Libby: White House 'Superiors' OK'd Leaks

[SkinsD]

This could get interesting...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060210/ap_on_go_pr_wh/cia_leak

WASHINGTON - A former top aide to Vice President Dick Cheney told a federal grand jury that his superiors authorized him to give secret information to reporters as part of the Bush administration's defense of intelligence used to justify invading Iraq, according to court papers.

[SkinsHokieFan]

This is going to get real real good

Anyone ready for Cheney to step down after the midterm and Condi put in his place? GWB resigns shortly before impeachment hearings begin

[hokie4redskins]

Hmm, this is interesting. Cheney might take the heat and step down, but no way impeachment gets out of the House. In the dems dreams.

[SkinsHokieFan]

Hmm, this is interesting. Cheney might take the heat and step down, but no way impeachment gets out of the House. In the dems dreams.

But its all part of the MASTER right wing conspiracy plan

[hokie4redskins]

Oh, right, I forgot. HA!

[Destino]

My take on this is - don't jump to any conclusions. If there is anything I've noticed during the Bush administration is that lots of smoking guns appear only to vanish quickly as the cage door closes behind fool that reached for it. Until I see Libby pointing at a image of another administration official screaming "Yeah, that's the guy right there!" on TV.....I'm not going for any of this stuff. And even then I'd wonder if Libby had a book to be released (which instantly discredits you these days).

[SkinsHokieFan]

On a serious note though, I am still waiting for someone besides a guy named "Scooter" to go to jail for this

While I have taken a wait and see approach it is very clear someone broke a very serious law and is high up in the administration. Messing around with national security like that, well it chaps my ass

[aREDSKIN]

it is very clear someone broke a very serious law administration.

And what law is that?? It has NOT been established that any law except a perjury ALLEGATION against Libby, has been broken. If in fact Plame was a covert agent why has that not been brought against Libby or anyone else by Fitzpatrick? Clearly there is a bunch of gray area here as to her "OFFICIAL" status.

[Chief skin]

This is confusing and interesting, Libby goes and points finger at his boss and just happens to be the VP. Why now? he was doing fine with the legal mumbo jumbo, need classiifed documents, and other trial delay tactics, he could continue to play games with that strategey. If worse came to worse and he was tried and convicted King W just pardons him on the last day of his reign but, with this strategy of dragging the VP into it he p1$$es off the king and all his men. Whats up??

[Thiebear]

The prosecutor says he knows his superiors made him do it.

The defense says no they didnt...

o.k. then, nothing to see here, please dispurse....

[@DCGoldPants]

And what law is that?? It has NOT been established that any law except a perjury ALLEGATION against Libby, has been broken. If in fact Plame was a covert agent why has that not been brought against Libby or anyone else by Fitzpatrick? Clearly there is a bunch of gray area here as to her "OFFICIAL" status.

Not long ago, it was found that she had done covert work with the past few years I believe. I'll look for that article when I get to work. But, I think the judge established that she still was covert.

[Thiebear]

My belief also is: If she was out of the field for 4 years it was still too soon....

It's supposed to be 5+ to protect any contacts still out there..

Hunt the leak down and hang them at Ft. McNair SW D.C.

[@DCGoldPants]

http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB113897603983264396-Qg5EoaqTaqlVVzGkBxh8EK7b3fk_20070203.html?mod=tff_main_tff_top

But the information Mr. Fitzgerald provided the appellate judges takes pains to use language mirroring that of the law, describing Ms. Plame as "a person whose identity the CIA was making specific efforts to conceal and who had carried out covert work overseas within the last five years."

From the Wall Street Journal recently.

[@DCGoldPants]

and

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11179719/site/newsweek/

The CIA Leak: Plame Was Still Covert

Newsweek

Feb. 13, 2006 issue - Newly released court papers could put holes in the defense of Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis (Scooter) Libby, in the Valerie Plame leak case. Lawyers for Libby, and White House allies, have repeatedly questioned whether Plame, the wife of White House critic Joe Wilson, really had covert status when she was outed to the media in July 2003. But special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald found that Plame had indeed done "covert work overseas" on counterproliferation matters in the past five years, and the CIA "was making specific efforts to conceal" her identity, according to newly released portions of a judge's opinion. (A CIA spokesman at the time is quoted as saying Plame was "unlikely" to take further trips overseas, though.) Fitzgerald concluded he could not charge Libby for violating a 1982 law banning the outing of a covert CIA agent; apparently he lacked proof Libby was aware of her covert status when he talked about her three times with New York Times reporter Judith Miller. Fitzgerald did consider charging Libby with violating the so-called Espionage Act, which prohibits the disclosure of "national defense information," the papers show; he ended up indicting Libby for lying about when and from whom he learned about Plame.

The new papers show Libby testified he was told about Plame by Cheney "in an off sort of curiosity sort of fashion" in mid-June—before he talked about her with Miller and Time magazine's Matt Cooper. Libby's trial has been put off until January 2007, keeping Cheney off the witness stand until after the elections. A spokeswoman for Libby's lawyers declined to comment on Plame's status.

