What Did the President Know?

What Did the President Know?: "What Did the President Know?

By Dan Froomkin
Special to washingtonpost.com
Monday, July 25, 2005; 1:30 PM

Now that special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald is said to have expanded his investigation into the leak of a CIA agent's identity to encompass a possible White House coverup, what the president and the vice president knew would appear to be much more relevant.

Fitzgerald interviewed both President Bush and Vice President Cheney more than a year ago, at what seemed at the time like the tail end of his investigation into the leak of CIA agent Valerie Plame's identity.

Bush and Cheney were not placed under oath -- the reasoning apparently being that they had no direct involvement in the potential criminal activity under investigation: the leak itself. We don't know much about either interview, beyond the fact that Bush had his personal attorney at his side.

But now Fitzgerald's investigation appears to have turned its focus to discrepancies in the testimony of White House senior adviser Karl Rove and vice presidential chief of staff I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby. Fitzgerald may be trying to determine whether evidence exists to bring perjury or obstruction of justice charges.

And that raises the issue of what -- if anything -- Rove and Libby told Bush and Cheney about their roles.

So does that mean Fitzgerald might call Bush and Cheney to testify before the grand jury -- under oath? Might he even have done so already? We have no idea, of course, because the White House isn't saying anything at all about the investigation anymore.

Either way, the CIA leak story is taking on more and more of the trappings of the classic Washington political scandal -- the saving grace for Bush being that his party controls Congress, and that thus far, Republicans have closed ranks behind him. (more click on link above)

Plame's Identity Marked As Secret

Plame's Identity Marked As Secret: "Plame's Identity Marked As Secret
Memo Central to Probe Of Leak Was Written By State Dept. Analyst

By Walter Pincus and Jim VandeHei
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, July 21, 2005; A01

A classified State Department memorandum central to a federal leak investigation contained information about CIA officer Valerie Plame in a paragraph marked "(S)" for secret, a clear indication that any Bush administration official who read it should have been aware the information was classified, according to current and former government officials.

Plame -- who is referred to by her married name, Valerie Wilson, in the memo -- is mentioned in the second paragraph of the three-page document, which was written on June 10, 2003, by an analyst in the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR), according to a source who described the memo to The Washington Post.

The paragraph identifying her as the wife of former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV was clearly marked to show that it contained classified material at the "secret" level, two sources said. The CIA classifies as "secret" the names of officers whose identities are covert, according to former senior agency officials.

Anyone reading that paragraph should have been aware that it contained secret information, though that designation was not specifically attached to Plame's name and did not describe her status as covert, the sources said. It is a federal crime, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, for a federal official to knowingly disclose the identity of a covert CIA official if the person knows the government is trying to keep it secret.

Prosecutors attempting to determine whether senior government officials knowingly leaked Plame's identity as a covert CIA operative to the media are investigating whether White House officials gained access to information about her from the memo, according to two sources familiar with the investigation.

The memo may be important to answering three central questions in the Plame case: Who in the Bush administration knew about Plame's CIA role? Did they know the agency was trying to protect her identity? And, who leaked it to the media?

Almost all of the memo is devoted to describing why State Department intelligence experts did not believe claims that Saddam Hussein had in the recent past sought to purchase uranium from Niger. Only two sentences in the seven-sentence paragraph mention Wilson's wife.

The memo was delivered to Secretary of State Colin L. Powell on July 7, 2003, as he headed to Africa for a trip with President Bush aboard Air Force One. Plame was unmasked in a syndicated column by Robert D. Novak seven days later.

Wilson has said his wife's identity was revealed to retaliate against him for accusing the Bush administration of "twisting" intelligence to justify the Iraq war. In a July 6 opinion piece in the New York Times and in an interview with The Washington Post, he cited a secret mission he conducted in February 2002 for the CIA, when he determined there was no evidence that Iraq was seeking uranium for a nuclear weapons program in the African nation of Niger.

White House officials discussed Wilson's wife's CIA connection in telling at least two reporters that she helped arrange his trip, according to one of the reporters, Matthew Cooper of Time magazine, and a lawyer familiar with the case.

