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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: JohnM who wrote (10087)	9/30/2003 10:26:51 PM
From: KLP	Respond to of 793669

To show you how things get twisted: From the Seattle Times yesterday: KLP NOTE: If this woman used her name 'overseas' and it was used on her husbands' bio.....How many people in the Wilsons' circle of Government employees and others Worldwide would know from parties, meetings, etc. that she worked for the CIA...??? Especially since his Bio has been on the web mentioning her name since at least 2002....The Internet is Worldwide, and his Bio is placed on several sites, including a Middle East site. Also, if Novaks column came out July 17th 2003.............WHY is Wilson calling attention to it now? Why not then??? 8888888888888888888888>>>>>>>>>> Controversy deepens over inquiry into leak of CIA officer's identity By Mike Allen The Washington Post seattletimes.nwsource.com WASHINGTON — President Bush's aides promised yesterday to cooperate with a Justice Department inquiry into an administration leak that exposed the identity of a CIA operative, but Democrats said the administration cannot credibly investigate itself and called for an independent investigation. White House officials said they would turn over phone logs if the Justice Department asks them to. But the aides said Bush has no plans to ask his staff members whether any of them played a role in revealing the name of an undercover officer who is married to former Ambassador Joseph Wilson IV, one of the most visible critics of Bush's handling of intelligence about Iraq. An administration official told The Washington Post on Saturday that two White House officials leaked the information to selected journalists to discredit Wilson. The leak could constitute a federal crime, and intelligence officials said it might have endangered confidential sources who had aided the operative throughout her career. CIA Director George Tenet has asked the Justice Department to investigate how the leak occurred. National-security adviser Condoleezza Rice said on "Fox News Sunday" that she knew "nothing of any such White House effort to reveal any of this, and it certainly would not be the way that the president would expect his White House to operate." She also said the White House would leave the investigation in the hands of the Justice Department, calling it the "appropriate channel now." White House press secretary Scott McClellan said the Justice Department has requested no information so far. He said the White House will cooperate with any request from investigators. Asked about the possibility of an internal White House investigation, McClellan said, "I'm not aware of any information that has come to our attention beyond the anonymous media sources to suggest there's anything to White House involvement." The controversy erupted over the weekend, when administration officials reported that Tenet sent the Justice Department a letter raising questions about whether federal law was broken when the operative, Valerie Plame, was exposed. She was named in a column by Robert Novak that ran July 14 in The Post and other newspapers. CIA officials approached the Justice Department about a possible investigation within a week of the column's publication. Tenet's letter was delivered more recently. The department is determining whether a formal inquiry is warranted, officials said. Democratic presidential candidates demanded an independent investigation. Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean said the inquiry should be turned over to the Justice Department's inspector general, who operates independently of political appointees. Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri called for congressional committees. More details about the controversy emerged yesterday. Wilson said four reporters from three television networks called him in July and told him White House officials had contacted them to encourage stories that would include his wife's identity. Novak attributed his account to "two senior administration officials." An administration aide told The Post on Saturday that the two White House officials had called at least six Washington journalists and identified Wilson's wife. She is a case officer in the CIA's clandestine service and is currently working as an analyst on weapons of mass destruction. Novak published her maiden name, Plame, which she had used overseas and has not been using publicly. Intelligence sources said top officials at the agency were very concerned about the disclosure because it could allow foreign intelligence services to track some of her former contacts and lead to the exposure of agents. Wilson had touched off perhaps the most searing controversy of this administration by saying he had determined on a mission to Niger last year that there was no clear evidence Iraq had tried to buy "yellowcake" uranium ore for possible use in a nuclear weapon. Wilson's statement led to a retraction by the White House, and bolstered Democrats' contention that Bush had exaggerated intelligence to build a case for Iraq. The allegation became known as "the 16 words" after Bush said in his State of the Union address in January that the British government had learned that Iraq recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa. An administration official said the leaks were "simply for revenge" for the trouble Wilson had caused Bush. Wilson said that in the week after the column appeared, several journalists told him the White House was trying to call attention to his wife, apparently hoping to undermine his credibility by implying he had received the Niger assignment only because his wife suggested the mission and recommended him for the job. Copyright © 2003 The Seattle Times Company