—Michael Isikoff

[frommd]

On a serious note though, I am still waiting for someone besides a guy named "Scooter" to go to jail for this

While I have taken a wait and see approach it is very clear someone broke a very serious law and is high up in the administration. Messing around with national security like that, well it chaps my ass

Actually, Fitzgerald said in his latest press conference, that they can't actually prove that Valerie Plame was a covert agent. Therefore, no law was broken except perjury for Scooter. This whole thing was a gigantic waste of time.

[Larry]

To me, the biggest hole in the "we didn't know she was covert" defense, is that Novak, in "The Article" referred to her as a "CIA operative".

To me, Bob Novak is a professional writer, so it's reasonable to conclude that he knows the difference between "operative" and "employee", and that he deliberatly chose one word over the other.

Therefore, either

• Novak deliberatly used a term that he thought was false in order to make it look like he was revealing Deep Secrets when he was actually printing Common Public Knowledge. Or.
  
• Novak was told she was an operative.
  

[@DCGoldPants]

Actually, Fitzgerald said in his latest press conference, that they can't actually prove that Valerie Plame was a covert agent. Therefore, no law was broken except perjury for Scooter. This whole thing was a gigantic waste of time.

Did you read the statements above?

[frommd]

Did you read the statements above?

From the article:

The NIE is a report prepared by the head of the nation's intelligence operations for high-level government officials, up to and including the president. Portions of NIEs are sometimes declassified and made public. It is unclear whether that happened in this instance.

Libby, 55, was indicted late last year on charges that he lied to FBI agents and the grand jury about how he learned CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity and when he subsequently told reporters. He is not charged with leaking classified information from an intelligence estimate report.

[@DCGoldPants]

but you said they can't prove she was a covert agent. Since then, it seems they've determined she had been on clandestine assignments overseas.

What does that count as?

matter of fact?

New charges could be filed you know. Perhaps they are going for a bigger fish.

[frommd]

but you said they can't prove she was a covert agent. Since then, it seems they've determined she had been on clandestine assignments overseas.

What does that count as?

matter of fact?

New charges could be filed you know. Perhaps they are going for a bigger fish.

Can you please point out the part of the article that says this? I've now read it twice and I'm not seeing anything new about that.

[@DCGoldPants]

But special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald found that Plame had indeed done "covert work overseas" on counterproliferation matters in the past five years, and the CIA "was making specific efforts to conceal" her identity, according to newly released portions of a judge's opinion.

[Kilmer17]

Can someone show me where this article claims that Libby leaked info on Plame?

My understanding is that he leaked info at the direction of Cheney on our intelligence about WMDs. And that later that day, the entire "leaked" info was declassified.

In other words, he gave a scoop to reporters about info that was public knowldge later that day.

I dont see any mention of the leak regarding Plame.

[stevenaa]

To me, the biggest hole in the "we didn't know she was covert" defense, is that Novak, in "The Article" referred to her as a "CIA operative".

To me, Bob Novak is a professional writer, so it's reasonable to conclude that he knows the difference between "operative" and "employee", and that he deliberatly chose one word over the other.

Therefore, either

• Novak deliberatly used a term that he thought was false in order to make it look like he was revealing Deep Secrets when he was actually printing Common Public Knowledge. Or.
  
• Novak was told she was an operative.
  

There are CIA operative who aren't necessarily covert. Regardless of whether or not the law was brokent, the whole affair is bad form. Another example of politics suck.

[DCRunner]

Prosecutors pick and choose what charges to go forward on all the time. Sometimes it's just too messy or hard to prove some charges so if there are other charges available to them they'll proceed on those. Fitzgerald may not be able to prove Plame's status because it may involve evidence that the government doesn't want to turn over. It's not that they can't factually prove something - it's that they can't legally prove it in a trial open to the public, which, of course, it would be. The goverment may decide a trial that requires classified docs or other such delicate info to make their case is too cumbersome and risky in various ways to even attempt.

Just a thought.

[tizzod]

Prosecutors pick and choose what charges to go forward on all the time. Sometimes it's just too messy or hard to prove some charges so if there are other charges available to them they'll proceed on those. Fitzgerald may not be able to prove Plame's status because it may involve evidence that the government doesn't want to turn over. It's not that they can't factually prove something - it's that they can't legally prove it in a trial open to the public, which, of course, it would be. The goverment may decide a trial that requires classified docs or other such delicate info to make their case is too cumbersome and risky in various ways to even attempt.

Just a thought.

Bingo. You can't prove someone is an undercover operative, because all of that is classified, and to prove it, a lot of stuff would have to be de-classified, which ain't gonna happen in this lifetime. Not only would it prove she is, but then all the secrets of how they go about doing it and creating new undercover identities would be out in the open. Not worth it.