Prosecutors have shown interest in the memo, especially when they were questioning White House officials during the early days of the investigation, people familiar with the probe said.

Karl Rove, President Bush's deputy chief of staff, has testified that he learned Plame's name from Novak a few days before telling another reporter she worked at the CIA and played a role in her husband's mission, according to a lawyer familiar with Rove's account. Rove has also testified that the first time he saw the State Department memo was when "people in the special prosecutor's office" showed it to him, said Robert Luskin, his attorney.

"He had not seen it or heard about it before that time," Luskin said.

Several other administration officials were on the trip to Africa, including senior adviser Dan Bartlett, then-White House spokesman Ari Fleischer and others. Bartlett's attorney has refused to discuss the case, citing requests by the special counsel. Fleischer could not be reach for comment yesterday.

Rove and Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, have been identified as people who discussed Wilson's wife with Cooper. Prosecutors are trying to determine the origin of their knowledge of Plame, including whether it was from the INR memo or from conversations with reporters.

The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that the memo made it clear that information about Wilson's wife was sensitive and should not be shared. Yesterday, sources provided greater detail on the memo to The Post.

The material in the memo about Wilson's wife was based on notes taken by an INR analyst who attended a Feb. 19, 2002, meeting at the CIA where Wilson's intelligence-gathering trip to Niger was discussed.

The memo was drafted June 10, 2003, for Undersecretary of State Marc Grossman, who asked to be brought up to date on INR's opposition to the White House view that Hussein was trying to buy uranium in Africa.

The description of Wilson's wife and her role in the Feb. 19, 2002, meeting at the CIA was considered "a footnote" in a background paragraph in the memo, according to an official who was aware of the process.

It records that the INR analyst at the meeting opposed Wilson's trip to Niger because the State Department, through other inquiries, already had disproved the allegation that Iraq was seeking uranium from Niger. Attached to the INR memo were the notes taken by the senior INR analyst who attended the 2002 meeting at the CIA.

On July 6, 2003, shortly after Wilson went public on NBC's "Meet the Press" and in The Post and the New York Times discussing his trip to Niger, the INR director at the time, Carl W. Ford Jr., was asked to explain Wilson's statements for Powell, according to sources familiar with the events. He went back and reprinted the June 10 memo but changed the addressee from Grossman to Powell.

Ford last year appeared before the federal grand jury investigating the leak and described the details surrounding the INR memo, the sources said. Yesterday he was on vacation in Arkansas, according to his office.

Hard to believe this guy has an office in the White House

A Sidestep and a Backtrack

A Sidestep and a Backtrack: "A Sidestep and a Backtrack

By Dan Froomkin
Special to washingtonpost.com
Monday, July 18, 2005; 3:33 PM

Does President Bush still intend to fire anyone found to be involved in the leak of Valerie Plame's identity as a CIA operative?

Simple question, really. After all, that's what he said on June 10, 2004 .


But now that Karl Rove, Bush's closest adviser, has been implicated in the leak, Bush's standard seems to have changed.

'If someone committed a crime, they will no longer work in my administration,' Bush announced today.

That's not very specific. And it's also not a real big concession.

In fact, even as the case continues to consume Washington, and even as more and more details about White House involvement in the leak continue to emerge from all quarters, Bush today continued the White House's public stonewall.

Here's the transcript of Bush's brief joint appearance with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh this morning.

The first question came from Terence Hunt of the Associated Press:

Hunt: 'Mr. President, you said you don't want to talk about an ongoing investigation, so I'd like to ask you, regardless of whether a crime was committed, do you still intend to fire anyone found to be involved in the CIA leak case? And are you displeased that Karl Rove told a reporter that Ambassador Joe Wilson's wife worked for the Agency on WMD issues?'

Bush: 'We have a serious ongoing investigation here. (Laughter.) And it's being played out in the press. And I think it's best that people wait until the investigation is complete before you jump to conclusions. And I will do so, as well. I don't know all the facts. I want to know all the facts. The best place for the facts to be done is by somebody who's spending time investigating it. I would like this to end as quickly as possible so we know the facts, and if someone committed a crime, they will no longer work in my administration."

