Bush* Vows Action if Aides Had Role in Leak

[kskiska]

By Mike Allen and Dana Milbank
Tuesday, September 30, 2003; Page A01

President Bush's chief spokesman said yesterday that the allegation that administration officials leaked the name of a CIA operative is "a very serious matter" and vowed that Bush would fire anybody responsible for such actions.

(snip)

A senior official quoted Bush as saying, "I want to get to the bottom of this," during a meeting yesterday morning with a few top aides, including Rove. Senior intelligence officials said yesterday that the CIA filed what they termed a "crime report" with the Justice Department in late July, shortly after syndicated columnist Robert D. Novak, citing two unnamed administration sources, identified Wilson's wife by name. The CIA report pointed to a "possible violation of federal criminal law involving the unauthorized disclosure of classified information."

Three weeks ago, intelligence officials said, the CIA returned to the Justice Department a standard 11-question form detailing the potential damage done by the release of the information. Officials said it may have been the first such report ever filed on the unauthorized disclosure of an operative's name. Word of the Justice probe emerged over the weekend after the CIA briefed lawmakers on it last week.

Another journalist yesterday confirmed receiving a call from an administration official providing the same information about Wilson's wife before the Novak column appeared on July 14 in The Post and other newspapers.

The journalist, who asked not to be identified because of possible legal ramifications, said that the information was provided as part of an effort to discredit Wilson, but that the CIA information was not treated as especially sensitive. "The official I spoke with thought this was a part of Wilson's story that wasn't known and cast doubt on his whole mission," the person said, declining to identify the official he spoke with. "They thought Wilson was having a good ride and this was part of Wilson's story."

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A17129-2003Sep29.html

[salin]

1. So concerned that the report filed with the DoJ in JULY

is just getting talked about two months later. Guess that concern is only when the media is looking, eh, W. No real concern about compromising national security - not at all - two months went by - not an ounce of action.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

4. Not an OUNCE of action is prima facie evidence that they are involved

if they weren't...why wouldn't they have investigated it sooner? Why are they only now offering their cooperation?

If they had NO KNOWLEDGE and were IT NOT one of them...wouldn't they naturally have investigated it already? It IS national security is it NOT?

[Fuzz]

10. Remember,

Bush doesn't get his news from any other source than his aides. Why would they bother him with this troubling news if they didn't have to?

[jono]

14. And

if you believe Scott McClellan (admittedly a big "if"), his aides don't have any other source than "media reports."

[snippy]

25. "Not an OUNCE of action" probably is why the story was leaked to NBC.

Whoever leaked to NBC about the CIA request for an investigation probably did so because the DOJ was dragging its feet or working on the coverup.

[SilasSoule]

2. Right

The assholes are COLD CALLING JOURNALISTS, looking to leak CLASSIFIED info, the disclosure of which is a FELONY. And the WH KNOWS who they are.

Why are these sleazeball lawbreakers walking the streets???

[Robin Hood]

3. Bush has stone waled the CIA for two months on this issue.

And now that it has been handed over to the DOJ, Bush acts like it's the first that he's heard of it. Yeah, right.. party of responsibility my ass.

[grytpype]

5. He vows to fire the responsible..

... but can't be bothered to look for them.

There are lots of people out there who know who the two White House leakers were. Those names will come out, and Bush will have to fire them.

[Betty]

6. Bush is a puppet

and I really doubt he's in any position to get rid of rove or anyone else who is telling him what to say.

[saigon68]

32. Puppet not-- he's a Lapdog

Incapable of any independent thought or action.

[The Magistrate]

7. That Is Just So Cute

"LET'S GO GET THOSE BUSH BASTARDS!"

[Stephanie]

8. That dialogue sounds like it was written by the same guy who wrote DC 9/11

A senior official quoted Bush as saying, "I want to get to the bottom of this," during a meeting yesterday morning with a few top aides, including Rove.

"If some tinhorn terrorist wants me, tell him to come and get me! I'll be at home! Waiting for the bastard!"

Both quotes are equally credible. What a lying POS.

[benfranklin1776]

13. Good point.

Both quotes are so hackneyed and corny they wouldn't appear in a B movie screenplay since they are so laughable given the diminished capacity of the actors. It is as believable as Bluto Blutarski in Animal House giving a soliloquy from Hamlet and having the audience be expected to take it seriously.

[thebigidea]

17. spot on, Stephanie

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

9. Why did I just flash back to the scene

in The Monkees where Peter Tork (with the face of the deserter), is in that silly superhero suit, trying to leap into the air? "Taking action" is not something I will hold my breath waiting to take place in this misadministration, unless it is the cabal packing their bags and hijacking Air Force One so they can fly out past American air space.

