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You are here: Home / Politics / Rove Fingers Libby

Rove Fingers Libby

by John Cole|  October 20, 20059:06 am| 42 Comments

This post is in: Politics

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If this story is true, things ARE going to get real ugly within the WH:

White House adviser Karl Rove told the grand jury in the CIA leak case that I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, Vice President Cheney’s chief of staff, may have told him that CIA operative Valerie Plame worked for the intelligence agency before her identity was revealed, a source familiar with Rove’s account said yesterday.

In a talk that took place in the days before Plame’s CIA employment was revealed in 2003, Rove and Libby discussed conversations they had had with reporters in which Plame and her marriage to Iraq war critic Joseph C. Wilson IV were raised, the source said. Rove told the grand jury the talk was confined to information the two men heard from reporters, the source said.

Rove has also testified that he also heard about Plame from someone else outside the White House, but could not recall who.

The account is the first time a person familiar with Rove’s testimony has provided clues about where the deputy chief of staff learned about Plame, and confirmed that Rove and Libby were involved in a conversation about her before her identity became public. The disclosure seemed to further undermine the White House’s contention early in the case that neither man was in any way involved in unmasking Plame.

But it leaves unanswered the central question of the more than two-year-old case: Did anyone commit a crime in leaking information about Plame to the media?

This story and recent events make it look like Libby might be the one in most peril of being indicted. And for obstruction or some other charge, and not the ‘unmasking’ of Valerie, as the WaPo calls it.

Who knows. So much nonsense out there it is hard to make sense of it all (although Tom Maguire is trying– just keep scrolling and marvelling at his tenacity). I am really most interested in finding out how much we got right with our Plame consensus project.

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Previous Post: « A Hill To Die On
Next Post: The Stupid Investigating the Blind »

Reader Interactions

42Comments

  1. 1.

    Sine.Qua.Non

    October 20, 2005 at 9:15 am

    ::The Random Three ::

    I’m interested as well in your consensus project. Wish you could have gotten consensus on the last two known issues.

  2. 2.

    Tim F

    October 20, 2005 at 9:30 am

    Keep in mind that this is information that Rove wants us to know, probably leaked through his attorney. If this works along the same lines as that Ari-Powell slapfight we should hear something incriminating Rove and making Libby look (relatively) good within days.

  3. 3.

    Vladi G

    October 20, 2005 at 10:08 am

    Somebody’s pants are on fire:

    Libby’s testimony stated that Rove had told him about his contact with Novak and that Libby had told Rove about information he had gotten about Wilson’s wife from NBC’s Tim Russert, according to a person familiar with the information shown to Rove.

    Prosecutors, however, have a different account from Russert. The network has said Russert told authorities he did not know about Wilson’s wife’s identity until it was published and therefore could not have told Libby about it.

    Prosecutors also have evidence that Libby initiated the call with Russert and had initiated similar contact with another reporter, Judith Miller of The New York Times, several weeks earlier. Miller was jailed for 85 days before agreeing to testify before the grand jury.

  4. 4.

    over it

    October 20, 2005 at 11:47 am

    Rove Fingers Libby

    I always knew that there was something odd about them.

    :P

  5. 5.

    demimondian

    October 20, 2005 at 11:56 am

    Maguire’s argument falls apart when he cites George Tenet and the SSCI “bipartisan” report. Tenet has every reason to lie about the contents of Wilson’s report, since, at the time of his testimony, he knew he’d be fired if he said anything which didn’t completely support the White House’s line, and the bipartisan report wasn’t bipartisan — the paragraph which Maguire cites is in the appendix, not the main body. Guess who wrote the appendix? Yeah — some, but not all, of the Republicans on the committee.

  6. 6.

    Krista

    October 20, 2005 at 11:59 am

    over it – ewwww…now that’s a celebrity sex tape that definitely wouldn’t sell.

  7. 7.

    Vladi G

    October 20, 2005 at 12:17 pm

    the paragraph which Maguire cites is in the appendix, not the main body.

    I’m pretty sure it’s in the main body. Check here.

  8. 8.

