Washington Post reporter Walter Pincus testified in court this morning that then-White House press secretary Ari Fleischer, not I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, was the first person to tell him that a prominent critic of the Iraq war was married to undercover CIA officer Valerie Plame.
Testifying as the first defense witness at Libby’s perjury trial, Pincus for the first time publicly disclosed the confidential source inside the White House who told him in 2003 that the wife of former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV worked at the CIA on matters relating to weapons of mass destruction.
Fleischer testified last month as a prosecution witness that he mentioned Plame only to two reporters — John Dickerson, then of Time Magazine, and David Gregory of NBC News — during a trip that President Bush took to Africa.
Pincus, who covers national security and intelligence issues for The Post, told jurors that he was at his newsroom desk on Saturday, July 12, 2003, when he had a telephone conversation with a source. They were discussing a story he was preparing about a trip Wilson took to Niger on behalf of the CIA to explore reports that Iraq had sought to buy uranium from the African nation for its nuclear weapons program.
“The person I was calling suddenly swerved off and said . . . ‘Don’t you know, in effect, his wife works at the CIA, is an analyst on weapons of mass destruction?’ ” Pincus testified. He told the court that the source said, “That’s why people aren’t paying attention” to Wilson’s findings that the Iraq reports were unfounded, because he had been sent on the mission by his wife.
I am wondering if, over the course of the next few days, we are going to have a number of reporters testifying that each one was told about Plame for the first time by a different WH source. This would explain why, despite the cries that “EVERYONE IN WASHINGTON KNOWS WHO THE LEAK IS,” no one ever came forward to say who the leak was- they all had different ideas who that leak is/was.
Just an idea.
Zifnab
And if everyone in the White House broke the law, then none of them are guilty!
Once again, this administration hopes to defeat our court system by its sheer volume of lawbreaking.
Edmund Dantes
What Zifnab said. Like so many explanations they come up with to defend themselves, the alternatives don’t make them look any better. In fact, it usually makes them look worse.
“So many of us were leaking an undercover CIA agent’s name and thus destroying her cover that you can’t just blame me”
that’s a real winner.
Gatchaman
Sorry, I don’t see how that explains anything other than our press corps is timid and concerned more with access than doing the most basic part of their jobs — reporting. Indeed “Everyone in Washington” did know who leaked — but Nobody in Washington thought the rest of us peons deserved to know.
I could care less what happens to Scooter Libby, but if this trial exposes Russert and others as the clueless blowhards they are it would have been well worth it.
Term limits for pundits!
BobJones
Another point is that Fleischer already testified that he learned of Plame from Libby. So the leak is still traceable to Libby, if thats even relevant anymore.
TenguPhule
Improved.
Paul L.
I await for Fitzgerald to charge Armitage and Fleischer for outing a covert agent.
Oh wait, Valerie Plame was not covert.
And did not have anything to do with sending “Mr Truth” Joe Wilson to Niger.
CIA Manager Testifies Sending Wilson Was Val’s Idea
LITBMueller
And, that would support Conspiracy Theory #2,456.27, that this wasn’t just an over-zealous Scooter Libby trying to protect his Boss.
Andrew
Paul L would commit treason against this country if it meant he could get one tiny lick of Dick Cheney’s enormous penis.
Just a guess.
Tsulagi
And if anyone picks your personal little turd to examine out of the mountain of shit, claim Alzheimers. You don’t remember. For an additional assist if needed, announce you’re voluntarily entering alcohol rehab. Your responsibility and accountability ends at the clinic’s steps. Known fact.
Pb
That’s an interesting tidbit, but IIRC, July 12th is a bit late for it to really matter.
Zifnab
Of course, the real conspiracy is how the WMDs are in Syria and Iran north, south, east, and west somewhat. The Bush Administration has been trying to warn us, but the terrorist-loving MSM just won’t tell anybody.
When will it be revealed that Joe Wilson is an undercover Iranian double agent who’s been playing the liberals in the CIA for fools for years. Why won’t our government do the right thing and have both him and Valerie executed for treason?
