whether or not Novak is a "true conservative" is not realy the point, now is it? If a criminal offense was committed by anyone associated with this administration is the real issue. Somewhere I seem to recal seeing reports that there were about six other reporters that were also offered this story.
If someone exposed the identity of a CIA operative, for any reason, that is a crime. Let's see whether that is true or not before arguing over any writer's bona fides.
To: Peach
I was actually in shock on Ginsberg -- I wrote Fox News but never heard back. I wanted to know why from his own biography they didn't tell us Ginsberg was an advisor to Al Jazerra, Gore, and the current crop of candidates! Still waiting for my reply!
165
posted on
09/29/2003 10:03:55 AM PDT
by
PhiKapMom
(Alpha Omnicron Pi Mom too! -- Visit http://www.georgewbush.com!)
To: Peach; WRhine
Once one makes a point they cannot defend, they move on to another tactic. It's so Clintonesque! Yep, WR was trying desperately to change the subject on this thread, away from anything Novak or Wilson.
166
posted on
09/29/2003 10:04:18 AM PDT
by
Dane
To: WRhine
There you go again, WR. When I said I didn't trust Novak, you attacked me and said I wasn't a true conservative but that Novak WAS a true conservative.
I've pointed out to you repeatedly reasons why I think Novak is NOT a true conservative. You have yet to defend his positions on decidedly anti-conservative ideas.
That is not a change in tactic on my part. It is what I keep repeating, over and over and over again.
You can't speak about facts because you don't have ANY to represent your unformed opinion that Novak is a conservative.
Your decision to attack Freepers who DO NOT agree that Novak is a conservative speaks volumes about you.
If I had to go to the mat defending a journalist, it surely would NOT be Novak.
167
posted on
09/29/2003 10:04:30 AM PDT
by
Peach
(The Clintons have pardoned more terrorists than they ever captured or killed.)
To: WRhine
Your #147...no, what's sad here is your automatically taking the side against the Administration. It's not the first time and I'm sure it won't be the last.
To: EOTS
I for find it odd that those who would never dare question the judgement of the Bush adim., are the same people who would eagerly question the actions of the Clinton admin., and rightly so. Something to think about eh? Huh? An accusation has been made and an investigation has started. There has been no stonewalling or refusals to provided documents or "I can't recalls" from obvious particpants. Why do you want to believe the worst about W?
To: familyofman
The reason we are now talking more about Novak than the facts of this story, is because when I said I didn't like or trust Novak, this Freeper said I wasn't a true conservative.
We have nearly all repeatedly said at the beginning of this thread that whomever was behind the leak, regardless of party affiliation, should be arrested and tried and hopefully convicted.
Some of us were espousing, however, that it's at least as likely to be a Democrat operate who leaked WIlson's wife as an operative as a White House staffer. And very few of us believe it would be Rove, for reasons previously mentioned repeatedly.
170
posted on
09/29/2003 10:06:56 AM PDT
by
Peach
(The Clintons have pardoned more terrorists than they ever captured or killed.)
To: PhiKapMom
The fact that Ginsburg worked for Al Jazerra should have disqualified him for any position on FNC or any other American network, for that matter. Sheesh. That's a little beyond fair and balanced, in my view.
171
posted on
09/29/2003 10:08:04 AM PDT
by
Peach
(The Clintons have pardoned more terrorists than they ever captured or killed.)
To: PhiKapMom
Novak is not an insider to the Bush Administration no matter how many times he tries to infer that he is!Thank you for continuing to post this. I am just shocked that anyone would consider Novak to be someone with well placed sources in the Bush administration. His work reflects just the opposite.
172
posted on
09/29/2003 10:08:58 AM PDT
by
Dolphy
To: AmishDude
More than likely, Novak's source is a fellow CIA agent (a disturbing possibility) or a "friend" of the couple. A guy named Ray McGovern.
173
posted on
09/29/2003 10:13:15 AM PDT
by
piasa
(Attitude adjustments offered here free of charge.)
To: The_Victor
Could it have been leaked by one of the Clinton apointees that W left in place?
To: familyofman
Let's hope you still see it as a crime when a clintonite is fingered. My guess is you would then defend the person.
To: familyofman
Somewhere I seem to recal seeing reports that there were about six other reporters that were also offered this story. Doesn't happen. If someone had to shop six other reporters, it was because the person doing the shopping around couldn't convince them he was an insider.
176
posted on
09/29/2003 10:16:19 AM PDT
by
piasa
(Attitude adjustments offered here free of charge.)
To: Wait4Truth
"Thanks for getting the truth out about yet another lie. There are so many, it becomes difficult to even keep track."
You pinned down the origin of this lie with that statement. It was the X42 admin that generated confusion and distraction with lies.
To: WRhine
Novak is old news. I never read him b/c he's so biased against Israel
To: Dolphy
It is amazing to me too! Novak is not a friend of the Bush Administration -- that started back during the campaign! Feel like Groundhog Day sometimes -- the same crap keeps being posted over and over again!
179
posted on
09/29/2003 10:18:33 AM PDT
by
PhiKapMom
(Alpha Omnicron Pi Mom too! -- Visit http://www.georgewbush.com!)
To: AmishDude
And whoever is associated with the web site truthout.org, registered on September 10, 2001. The name it is registered under is of course a fake; but there's a good start.
180
posted on
09/29/2003 10:19:36 AM PDT
by
piasa
(Attitude adjustments offered here free of charge.)
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