    Sherard

    October 20, 2005 at 12:26 pm

    Frankly, nothing that is “leaked” from sealed testimony should be taken at face value. And in my opinion all this bullshit leaking of sealed grand jury testimony is disgusting, though pretty much in line with the disgusting corruption that IS Washington DC and the US Gov’t in general.

    Can you even think anyone involved in the government is capable of being honest when this kind of crap goes on routinely, every day ?

  9. 9.

    TallDave

    October 20, 2005 at 12:48 pm

    The problem with all this is lots of people knew about Plame before this whole thing broke. So the whole “outed for revenge as a dirty trick by the White House to endanger her life” angle that Dkos is pushing is ridiculous. She was already out, and in absolutely zero danger of anything. She drove to Langley every day in full view of everyone, where she worked on the Iraq WMD case (great job on that btw). She was mentioned because she recommended Wilson for the trip, which he denied because it hurt his credibility. Of course the Senate report basically contradicted everything Wilson said, but the media assiduously avoids mentioning that, the only part of the story where anyone actually did anything wrong.

  10. 10.

    Bob In Pacifica

    October 20, 2005 at 1:23 pm

    “[L]ots of people knew about Plame before this whole thing broke.”

    TallDave, this is one of those lies being circulated by the right. People knew what? That Mrs. Wilson was married to Mr. Wilson?

    Or that she was a NOC? If that’s the case, name someone who knew. Who has said, in public, “I knew that Valerie Plame was a NOC”? If you go from source to source all over the right, you are going to find out a lot of people who said “everybody knew” but not one of them will say, “I knew.” Why do you think that would be? Because they’d have to say HOW they knew, and it would turn out that they didn’t know (unless they were in the loop in exposing her covert identity).

    You sound like you’re whistling past a graveyard, because a whole shitload of indictments are coming down for something “ridiculous.”

    TallDave, now I know that you weren’t really in our Armed Forces, because someone who served wouldn’t be here justifying for people who treasonously exposed agents investigating WMDs in order to sell a phony war. Right, TallDave, you wouldn’t believe in treason for political gain, would you? Because if you do, you’re as much a traitor as the draft-dodging scumbags in this Administration.

    Thanks for helping us clarify this.

  11. 11.

    Vladi G

    October 20, 2005 at 1:29 pm

    I’d like to congratulate TallDave on an excellent job of conveniently putting every lying wingnut talking point into one small post. Bravo!

  12. 12.

    Geek, Esq.

    October 20, 2005 at 1:45 pm

    When you and your friend are being chased by a hungry bear, your best bet for survival is to trip your friend.

    Same principle applies to those in the cross-hairs of a federal prosecutor.

  13. 13.

    Pb

    October 20, 2005 at 1:53 pm

    I’m going to assume that TallDave is actually an unfunny parodist. In the event that this isn’t the case, however, I look forward to hearing what his CIA sources have to say about why the CIA thinks her cover (and that of her contacts, and the front company she worked for, and no doubt others who worked with her or for the same ‘company’…) was blown here… Or do you work at the CIA, TallDave? I’ll be waiting for your non-denial denial.

  14. 14.

    a guy called larry

    October 20, 2005 at 1:54 pm

    I have a really hard time figuring out how anyone can believe there never was a case here. When the Justice Department opened an investigation two years ago, they did so at the behest of the CIA, who supplied them with enough evidence for them to decide whether or not to follow up. John Ashcroft’s Justice Department. Ashcroft himself oversaw the early stages, before recusing himself, resulting in the appointment of Fitzgerald.
    Without a first cause for the investigation, it would have been dropped without spending millions of dollars to investgate, research, subpoena witnesses, jail the contemptible, blah, blah, blah, all this stuff.
    Unless they just wanted to make the lefties look bad on the first day of the first trial. Defense attorney: ‘she wasn’t even covert, nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah, nyaaaahhh, nyah. S’ there!’
    Not likely.

  15. 15.

    slide

    October 20, 2005 at 2:18 pm

    Here is an interesting outgrowth of all this. The Wilsons have signaled their intention to sue both Bush and Cheney regarding the damgages to Ms. Wilson’s carreer. A civil suit once the criminal matters are settled. Now, and here is the good part, because of the Paula Jones precedent, Bush and Cheney will have to be questionined UNDER OATH by Wilson’s lawyers. Hmmmm….. What goes around comes around. All the right wingers thought it was a great idea to have a sitting president put under oath for a civil matter when it was Clinton. Lets see what they all say when its the boy president and darth vader under oath.