We’ll regret our foolhardly witch-hunt of Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, and Scotter Libby. And that regret will be in the shape of a mushroom cloud. A mushroom cloud of San Fransico values.
dreggas
This is going to turn into one of the largest cases of finger pointing there ever was. Of course all the players learned from George “Pass the Buck” Bush.
Dave
I thought Scooter was on trial for perjuring himself in front of a grand jury? All this other stuff is smoke, albeit fascinating smoke. It’s a good peek behind the iron curtain, but not exactly germane to the case.
Maybe I shouldn’t be shocked, but the thing that really stuck out for me in this trial so far is what a shill Russert is. I actually used to respect the guy.
schmedlab
well…now we know why bush changed his language on how people involved with the leak would be treated. If he had to dismiss everyone exposed during the libby trial, he wouldn’t have a cabinet left.
Grrr
It was so long ago, so hazy now….
“Leaks of classified information are bad things.” – George Walker Bush
jaime
CIA Manager Testifies Sending Wilson Was Val’s Idea
Former CIA Iraq Mission Manager Robert L. Grenier appeared as a government witness in the trial of Libby on charges of obstruction and lying. He testified he told Libby that the idea of sending ex-ambassador Joseph Wilson to Niger was the brainchild of Wilson’s wife, Valerie Plame, who worked in the CIA office that sent him in 2002.
jaime
Whoops…sorry.
Anyway, this is in reply to Paul L.
There is sworn testimony to the fact that the CIA was acting at the request at the office of the Vice President. That is all Joe Wilson ever said. I DEFY you to find where Wilson ever said Cheney sent him to Niger. You will ignore it, because such a statement was never uttered.
Now that we have that cleared up, what does THAT have to do with the fact that no Yellow Cake was coming from Niger, Valerie Wilson’s cover being blown, or the fact that Scooter Libby lying to the FBI, Patrick Fitzgerald, and the Grand Jury?
jg
The title is hilarious. Intentional?
TenguPhule
Shorter Paul L: No Intelligent Life Found.
dreggas
Hilarious to you perhaps, to those of us with overactive imaginations it’s rather unsettling.
dreggas
I know this will be OT but am I the only one laughing at the fact that we are back to square one with North Korea vis-avis the agreed framework that was in place BEFORE bush took office. A framework he let collapse. They are shutting down Yongbyon (or however it is spelled) in return for shipments of fuel oil. Gee…sound familiar?
Hopefully this means N Korea can also stop being seen as Clinton’s fault.
Bubblegum Tate
So wait…does this mean Pincus hates America? It’s so hard to keep track these days.
dreggas
just see it as 75+ percent hate America and you should be fine.
jake
Yea verily. It is both squirm-o-riffic and cringetastic.
Paul Wartenberg
I am currently re-reading the court transcripts I am finding online. I do not see where Grenier states that sending Wilson was Val’s idea. I do see Grenier testifying about how the Office of the Vice President was feeling embarassed. Here’s an interesting quote from Grenier: “G They were trying to avoid responsibility for the truth about Iraq and Niger. Who was responsible for Wilson’s trip wasn’t really a question.”
Paul Wartenberg
Dear Paul L: Here is the definition of Non-Official Cover:
Non-official cover (NOC) is a term used in espionage (particularly by the CIA) for agents or operatives who assume covert roles in organizations without ties to the government for which they work. Such agents or operatives are typically abbreviated in espionage lingo as a NOC (pronounced “knock”).
Valerie Plame was COVERT. Speel it with me. C O V E R T. Which is why the CIA raised such a goddamn stink about it. Which is why an entire CIA-cover operation that had Plame listed as an employee had to close shop. Which is why we don’t have any serious and effective intel on Iran’s nuclear operations which was what Plame’s office was investigating, thank you very f-cking much.
grumpy realist
Especially amusing since all this finger-pointing is irrelevant to what Scooter Libby is charged with: perjury.
