Tom Maguire builds the case for George Tenet as the source. I stick to my crackpot Colin Powell case.
This, however, is very intriguing:
After his conversation with Mr. Cooper, The Associated Press reported Friday, Mr. Rove sent an e-mail message to Stephen J. Hadley, then the deputy national security adviser, saying he “didn’t take the bait” when Mr. Cooper suggested that Mr. Wilson’s criticisms had been damaging to the administration.
Was he speaking colloquially, and just meant that he “didn’t take the bait” in the sense that Cooper was fishing for information and he wouldn’t provide any? Or did he mean specfially that “he didn’t take the bait” in that he felt he was being set up?
And for those with a ‘dark heart,’ I offer you this post.
*** Update ***
Via Billmon, the full message in the ‘intriguing’ email:
“Matt Cooper called to give me a heads-up that he’s got a welfare reform story coming,” Rove wrote in the e-mail to Hadley.
“When he finished his brief heads-up he immediately launched into Niger. Isn’t this damaging? Hasn’t the president been hurt? I didn’t take the bait, but I said if I were him I wouldn’t get Time far out in front on this.”
Geek, Esq.
I’m still waiting for John Bolton’s name to pop up.
scs
Wait- maybe my Richard Clarke theory is not dead yet.
Here’s are the points:
1. Had knowledge of CIA info – only CIA, State Department, Nastional Security Council- so Powell, Tenet, Clarke
2. SENIOR official – Powell, Tenet, Clarke
3. Non-partisan administration gunslinger – Only Powell and Richard Clarke are non partisan ADMINISTRATION people, Tenet was not part of the administration
4. Becomes FORMER official maybe between 10/12/03 and 11/26/04 – Tenet on 7/04 and Clarke on 02/03, (but maybe second article played catch up with that), and Powell after 11/04, so not Powell in this case
And according to the linked article on here:
5. Someone who called Wapo reporter Pincus on Saturday morning and in effect told him to go easy on the CIA and pound the White House a bit. – Not Powell, maybe Clarke, or Tenet
6. Someone whom the WaPo reporter didn’t believe. Not Tenet – Clarke
7. Someone with close ties to Judith Miller – Clarke because he was the terrorism guy and she was the terroorism reporter
I think the weight of the evidence still may point to my first guess Clarke, but I’m not going to Vegas yet.
Geek, Esq.
I do think it’s worth noting that all of these leaks and counter-leaks coming from Wilson and the defense lawyers serve two common purposes: they keep this story in the news (not good for the administration) and they confuse the issue so it’s very difficult to objectively sort out. Non-wonks will almost certainly not have a solid clue what the implications of each is. That may be good for the administration.
However, having Fitzgerald sniffing around Air Force One is something that regular folk understand. And a general sense of something fishy going on attributed to the whole administration may be more harmful than a finding that one or two advisers broke the law.
CaseyL
scs – When was Clarke on Air Force One?
Jon H
Odd, isn’t it, that he’d email *Hadley* immediately?
Hadley certainly wouldn’t be interested in who’s going to be writing about welfare reform.
And I’m not sure why Hadley, Condi’s deputy in NSC, would be interested in a call about the political damage of Niger. Andy Card, maybe, or Karen Hughes, or someone in Cheney’s office, but Hadley?
It’s kinda weird.
scs
No, Clarke wasn’t on the plane. Novak spoke to his first source before he spoke to Rove on July 8, so it could have been someone on the plane leaving on July 7. And the WaPo reporter, Pincus, spoke to his source on July 12, the day the plane came back. So maybe it was Powell both times.
(Was Judith Miller on that plane by the way?)
Hard to believe it was Powell though, because I read the source for Pincus tried to blame the including of the Niger story on the National Security Council. Why would Powell do that? He was friends with Condi wasn’t he? Or maybe he was trying to get Stephen Hadley.
p.lukasiak
Powell doesn’t make sense for one simple reason — two weeks after Bush used the “yellowcake” reference in the SOTU, Powell did not mention it in his presentation to the United Nations.
(counter-argument — Wilson made specific reference to a State Department document issued in Dec. 2002 that did mention the (non-existent) effort by Iraq to by yellowcake from Niger.)
Jon H
Clarke wouldn’t have been on the plane. It was a meet-n-greet trip, purely photo-ops. His job was to sit at the White House and work on defense issues (or internet terrorism, or whatever he was doing).
scs
By the way, I have not seen any proof that Iraq DIDN’T try to buy the uranium, other than Joe Wilson said so. Where is the proof? Haven’t seen any articles on it. If anybody knows of one, please tell me.
sniggles
By the way, I have not seen any proof that Iraq DIDN’T try to buy the uranium
I’ve seen no proof that SCS didn’t try to buy Uranium. Where’s the proof?
scs
Damn, I’m busted. Anyway, I heard the Brits say they did try to buy the uranium and they still stand by it. I would just like to know what the evidence is pro or con. I suppose we’ll never know as that is all classified. But before we condemn the Brits, why not have some real proof?