    This should give some pause to the Senate Republicans that threated go go “nuclear” on the filibuster. Are they that sure they won’t be the minority party in the Senate in the very near future?

  16. 16.

    Elinor Dickey

    October 20, 2005 at 2:43 pm

    If all Libby and Rove were talking about is stuff that can be found in Who’s Who, then how could this possibly be news?

    I still say that Richard Clarke was the most likely source of the leak. And that Wilson and maybe Plame herself will, at the very least, be held in contempt of court for their machinations and obfuscations.

  17. 17.

    slide

    October 20, 2005 at 2:45 pm

    Elinor Dickey = DougJ right?

  18. 18.

    srv

    October 20, 2005 at 2:58 pm

    yes

  19. 19.

    Krista

    October 20, 2005 at 3:11 pm

    slide, srv – oh come on guys…you’re not even going to play along with him for awhile? You’re breaking his heart…

  20. 20.

    Andrew J. Lazarus

    October 20, 2005 at 3:11 pm

    TallDave, you might want to check the link I gave before babbling on in ignorance about covert agents and going to Langley. As for the Senate report, I suppose you noticed that half of the GOP members couldn’t swallow Pat Roberts’ anti-Wilson stuff and that’s why it’s relegated to an appendix.

    Even, incidentally, assuming that Wilson did lie and that Plame was no longer covert, are you now prepared to argue that revealing stating someone’s history as a covert agent (burning her contacts and front company) isn’t doing something wrong? I don’t think you want to try that.

    The story here is simple. Karl Rove learned long ago that attack, preferably personal attack, is the best offense. He intended to ruin Wilson, both to distract attention from his completely valid criticism of the WMD snipe hunt (remember, Saddam couldn’t have used Nigerien yellowcake even if it had fallen from the sky) and to serve as a warning to anyone else thinking of crossing up the Elephant.

  21. 21.

    ppGaz

    October 20, 2005 at 3:16 pm

    TallDave, now I know that you weren’t really in our Armed Forces

    What a thread! TallDave, who hates everything about America, lecturing on the Plame case, and Elinor, acting out her MFPD (multiple faux personality disorder).

    Just something to pass the time and get those page views on a day when nothing is happening in the Plame case.

    Where’s that checklist? Let’s see … Sheehan? Nothing today. Schiavo? Way too old news. Missing teens in Aruba? Wrong blog. Cat blogs? Start from scratch.
    Darrell? He’s still winded from the asskicking he took a couple days ago.

    I still say we need some good boob pictures. Anybody?

  22. 22.

    Krista

    October 20, 2005 at 3:26 pm

    Here’s a fantastic boob picture…

    http://bobmilne.com/promotional.asp?action=view&id=6

  23. 23.

    ppGaz

    October 20, 2005 at 4:02 pm

    Krista: good one!

  24. 24.

    Mike

    October 20, 2005 at 4:04 pm

    “Elinor Dickey Says:

    If all Libby and Rove were talking about is stuff that can be found in Who’s Who, then how could this possibly be news?

    I still say that Richard Clarke was the most likely source of the leak. And that Wilson and maybe Plame herself will, at the very least, be held in contempt of court for their machinations and obfuscations.”

    How dare you suggest something outside the realm of “conventional liberal wisdom”? What would ever lead you to believe ANY of these guys will accept anything other than Bush/Cheney/Rove is evil? No further thought is required, or necessary, or ever done.

  25. 25.

    Cyrus

    October 20, 2005 at 4:06 pm

    “Rove fingers Libby”? After seeing that headline, I don’t care if nobody gets indicted. That’s priceless.

  26. 26.

    Otto Man

    October 20, 2005 at 4:30 pm

    No further thought is required, or necessary, or ever done.

    That’s a wonderful motto you live by, Mike.