TenguPhule
Speaking of Leaks, Another VA breach of veteran information security
The Sponge Bob Administration. That’s what this is.
jake
You have GOT to be shitting me. How hard is it to understand:
1. Do not remove sensitive data from the building.
2. Do not remove sensitive data from the fucking building.
3. Do not fucking remove sensitive fucking data from the god damned fucking building!
Jesus Christ (NTZYM) on a pogo stick. And what do the people who might be affected get? Free credit checks. Woo. Hoo. I hope HHS steps in and thumps the VA this time.
Sojourner
Where’s Stormy?
Isn’t it time for her to make an appearance and assure us that outing a CIA covert agent is no big deal?
The Other Steve
This is really utterly amazing. Getting this view of the inside of the way the Whitehouse operates.
When John Roberts was confirmed, there were memos release from when he worked in the Reagan whitehouse. Those were interesting, because they spoke of criticism they were receiving in the press and that they should adopt policy direction to try to improve their image. It was a response that was very confident.
This Whitehouse, it’s like a bunch of whining little children. Any little criticism, they send out all the staffers to whine to someone about how mean someone is for criticizing them.
It’s really pathetic.
The Other Steve
Understand the leak did even more damage.
*Everybody* who had been operating in relation to that cover operation, was outed. You leak one, you leak everybody they’ve been in public contact with.
Zifnab
No one outed Valarie Wilson. We all knew she was gay.
Richard 23
Valerie shouldn’t have driven to Langley every day to park herself behind her desk and eat at the CIA cafeteria and should have resisted appearing in Vanity Fair if she didn’t want to be “outed” as a “covert” knock.
If she was “covert” when she sent her hubby Joe “the Liar” Wilson to Niger for tea, biscuits and treason, you’ve got to wonder who she was covertly working for. It certainly wasn’t the United States of America.
Didn’t the Plames donate money to the Democrat party, too?
The Other Steve
LOL!
Via washingtonmonthly
Selectively quote the blog to make it sound like a rightwing blowhard contest!
Pb
And now it’s time for… Name That Nutjob!
jaime
Let’s take this slowly for you, point by point, AGAIN for the retards on the site.
1) Valerie Wilson was working in proliferations. Those are the folks called NOC’s. Remember Mission Impossible? The first one? The good one? 2:30 hours of non-stop action. Why? Because the NOC’s were being matched to their names, which according to the CIA is not cool.
2) Her cover was blown when that piece of shit Novak decided to print to the whole nation that this lady Valerie Plame Wilson who works for an Energy Front Company is a CIA officer. She took the pictures AFTER. A-F-T-E-R she was useless as an agent.
3) How could a desk jockey at the CIA be so all powerful as to send someone to Africa? Pick a fucking talking point and stick to it. She is EITHER super powerful send hubby to Africa to get a tan CIA agent or a desk jockey. Can’t be both,
4) She was working for the division in the CIA that tells Dick Cheney that Iran doesn’t have nukes yet. Good people to get out of the way if you want to sell another bullshit war to the drooling 28%ers, huh?
5) The Wilsons supported Democrats AFTER their government tried to destroy them. Joe Wilson was considered a hero by your idiot king’s father by standing up to Saddam Hussein to his face.
And finally…Unless you pull out tons of Nigerian Yellow cake from your ass, Joe Wilson is undoubtedly right and you are wrong.
Richard 23
It must’ve been something I ate. Actually you may be onto something here. There was a heated discussion over at Scrutator about how the terrorists might smuggle parts of a nuclear or dirty bomb across the Mexican border in their bodies. It could still happen.
Sorry I don’t have the specific link to the discussion, but I think I got the sensible premise right.
jaime
You’re too good at this Richard 23.
At least Doug J back in the day had a hint of outlandishness. Your post could be pulled off any Plame comment at LGF or Redstate.
rachel
I don’t get this talking point that Joe Wilson went to Niger on a junket. Niger is one of the poorest countries in Africa, and it’s not exactly famous for its tourist spots. Why would anybody go there except on business? Do wingnuts think “any foreign travel whatsoever” = “OMG jetsetting fun!”?
lard lad
I’ve never understood why it made a goddamn bit of difference if Valerie Plame suggested using her hubby for the Niger investigation or not. Why do the kool-aid guzzlers hammer on this as a valid excuse for outing Plame? Joe Wilson had diplomatic experience in Iraq AND Niger – seems like impeccable credentials for the task at hand.