Puh-leeze!

[opihimoimoi]

11. Iz Bussh gonna fire himself???

[cliss]

12. "I want to get to the bottom of this"

means Bush wants to locate a scapegoat. Since this mess won't go away on its own like he hoped, now he has to deal with it.

I've read on several threads that Ambassador Wilson has longtime insider connections, and he knows what he's doing. He's got more information for the press, and they're going to be giving them more...

(sorry fellow DU:er, I forgot which post you wrote this on)

[radfringe]

15. vows action IF AIDES are involved???

ummm....how are you going to find out if admin-aids were involved or not if you don't take some action to investigate?

BTW - remember the reich-wing wailing and screaming over Peter Arnet, one of the embedded reporters in Iraq? Revealing loctions? Horror! Traitor! They cried

How different is this versus Novak outing a CIA agent? Granted this goes beyond just Novak making the information public - but Novak also had the choice of NOT revealing it due to national security. revealing the name in an editorial is just as damaging as giving that name to an "enemy" government.

Novak's explaination of "confirming" it with the CIA is no explaination - it's just spin and bushit. 40-something years as a journalist doesn't give him the right to "out" an agent - it has nothing to do with being patriotic. Ames had years as an agent - but his butt is in jail for revealing information.

Bush Bashing??? Novak should really read his own columns - he's written about the "ARROGANCE" of the whistleass's administration several times. Also if it weren't for his article on Plame, it wouldn't be news today - so he has only himself to blame for this "bush bashing"

My partner wants to write him a letter thanking him for writing the article and creating this scandal than is causing the whistleass all this trouble and concern.

[annagull]

16. I voted for a GODDAMN PRESIDENT!!!!!!

My guy didin't win. Still I expect a fucking President to knock some heads around, and to be more than this loser we have now. Aww, manm It sucks being American anymore.

[lumpy]

18. 'Bush vows action'

What's he going to do, kill the sob ?

[SodoffBush]

19. That's not what the WH was saying yesterday.

“President George W. Bush has no plans to ask his staff members whether they played a role in revealing the name of an undercover CIA officer.”
- 9/29/03 source

[robbedvoter]

20. Here's one typical question from yesterday briefing:

QUESTION: Scott, just to confirm, the President would rather the Department of Justice launch an investigation of this
White House or the broader administration, rather that than him, you know, sort of broadly saying, anybody who
works for me who was involved in this, you better 'fess up now, because we don't want to go down the road with the
FBI. He'd rather the FBI do it, rather than him give the directive, himself? "

I also liked when someone asked if W shouldn't um...smoke them out?

[Snellius]

21. That makes SEVEN journalists besides Novak who know

who received phone calls from an "administrative official". Seven reporters who can scoop this story any time they want by naming the "administrative official". And according to the Post's Sunday article that official was a "White House" official.

[Not a robought]

22. Some intern who has been working at the White House

for 2 months is going to be taken down bad.

[underpants]

24. Yes bring out the redshirts

Which is BS because as DiIulio's letter to Suskind at Esquire pointed out the interns and even the staff are not used for any kind of analyis or anything else for that matter. These decisions are all made at the top and the political arm is running the show.

[snippy]

26. Maybe. But it can't be just one intern or rogue low level staffer.

Two different White House people were shopping the story of Plame's CIA work. Someone coordinated those two at the very least and probably instructed them to leak the story in the first place. That coordination is one of the reason's that I think Andy Card's White House Iraq Group was behind this. No interns or low level staffers are members of the WHIG.

[OldCurmudgeon]

27. some intern?

then who was it that passed the intern highly classified information?

The identities of covert operatives is something that would be very rarely shared with "political" appointees: where is their "need to know?".

Unless, of course, those appointees are in the chain of command and issue direct orders to get that identity of an operative.

This goes right to the top.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

30. Prima facie evidence.

There are only a handful of people who meet that "need to know" criteria. You're right on the money, OC.

[Name removed]

23. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[AntiCoup2K4]

28. What if they made Ari F-LIE-scher the fall guy.

Nobody believes him, he's already out. No loss for team BCE. Wouldn't surprise me.

[snippy]

29. But there were TWO White House people shopping the story.

[cliss]

31. Question:

since we now know that the 2 blabbers were Karl Rove and Dick Cheney, is any of this related to the mysterious things that were happening a couple of weeks ago? Remember, Cheney got on TV shows and made comments which were later refuted by Bush, Rice, Powell and who else? It had to do with the connection between 9/11 and Weap. of MD.

A lot of people here thought it looked like they were setting Cheney up to be the fall guy, or in some other way made to look like a fool.

Are these events related?