Wilson Amnesia at the P-I
Liberal Media blog
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The Seattle Post-Intelligencer has been all over the Joseph Wilson / Valerie Plame scandal -- until it was discovered that Wilson and Plame were the perpetrators of the scandal and not its victims. So far, at least, the P-I seems to be suffering from a collective amnesia about its earlier misreporting and howling editorials.
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Editorial August 10, 2003
There's a cancer somewhere in the Bush administration. Two officials revealed national security information to embarrass or scare critics of the administration's mishandling of Iraqi intelligence.
Editorial October 1, 2003
Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wash., insists that Attorney General John Ashcroft appoint a special prosecutor in the Valerie Plame case -- and rightly so.
Helen Thomas op-ed October 9, 2003
The hottest story in Washington, D.C., today is the Justice Department's investigation of the outing of a CIA covert officer, the wife of retired Ambassador Joseph Wilson...After his African journey, Wilson debunked the administration allegation that Saddam Hussein was trying to go nuclear.
Editorial January 2, 2004
Special counsel inquiry warranted
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Wilson had debunked President Bush's claim that Iraq had tried to buy uranium from Niger. Bush used the trumped-up uranium deal in his justification for invading Iraq. Wilson embarrassing the president is a presumed motive for someone in the White House blowing Plame's cover.
Report on Wilson's speech at Seattle's , uh, "Foolproof Performing Arts" February 7, 2004
Wilson says his wife was smeared because of his Iraq stance
Editorial March 26, 2004
It's useful, then, that the president and his staff are willing to serve the public interest by releasing journalists of their obligation to protect confidential White House sources. There's one more way for the administration to serve that interest. Release Robert Novak and five other capital reporters of any obligation to withhold the names of the "two senior administration officials" who told them that Valerie Plame was a CIA operative, in what appeared to be an attempt to punish Plame's husband, retired Ambassador Joseph Wilson IV, for debunking the president's Nigerian yellow-cake claim.
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Now that the newspaper has seared into its readers' minds the notion that Wilson is some sort of a hero/victim, how are the latest revelation being reported? The P-I archive contains only this AP story about the Senate Intelligence Committee report that mentions
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Joseph Wilson, a retired U.S. diplomat the CIA sent to investigate the Niger story, also found evidence of Iraqi contacts with Nigerien officials, the report said
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But the article fails to note that this finding specifically contradicts Wilson's earlier public statements. Also, there is no mention of the Committee finding that Wilson lied when he denied that his wife promoted him for the Niger assignment.
I'll let you know when the P-I publishes an editorial that (a) admits that all of its earlier editorials about Wilson/Plame were wrong and (b) castigates the Kerry advisor for deceiving the public.
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