Karl Rove, Cover Boy

It's a big day for Rove, who appears on both the covers of Time and Newsweek .

Howard Fineman anchors a hefty Newsweek cover describing "The World According to Karl Rove," where "you take the offensive, and stay there. You create a narrative that glosses over complex, mitigating facts to divide the world into friends and enemies, light and darkness, good and bad, Bush versus Saddam. You are loyal to a fault to your friends, merciless to your enemies. You keep your candidate's public rhetoric sunny and uplifting, finding others to do the attacking. You study the details, and learn more about your foes than they know about themselves. You use the jujitsu of media flow to flip the energy of your enemies against them. The Boss never discusses political mechanics in public. But in fact everything is political --- and everyone is fair game." (more...click on link above)

FT.com / Home UK - Second Bush official named in 'leak' probe

FT.com / Home UK - Second Bush official named in 'leak' probe: "Second Bush official named in 'leak' probe
By Edward Alden in Washington
Published: July 18 2005 03:00 | Last updated: July 18 2005 03:00

US Vice-President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, Lewis I. 'Scooter' Libby, spoke to a Time magazine reporter prior to the leaking of the name of a covert CIA agent, the reporter has told a grand jury investigating the issue.

The testimony places a second top Bush official at the centre of a politically charged investigation into whether anyone in the administration broke US laws in an effort to undermine a high-profile critic of the Iraq war.

In an account of his testimony published yesterday, Mr Cooper said that neither Mr Libby nor Mr Rove revealed the name of the agent, nor did they mention her covert status. But the White House had previously denied that either man spoke to reporters about the issue. Mr Cooper also told NBC News yesterday that there might have been other sources as well for the stories.

The grand jury, which is due to complete its work in October, is investigating whether anyone in the administration leaked the name of Valerie Plame, a former covert agent who is married to former ambassador Joseph Wilson, in an effort to discredit Mr Wilson's claims that the administration lied when it said Iraq was seeking uranium from Africa for a nuclear weapons programme.

Ms Plame's name was published in July 2003 by Robert Novak, a conservative columnist who also spoke to Mr Rove, though no details have emerged about that conversation.

The investigation has reopened the controversy over whether the administration misled the US public in the run-up to the Iraq war. It "

CNN.com - It doesn't look good for Karl Rove - Jul 15, 2005

CNN.com - It doesn't look good for Karl Rove - Jul 15, 2005: "t doesn't look good for Karl Rove

By John Dean
FindLawexternal link Columnist
Special to CNN.com

(FindLaw) -- As the scandal over the leak of CIA agent Valerie Plame's identity has continued to unfold, there is a renewed focus on Karl Rove -- the White House deputy chief of staff whom President Bush calls his political 'architect.'

Newsweek has reported that Matt Cooper, in an e-mail to his bureau chief at Time magazine, wrote that he had spoken 'to Rove on double super-secret background for about two min[ute]s before he went on vacation ...' In that conversation, Rove gave Cooper 'big warning' that Time should not 'get too far out on Wilson.'

Rove was referring, of course, to former Ambassador Joe Wilson's acknowledgment of his trip to Africa, where he discovered that Niger had not, in fact, provided uranium to Iraq that might be part of a weapons of mass destruction (WMD) program.

Cooper's email indicates that Rove told Cooper that Wilson's trip had not been authorized by CIA Director George Tenet or Vice President Dick Cheney; rather, Rove claimed, 'it was ... [W]ilson's wife, who apparently works at the agency on [WMD] issues who authorized the trip.' (Rove was wrong about the authorization.)

