Second Letter from Alberto Gonzales to W.H. Staff

White House ^ | 9-30-03 | Alberto Gonzales

[dogbyte12]

IMPORTANT FOLLOW-UP MESSAGE FROM COUNSEL'S OFFICE

This communication is a follow-up to the directive I sent you this morning regarding the preservation of certain materials in the possession of the White House, its staff, or its employees.

Pursuant to a request from the Department of Justice, I am instructing you to preserve and maintain the following:

"[F]or the time period February 1, 2002 to the present, all documents, including without limitation all electronic records, telephone records of any kind (including but not limited to any records that memorialize telephone calls having been made), correspondence, computer records, storage devices, notes, memoranda, and diary and calendar entries, that relate in any way to:

1. Former U.S. Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson, his trip to Niger in February 2002, and/or his wife's purported relationship with the Central Intelligence Agency;

2. Contacts with any member or representative of the news media about Joseph C. Wilson, his trip to Niger in February 2002, and/or his wife's purported relationship with the Central Intelligence Agency; and

3. Contacts with reporters Knut Royce, Timothy M. Phelps, or Robert D. Novak, or any individual(s) acting directly or indirectly, on behalf of these reporters."

You must preserve all documents relating, in any way, directly or indirectly, to these subjects, even if there would be a question whether the document would be a presidential or federal record or even if its destruction might otherwise be permitted.

If you have any questions regarding any of the foregoing, please contact Associate Counsels Ted Ullyot or Raul Yanes in the Counsel to the President's Office.

Alberto R. Gonzales

Counsel to the President

[Shermy]

Another assumption is that the leakers are politically motivated. Maybe they aren't. Maybe they're blabbing, and trusted that Novak would play by the rules - he didn't, and named the woman.

[norton]

It suggests to me that a Justice Department inquiry beats the hell out of a congressional witch hunt over a bogus 'intelligence' collection week end tea party conducted by an unpaid, apparently illiterate but well connected, party guy whose wife has a headquarters job in Langly.

There was no beef in Wilson's original report - actually a debriefing of some kind- and no reason for President Bush to act on the opinions developed by way of polite discourse with the very people who had most to hide.

Now it is being repolished as another "..gate' on behalf of the left, someone has to look into it, the administration seems to be cooperating with that evaluation.

It ain't the Spanish Inquisition no matter how badly you and Gephart would like to make in onto one.

[dogbyte12]

Ari Fleischer actually quit the day it came out I think. Except, he announced his retirement in May, before Wilson published his op-ed. It's not Ari, at least I don't think. Ari wouldn't have access to Plame's CIA status either.

[jwalsh07]

Perhaps some enterprising youn Jimmy Olsen should simply ask her neighbors if they knew she was a CIA employee. If they knew it's hard to make a case as to where the info came from. If not, it points to a leak with a purpose and then it's on to find the future perp walkers.

One other thing, if he worked with her for three decades that puts her in my age bracket, 50-60, and she has twins who are three years old. God bless her. I minded my daughters triplets for a week this summer and it damn near killed me and I'm in pretty good shape for an old sog.

[Notwithstanding]

If that is the case, then Bush will end up smelling like a rose for firing someone who crossed the line even though there was no media pressure to do so - in other words, for doing the right thing SIMPLY BECAUSE it was the right thing to do.

[Stultis]

Former CIA agent Larry Johnson tonight who claims to be a lifelong republican, with campaign contributions to match, said on Newshour on PBS tonight that Plame was an undercover agent for 3 decades. That he in fact was one of her trainers in espionage when she joined the agency.

Key quotes: "This not an alleged abuse. This is a confirmed abuse. I worked with this woman. She started training with me. She has been under cover for three decades. She is not as Bob Novak suggested a "CIA analyst."

Ah, so... If this is true then the Newsday story, rather than Novak's column, is really the key one since it outed Plame as a covert agent.

[jwalsh07]

It's not either analyst or operative, there is a third way.

[jwalsh07]

“The Central Intelligence Agency's Clandestine Service Collection Management Officers are the connection between the Operations Officer in the field and the U.S. foreign policy community, both in the United States and abroad. As a Collection Management Officer you will guide the collection of intelligence and direct the dissemination of that intelligence. Managing the collection effort requires contact with U.S. policy makers to determine what they need to know and then communicating those requirements to the Operations Officers in the field for collection.”

[Notwithstanding]

The TV told me that the word "operative" is equivalent to "undercover."

[dogbyte12]

John Leboutillier from Newsmax has left the reservation if he was ever on it.

I discount him out of hand as a rule. He was the one who came up with crazy gay Haitian bikers being involved with the Chandra Levy case.

[Shermy]

More info here.

[jwalsh07]

1) The facts: In July two high level White House aides called at least six DC reporters - one of whom was Robert Novak - to 'slime' whistle-blowing former US Ambassador Joseph Wilson and his wife, by revealing that she, Valeria Plame, is a CIA agent.

One need go any further than this, he has his FACTS wrong. No high level White House aides contacted Robert Novak and nobody contacted anybody else until Plame was burned in Novaks column.

Next.

[Just mythoughts]

Where is the proof without naming names of who said what, that a law was broken.

These reporters, can claim anything and unless there is documentation which they won't give, all we have is their word and reporters are dummer than poop.

Listen to them ask questions, now if they want to start naming names and put their cards on the table there is nothing here, just words.

[dogbyte12]

Well, that is why this will eventually die. Unless somebody was stupid enough to call from a white house phone to Novak's personal line, it will be hard to pin the tail on the donkey.

The media is being sleazy as usual. They are telling each other that Karl Rove was one of the 2 making the six calls btw. I re-iterate that I do not know this is true, but this is what is going on.

The Guardian, a leftist rag in England, has been given the name of Karl Rove by one of the 6 reporters, who of course remains anonymous. He could be lying, that reporter could be lying, but if it is true, then the reporter broke his confidence with Karl Rove to do so. Reporters believe it was Karl Rove, because some reporters are going on the D.C. Circuit now and anonymously telling one another that they were one of the 6, and Rove was the guy, but ya can't use it, or source me to it.

[Just mythoughts]

This makes the reporters as big a sleeze bags as the supposed "leaker". No one would know there was a leak if the reporters had not reported it. Should make them part of the conspiracy.

Maybe they are hoping for a death like they got in England via the BBC.

[Dolphy]

I don't think Albert Gonzales would be so interested in evidence of White House employees' contacts with these two reporters.

Isn't he responding to the specific inquiry of the letter he received? And I don't see proof of anything here, if such a grave outing had taken place why days later would senior intelligence officials further endanger her by offering that Plame worked on weapons of mass destruction issues? (As written in the linked Newsday article.) Of course the same article says that Wilson claims that the Bush administration was trying to intimidate him and others by using her maiden name. (He, in his on-line biography, lists her maiden name.)

People were reacting to Wilson's op-ed piece where he seemed to assert that his visit was the complete and final history of Saddam and uranium. I'm still betting that Plame's name came up first as part of a sour grape explanation of why Wilson got an assignment that he was neither fit to fill or made expert on by his single visit.

[StriperSniper]

I don't think I have ever read Newsday in my life, at least not on purpose. Are they a popular paper?

Somewhat on Long Island. It is way left, but when I last read it(on dead tree version) a few years ago, it had great classifieds for cars and boats, and a killer sports section. ;-)

[Diogenesis]

"What do you mean, 'the leaker was a Democrat'. Lie damn you"

[cricket]

WHY is Laurie Dhue on 'Fox' referencing Wilson's wife as an 'undercover agent' for CIA?

Am I missing something here or is this just a 'truth be damned' story across the board.