Bush himself called for the Justice Department to investigate.
You have the sequence wrong, Karen. Bush called for such only after the CIA asked the Justice Department to do an investigation. One of the interesting things about this is that step from the CIA. Clearly they are very angry. Larry Johnson, a Republican and former CIA agent, was on the Lehrer Hour this evening and was just outraged, that's the only word for it, that the White House would do this and that Novak would publish her name in a story that did not need it.
I think the CIA is pushing this investigation in a very big way.
As for the Republicans, the best they can do is the classic advice offered for these situations. Get it all out early, take your licks, and move on to the next issue. If it's done cleanly and quickly and with some grace, it's off the table in 04. If they drag it out, hemming and hawwing, they encourage a coverup in the White House and, history is the guide here, it's the coverup that nails them. |