Only the special counsel, Patrick Fitzgerald, and his staff have all the facts on their investigation at this point, but there is increasing evidence that Rove (and others) may have violated one or more federal laws. At this time, it would be speculation to predict whether indictments will be forthcoming.
Identities Protection Act

As I pointed out when the Valerie Plame Wilson leak first surfaced, the Intelligence Identities And Protection Act is a complex law. For the law to apply to Rove, a numb"

Telegraph | News | Ten suicide bombers in one day bring more death to Baghdad streets

Telegraph | News | Ten suicide bombers in one day bring more death to Baghdad streets: "Ten suicide bombers in one day bring more death to Baghdad streets
By Oliver Poole
(Filed: 16/07/2005)

Suicide bombers struck 10 times in Baghdad yesterday, killing at least 25 people.

Al-Qa'eda's Iraq wing claimed responsibility for five car bombings aimed at Iraqi and American forces.

Police said a further five bombings, including one targeting the home of President Jalal Talabani last night, were by insurgents.

Most of those killed were civilians. A further 100 people were wounded. Friday is the Muslim day of prayer, when streets in the city are generally quieter, which may have held down the casualty toll.

A bombing last night in the city's Sadiya district was the deadliest in a string of carefully co-ordinated attacks, killing 11 people including two policemen.


Earlier a suicide car bomber struck at an Iraqi army base in northern Baghdad, killing eight. Six policemen were killed when another car bomber rammed a police patrol in the west of the city.

Two Iraqi soldiers died when a suicide car bomber tried to drive through the gates of the former defence ministry building, now used as a barracks. Another suicide bomber blew up a car on a bridge overlooking the home of President Talabani, killing three guards.

In the central city of Samarra US troops were said to be fighting militants patrolling the streets with AK47s."

.

Rove -- Thug, Coward and Now, a Smoking Gun?: Margaret Carlson

Bloomberg.com: Bloomberg Columnists: "Rove -- Thug, Coward and Now, a Smoking Gun?: Margaret Carlson

July 14 (Bloomberg) -- On TV recently, I called him a thug, this then-unknown leaker who watched from his privileged White House perch as my friend and colleague, Matt Cooper, went through hell to protect him.

Now that I know that the person is Karl Rove, I would like to revise and extend my remarks. Karl Rove is not a thug; he is a coward. Two years ago, he could have come clean, orchestrated his own redemption, saved millions in taxpayers' dollars, and spared everyone a lot of agony.

Instead, we've had a two-year investigation to find out what President George W. Bush could have walked across the hall and learned.

At one time, the president called the outing of the CIA agent married to former Ambassador Joe Wilson ``a very serious matter'' and said the person who did it should be fired. In certain circumstances, exposing an undercover agent is a crime. In any circumstances, it's wrong.

At least six reporters were leaked information suggesting that Wilson was a girlie man who needed his wife to get him a job. Rove and others were angry that Wilson had debunked their assertion that Saddam Hussein had tried to buy yellowcake uranium for his weapons of mass destruction, an assessment shared by George Tenet, CIA director at the time.

Scott's Smackdown

For months, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said it was ridiculous to suspect Rove. ``If anyone in this administration was involved in it, they would no longer be in this administration,'' he said. Statements like that turned a press briefing two days ago into a rare smackdown of McClellan, who was suddenly mum on Rove. When the 35th question in as many minutes came at him, his made-up face looked as gray as his suit. I thought he might cry.

It's high time heat shifted to the West Wing where it belongs. But that doesn't mean the reporters who were used by their sources are off the hook. Ironically, the reporter in jail, Judith Miller, didn't even write a story, perhaps because she was burned earlier for relying on anonymous sources who used her to plump for war against Saddam.

Her New York Times colleague Frank Rich noted in his column one Miller piece in particular -- ``a notoriously credulous front- page story about aluminum tubes'' -- that fueled the hawks around Bush. When the Times took the unusual step of apologizing for its WMD reporting, 10 of the 12 stories cited contained Miller's byline.

Long Goodbye

But all that's forgotten now as Miller pays the high price of prison. Cooper, who's not gone to jail, through no fault of his own, has less of a storybook ending to his ordeal. The ground shifted under him when his bosses at Time magazine turned over his e-mails, citing the gravity of the Supreme Court's rejection of the reporters' appeals, as well as shareholders.

