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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: combjelly who wrote (241817)	7/17/2005 1:48:46 PM
From: tejek	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1576643

The media is using every excuse or as Ten would say every "nuance" to keep this issue alive. Either they smell blood, or they finally are remember whating is meant by the phrase, unbiased and aggressive investigative journalism. ***************************************************** Reporter: Rove was first source on CIA leak Time magazine's Cooper says woman's name was not disclosed MSNBC News Services Updated: 1:48 p.m. ET July 17, 2005 WASHINGTON - White House political aide Karl Rove was the first person to tell a Time magazine reporter that the wife of a prominent critic of the Bush administration's Iraq policy was a CIA officer, the reporter said in an article Sunday. Time correspondent Matthew Cooper said he told a grand jury last week that Rove told him the woman worked at the "agency," or CIA, on weapons of mass destruction issues, and ended the call by saying "I've already said too much." He said Rove did not disclose the woman's name, Valerie Plame, but told him information would be declassified that would cast doubt on the credibility of her husband, former diplomat Joseph Wilson, who had charged the Bush administration with exaggerating the threat of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction programs in making its case for war. "So did Rove leak Plame's name to me, or tell me she was covert? No. Was it through my conversation with Rove that I learned for the first time that Wilson's wife worked at the CIA and may have been responsible for sending him? Yes. Did Rove say that she worked at the 'agency' on 'WMD'? Yes," Cooper wrote in Time's current edition. "When he said things would be declassified soon, was that itself impermissible? I don't know. Is any of this a crime? Beats me," Cooper wrote. He also wrote that he was not certain what Rove meant by commenting he had already said too much. A top Cheney aide was also among the sources, the Cooper said Sunday. Earlier denials Until last week, the White House had insisted for nearly two years that vice presidential chief of staff Lewis Libby and Rove were not involved in the leaks.** Cooper said on NBC's "Meet the Press" that he spoke to Libby after first learning about Wilson's wife from Rove. Republicans are responding to the revelations about Rove's role in the leak by saying that the deputy White House chief of staff first heard about Wilson's wife from a reporter. The chairman of the Republican National Committee, Ken Mehlman, told NBC that the disclosure about getting the information from a reporter vindicates Rove and that Democrats who have called for Rove's dismissal should apologize. But John Podesta, former White House chief of staff in the Clinton administration, said the White House's assurance in 2003 that Rove was not involved in the leak "was a lie." Rove's credibility "is in shreds," said Podesta, who appeared with Mehlman. Wilson was the top U.S. diplomat in Iraq during the Persian Gulf War. msnbc.msn.com

To: combjelly who wrote (241817)	7/17/2005 1:49:51 PM
From: tejek	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1576643

I wishe this were true but I doubt it. ********************************************* White House in panic over spy scandal** Bush is on the rack over a revelation that his close aide Karl Rove exposed a CIA agent Paul Harris in Washington Sunday July 17, 2005 Observer It was a question the White House press corps once believed unthinkable. Has President George W Bush lost confidence in his political guru, Karl Rove? If simply posing the question was a surprise last week, the answer - or, more accurately, the lack of one - was an even greater shock. When Bush faced reporters at the White House last Wednesday, he dodged questions on Rove. Seated as ever, just behind his President, Rove himself was tight-lipped and pale. The Rove-Bush partnership has changed the face of American politics, propelling Bush from Texas to the White House. Not for nothing is Rove known as 'boy genius' to Republican friends and 'Bush's brain' to Democrat enemies. Now that is under threat. The so-called 'Valerie Plame affair' has the Bush administration in a panic. An investigation into whether White House officials deliberately blew the cover of a CIA agent in an attempt to hit out at a critic of the Iraq war has Rove firmly in its sights. The scandal has all the classic ingredients: an unmasked CIA agent - who just happens to be a glamorous blonde - and a tough-minded independent investigator. There are secret sources, leaked emails and even a reporter thrown in jail. The official White House spokesman, the normally unflappable Scott McClellan, has been caught making a grossly misleading statement. Newspapers are devoting page after page to the twists and turns of the case. It is starting to have a familiar ring. Ronald Reagan had Iran-Contra. Bill Clinton had Monica Lewinsky. Does Bush have Plamegate? 'Bad things just happen in second terms,' said Larry Haas, a former Clinton aide. 'The Bush administration looks to the American people that it has lied.' It all began two years ago with a column from conservative journalist Bob Novak at a time of intense debate over statements by Joseph Wilson, a former diplomat who had researched claims for the CIA that Iraq was seeking to buy uranium in Niger. Wilson publicly accused the Bush administration of using the 'Niger issue' as part of a false justi fication for invading Iraq. Novak's column, citing two administration sources, said Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame, worked at the CIA. Such a leak could have had two aims. First, it would punish the Wilsons by blowing her cover and thus jeopardising her career. Second, it would warn others doing CIA work not to speak out publicly against the White House. 'It actually worked. It was aimed at stopping the bleeding after Wilson spoke out and no one else did,' said Mel Goodman, a former top CIA analyst now at the Center for International Policy. But it was also illegal. Deliberately exposing the identity of an undercover CIA agent is a serious crime. Whoever had spoken to Novak could face up to 10 years in jail. Not only was her career ended, but national security had been harmed. 'To out a CIA operative for political reasons is just unbelievable. This hurts the intelligence community which is supposed to be protecting us. I hope Rove rots in hell,' said Larry Johnson, a former CIA agent who is a former colleague of Plame's. Bush reacted to the controversy by naming Patrick Fitzgerald as a special counsel to investigate the leaks. That temporarily defused the issue and allowed the 2004 election to be fought without the Plame affair overshadowing it. But instead, as Fitzgerald held secret hearings, the Plame affair became a ticking time bomb. So determined was Fitzgerald to build up an accurate picture of what happened that his inquiries have even led to the jailing of New York Times reporter Judith Miller, who was briefed on Plame's identity by a source but did not write a story about the affair. But bit by bit a clearer picture has emerged and Rove has been caught in the act. A leaked email last week from Time magazine reporter Matt Cooper said Rove told Cooper that 'Wilson's wife' worked at the CIA before Novak's column appeared. It is also believed that Novak has also told Fitzgerald that one of his two sources was Rove. That has put Bush in an awkward position. He has previously promised to fire anyone revealed to be involved in the Plame leak, though the White House is now refusing to repeat that statement. McClellan is an even worse spot. He once told reporters that it was 'totally ridiculous' to suggest Rove had been involved. Rove's only way out is a legal one. The law is clear that to be guilty one must knowingly expose the agent. It is possible Rove did not know Plame was undercover. The other issue is technical. Rove appeared not to refer to Plame by her name in conversation with Cooper, calling her only 'Wilson's wife'. With Novak it appears to be the journalist who asked about Plame's job - which Rove then confirmed - rather than the other way round. If the legal case against Rove has holes in it, the political case is more damning. For the first time in years the Democrats can exploit a scandal that is easy to understand. While the details are confusing, the narrative is simple: the White House exposed a CIA agent working to protect America. 'People are angry. The press corps is angry. The Democrats just have to keep feeding the beast,' said Haas. Rove has one huge advantage: Bush's loyalty. Few other presidents have been as loyal as Bush to top officials. And Rove has been with Bush since the beginning. 'If there's no evidence of illegality, I think he'll survive,' said Haas. observer.guardian.co.uk