Free Republic

Former diplomat Joseph Wilson used to tell reporters he felt certain how his obituary would read. It went: "Joseph C. Wilson IV, who was the last American diplomat to meet with Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, died . . . " But "it seems to change," Wilson said yesterday, smiling across his desk in his Washington office. He has kept mentally revising the obituary to keep up with the political maelstrom over Iraq policy and White House leaks that is swirling around him. A recent version began: "Joseph C. Wilson IV, the Bush I administration political appointee who did the most...

Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) is highly regarded within political circles for his ability to capture the mood of the moment and milk it to his advantage. However, whether Senator Schumer should command respect based upon consistency and willingness to put principles ahead of "politics of the moment" is another matter. This can be seen clearly by the Senator's statements in the current flap over whether a White House official - Karl Rove is the one taking the rap in press allegations -- had permitted disclosure of a CIA agent's name. Don't take my word for it. Let Senator Schumer's...

<p>We've been knocking our heads trying to figure out how a minor and well-known story about an alleged CIA "outing" has suddenly blossomed into a Beltway scandal-ette. The light bulb went off reading Monday's White House press briefing.</p> <p>Right out of the box, Helen Thomas asked if "the President tried to find out who outed the CIA agent? And has he fired anyone in the White House yet?" OK, the point of this exercise is to get President Bush to fire someone. But whom? That answer became clear when the press corps quickly uttered, and kept uttering for nearly an hour, the name "Karl Rove."</p>

Joseph C. Wilson:"The issue is really transfer of WMD to terrorist groups which had never occurred before in Saddam's regime but now that he is toast don't be surprised if as his last act of defiance he does precisely that."

October 1, 2003THE ADMINISTRATIONAn Accusation and a Bush Memo Coming at an Especially Bad TimeBy TODD S. PURDUM and DAVID E. SANGER ASHINGTON, Sept. 30 — The memorandum from the White House counsel on Tuesday morning was terse, and unusual for the Bush administration: The Justice Department had opened a preliminary criminal investigation into the possible leak of an undercover C.I.A. officer's name, and every member of the White House staff was being ordered to "preserve all materials that might be relevant." Over eight years of the Clinton administration, such legal warnings became all but business as usual for White...

WASHINGTON -- I had thought I never again would write about retired diplomat Joseph Wilson's CIA-employee wife, but feel constrained to do so now that repercussions of my July 14 column have reached the front pages of major newspapers and led off network news broadcasts. My role and the role of the Bush White House have been distorted and need explanation.The leak now under Justice Department investigation is described by former Ambassador Wilson and critics of President Bush's Iraq policy as a reprehensible effort to silence them. To protect my own integrity and credibility, I would like to stress three...

October 1, 2003 Bush Orders Full Cooperation in Leaking of NameBy RICHARD W. STEVENSON and ERIC LICHTBLAU ASHINGTON, Sept. 30 — The Justice Department said on Tuesday that it had begun a full investigation into whether Bush administration officials illegally disclosed the name of an undercover C.I.A. officer to journalists, and the White House directed its staff to cooperate. Doug Mills/The New York TimesKarl Rove, right, and Scott McClellan, the White House spokesman, in Washington yesterday as President Bush boarded Marine One. The Justice Department instructed the White House to preserve all records relating to the case, including any involving...