Cooper had no secret source left to protect but he still stuck by his promise. On July 6, sure he'd be booked and fingerprinted later that day for not testifying about a moot point, he said a long goodbye to his wife and six-year-old son. But that morning Cooper's lawyer, after reading in the Wall Street Journal that Rove was happy to waive any confidentiality agreements, accepted one for Cooper. Although he surely had little new to say, Cooper testified yesterday.

Cooper's two-year nightmare may be over but Bush's is not. Rove is the guy Bush relies on to deep-six the smoking gun. What will he do now that Rove is the smoking gun?

Rove the Unique

No one's quite like Rove. Remember the 2000 presidential primary in South Carolina, when Bush was saved with a little help from rumors about John McCain's black child and drug-addled wife? It was Rove to the rescue last month when, amid sinking support for the war, he bolstered the commander in chief by claiming that after 9/11 Bush was ready to go to war while the Democrats were ready to go to therapy.

Without Rove to construct them, Republicans' talking points are atrocious. They cling to the fact that Rove didn't reveal the name of that woman, Valerie Plame. Sound familiar? All day the last two days, that's what they said.

So this is how the investigation of leaks ends, in new leaks, perhaps from the prosecutor investigating the leaks. Cooper kept a secret for two years. Someone around the prosecutor couldn't keep one for two days, so there came Newsweek, disclosing the Time e-mails that revealed Rove fingering Wilson's wife.

Rove may end up leaving the White House, but he'll do the same things, only in a different location for a lot more money. The Times may cleanse itself of its WMD reporting with the sacrifice of its reporter going to jail.

Perhaps some good will come of this. Surely, journalists have been reminded they should say no to those cowards trying to get revenge, dish dirt, and score points without putting their name on it. Protection goes to those who want to correct an injustice, not perpetrate one.

Guardian Unlimited | CIA Leak Quotes

Guardian Unlimited | World Latest | CIA Leak Quotes: "CIA Leak Quotes


Monday July 11, 2005 10:31 PM

By The Associated Press

Some of the denials, other comments, at media briefings by White House spokesman Scott McClellan when asked by reporters whether President Bush's top political adviser, Karl Rove, was involved in the leak of a CIA officer's identity:

^Sept. 29, 2003

Q: You said this morning, quote, ``The president knows that Karl Rove wasn't involved.'' How does he know that?

A: Well, I've made it very clear that it was a ridiculous suggestion in the first place. ... I've said that it's not true. ... And I have spoken with Karl Rove.

Q: It doesn't take much for the president to ask a senior official working for him, to just lay the question out for a few people and end this controversy today.

A: Do you have specific information to bring to our attention? ... Are we supposed to chase down every anonymous report in the newspaper? We'd spend all our time doing that.''

Q: When you talked to Mr. Rove, did you discuss, ``Did you ever have this information?''

A: I've made it very clear, he was not involved, that there's no truth to the suggestion that he was.

^---

^Oct. 7, 2003

Q: You have said that you personally went to Scooter Libby (Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff), Karl Rove and Elliott Abrams (National Security Council official) to ask them if they were the leakers. Is that what happened? Why did you do that? And can you describe the conversations you had with them? What was the question you asked?

A: Unfortunately, in Washington, D.C., at a time like this there are a lot of rumors and innuendo. There are unsubstantiated accusations that are made. And that's exactly what happened in the case of these three individuals. They are good individuals. They are important members of our White House team. And that's why I spoke with them, so that I could come back to you and say that they were not in"

It Just Gets Worse - New York Times

It Just Gets Worse - New York Times:

By BOB HERBERT
Published: July 11, 2005

Back in March 2004 President Bush had a great time displaying what he felt was a hilarious set of photos showing him searching the Oval Office for the weapons of mass destruction that hadn't been found in Iraq. It was a spoof he performed at the annual dinner of the Radio and Television Correspondents' Association.
Skip to next paragraph

The photos showed the president peering behind curtains and looking under furniture for the missing weapons. Mr. Bush offered mock captions for the photos, saying, 'Those weapons of mass destruction have got to be somewhere' and 'Nope, no weapons over there ... maybe under here?'" (more... click on link above)