  27. 27.

    jg

    October 20, 2005 at 4:45 pm

    Quite frankly I didn’t think it was that big of a deal that Clinton lied when asked if he ever had sex with Lewinsky.

  28. 28.

    Elinor Dickey

    October 20, 2005 at 5:20 pm

    How dare you suggest something outside the realm of “conventional liberal wisdom”? What would ever lead you to believe ANY of these guys will accept anything other than Bush/Cheney/Rove is evil? No further thought is required, or necessary, or ever done.

    Mike, these moonbats here have drunk so much of the Dean Kool-Aid, they do as much as “original thought” as your average cult member. I swear, the people in Jonestown were free-thinkers compared to the Daily Kos zombies…..”mmmm, must hate Bush, must hate Cheney”.

  29. 29.

    John S.

    October 20, 2005 at 6:22 pm

    I swear, the people in Jonestown were free-thinkers compared to the Daily Kos zombies…..”mmmm, must hate Bush, must hate Cheney”.

    You know a statement is pure BS when you can flip it around, and still have it ring as hollow as the original:

    I swear, the people in Jonestown were free-thinkers compared to the Red State zombies…..”mmmm, must love Bush, must support Cheney”.

  30. 30.

    Tim F

    October 20, 2005 at 6:22 pm

    The more times I scroll past this thread title the worse it gets. Seriously, I challenge anybody here to say that they really need that image in their head.

  31. 31.

    Don Surber

    October 20, 2005 at 6:30 pm

    “Rove Fingers Libby”

    LOL
    ROFLMAO
    I knew a girl named Libby once. If it is the same one, Rove got his face slapped

  32. 32.

    Bob In Pacifica

    October 20, 2005 at 7:00 pm

    I thought Rove was the guy who GOT fingered.

    By the way, is Gannon going to get indicted?

  33. 33.

    Brian

    October 20, 2005 at 7:44 pm

    White House adviser Karl Rove told the grand jury in the CIA leak case that I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, Vice President Cheney’s chief of staff, may have told him that CIA operative Valerie Plame worked for the intelligence agency before her identity was revealed, a source familiar with Rove’s account said yesterday.

    I just love that. A “source” said that Rove “may” have…Weren’t these guys supposed to be indicted last week and the week before? The only reason this story is still alive is that the media has bought their own BS.

    These people need to read the law again. Especially, one needs to read the brief filed by the New York Times’ lawyers. No one did a better job convincing me that there was no crime here than they did.

  34. 34.

    Tim F

    October 20, 2005 at 8:12 pm

    By the way, is Gannon going to get indicted?

    Seems redundant. The last thing that doofus needs is another hour on the stage.

  35. 35.

    Paddy O'Shea

    October 20, 2005 at 10:55 pm

    Rove might very well have fingered Scooter, but that’s nothing compared to the kinds of things Jeff Gannon did for those guys.

  36. 36.

    kl

    October 21, 2005 at 11:37 am

    I wonder what it’s like to live in a world where anybody cares about Jeff Gannon?

  37. 37.

    Shygetz

    October 21, 2005 at 3:16 pm

    John Cole’s next headline:

    Libby Backdoors Cheney

  38. 38.

    Krista

    October 21, 2005 at 5:49 pm

    Oh Christ, now that’s a mental image that NOBODY needs…

  39. 39.

    ppGaz

    October 21, 2005 at 8:06 pm

    “Are you suggesting that (Plame) was not undercover? The fact is, she was undercover.” — Chris Matthews, Hardball, October 21 2005.

  40. 40.

    Tim F

    October 22, 2005 at 3:17 pm

    I suppose we should all be thankful that criminal justice doesn’t use the term ‘teabagging.’

  41. 41.

    VictorRay

    October 22, 2005 at 11:36 pm

    I wonder what it’s like to live in a world where anybody cares about Jeff Gannon?

    LOL. The Democrats are obsessed with this minor bit player in the drama, such as it is.

  42. 42.

    Tim F

    October 24, 2005 at 8:07 am

    LOL. The Democrats are obsessed with this minor bit player in the drama, such as it is.

    This coming from a guy who spent weeks keening and beating himself over the head about an obscure nobody named Ward Churchill.

    Don’t ask me how I know. I just do.

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