Oh, wait, my bad — Wilson wasn’t a Bushbot like Paul L. Clearly, he was the wrong man for the job.
Instead of leaving the appointment up to the CIA, maybe the White House should have tapped a more “trustworthy” source. Wonder if Mark Noonan was busy that week?
Zombie Santa Claus
I think this is the post you were looking for.
I was never proven wrong on that one either, moonbat motherfuckers. (/GOP4Me)
Eural
Hear!Hear!
Someone help me understand this – the outing of Plame was suppossed to help discredit her husband and his criticism of Bush’s use of the “yellow-cake” evidence, right? But as lard lad points out Joe was one of the most obvious assets to send regardless of their relationship and regardless of who was making the decision to send (again the request of the VP’s office!). So why would any of that discredit his criticisms of the President’s statements?
I just think – hey, someone made a good call on who to send to check on the story. It’s his wife? Good for her, sounds like a well-trained, competent agent who uses the resources at hand effectively. What I don’t think is “holy shit – Joe Wilson is a lying scumbag and Iraq is just minutes from nuking Des Moines!”
Richard 23
That’s the one ZSC. Over time that theory sounds more and more plausible if you give it some thought. And they were only brainstorming anyway.
There’s another GOP4Me (“GOP 4 ME”) who comments over at Blogs for Bush, but I don’t think it’s the same guy. His typekey id is “gbuchanan” I think, and he seems to lack GOP4Me’s sense of humor.
Sorry for going all off topic and all. Talking about non-covert desk jockeys and their DemoRAT supporting junket taking tea sipping liar husbands gets boring fast. Carry on, kooks.
Detlef
John Cole wrote:
Doesn´t that mean that in your theory they all must have compared notes? How else would they know that they all had a different source?
Dinner party. Reporter A mentions that his source was White House official X. Reporter Y then says that her source was WH official Y. Both then shrug and conclude that since their sources are different, none of them can´t be THE leak.
Is that realistic and credible?
Do reporters from different newspapers and media discuss their sources with each other?
If not, then how did they know that their sources were different people?
If yes, then why didn´t they write about it? Reporting that obviously not one single person was the leak but several persons. Wouldn´t it be news that several persons mentioned Valerie Plame to different reporters during that time frame?
One single source /leak might be a careless person. Several persons leaking the same information to different reporters however….
John S.
Naturally. That is why the CIA brought this entire trial to bear at significant time and expense to the taxpayer. Because it’s much ado about nothing.
Paul L.: The right-wing noise machine and blind ideology hard at work.
Tulkinghorn
Is a conspiracy, of course. This conspiracy was the original focus of Fitzgerald’s investigation, which was sidetracked when Libby obstructed the investigation. Once Libby is dealt with a new grand jury can be convened.
This is a high stakes maneuver, because if Libby is found innocent it may be difficult to get new indictments out of a grand jury, and considerable pressure from Gonzales will be brought to bear to shut down Fitzgerald. The good news is that Libby’s defense pretty much requires that he take the stand in his defense-I am looking forward to seeing what he says under oath this time.
Tulkinghorn
And forget Paul L. He just did his signature ‘hit and run’ on the thread. He will show up in a day or two with some different dishonest GOP talking point and beat a hasty exit again.
RSA
But can I remove sensitive data from the building? You know, if there were the chance of any blowback on Bush or Cheney aside from accusations of general incompetence, they’d happily classify and then declassify the personal information of all the veterans affected. No foul if you own the refs.
jaime
That’s another Plame-meme I hate…the Patrick Fitzgerald multimillion dollar Ken Starr-like witch hunt.
You can tell the wingnuts that Fitz was only working on it part time with a small crew of prosecutors and it cost about amillion dollars…but they will still blurt out the meme regardless.