Bush aide Rove was Time reporter's source-Newsweek - Yahoo! News

Bush aide Rove was Time reporter's source-Newsweek - Yahoo! News: "Bush aide Rove was Time reporter's source-Newsweek

Sun Jul 10, 6:35 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Top White House advisor Karl Rove was one of the secret sources that spoke to reporters about a covert
CIA operative whose identity was leaked to the media, Newsweek magazine reported in its latest edition." (more.. click on link above)

OfficialWire: Analyst: Cooper Documents Reveal Karl Rove As Source

OfficialWire: Analyst: Cooper Documents Reveal Karl Rove As Source: "Analyst: Cooper Documents Reveal Karl Rove As Source
Time disclosure puts ‘turd blossom’ in the frame

by OfficialWire NewsDesk

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- (OfficialWire) -- 07/02/05 -- According to an article published Friday by Editor & Publisher, Assistant to the President, Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor Karl Rove (shown here) is the confidential source who outed Valerie Plame to reporters as a CIA operative.

E&P reported that during a syndicated McLaughlin Group political talk show, senior MSNBC political analyst Lawrence O'Donnell said: 'What we're going to go to now in the next stage, when Matt Cooper's e-mails, within Time Magazine, are handed over to the grand jury, the ultimate revelation, probably within the week of who his source is.

'And I know I'm going to get pulled into the grand jury for saying this but the source of...for Matt Cooper was Karl Rove, and that will be revealed in this document dump that Time magazine's going to do with the grand jury.'

Retired ambassador Joseph C. Wilson already named Rove, back in August 2003, as the White House insider who leaked his wife's identity to the press.

Given Rove's track record for dirty-tricks and questionable ethics, few will be surprised.

In February 2005, Bush said: 'Karl Rove is a long-time advisor and trusted member of my team. His hard work and dedication have been invaluable. I appreciate Karl's willingness to continue to serve my Administration in this new position.'

While we wait for confirmation by the grand jury following Time magazine's decision to hand over subpoenaed records, it will be interesting to see how George W. Bush responds to the likelihood that his turd blossom may be headed to a federal prison.

"

MSNBC Analyst Says Cooper Documents Reveal Karl Rove as Source in Plame Case

MSNBC Analyst Says Cooper Documents Reveal Karl Rove as Source in Plame Case: "MSNBC Analyst Says Cooper Documents Reveal Karl Rove as Source in Plame Case

By E&P Staff

Published: July 01, 2005 11:30 PM ET

NEW YORK Now that Time Inc. has turned over documents to federal court, presumably revealing who its reporter, Matt Cooper, identified as his source in the Valerie Plame/CIA case, speculation runs rampant on the name of that source, and what might happen to him or her. Tonight, on the syndicated McLaughlin Group political talk show, Lawrence O'Donnell, senior MSNBC political analyst, claimed to know that name--and it is, according to him, top White House mastermind Karl Rove.

Here is the transcript of O'Donnell's remarks:

'What we're going to go to now in the next stage, when Matt Cooper's e-mails, within Time Magazine, are handed over to the grand jury, the ultimate revelation, probably within the week of who his source is.

'And I know I'm going to get pulled into the grand jury for saying this but the source of...for Matt Cooper was Karl Rove, and that will be revealed in this document dump that Time magazine's going to do with the grand jury.'

Other panelists then joined in discussing whether, if true, this would suggest a perjury rap for Rove, if he told the grand jury he did not leak to Cooper.

Cooper and New York Times reporter Judith Miller, held in contempt for refusing to name sources, tried Friday to stay out of jail by arguing for home detention instead after Time Inc. surrendered its reporter's notes to a prosecutor.

Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., said Friday that several unidentified Senate Republicans had placed a hold on a proposed resolution declaring support for Miller and Cooper.

``Cowards!'' Lautenberg said of the Republicans. ``Under the rules, they have a right to refuse to reveal who they are. Sound familiar?''

Lautenberg's resolution is co-sponsored by"