Leak Investigation: The Russert Deal—What It Reveals

[maddezmom]

Aug. 1 issue - A deal that special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald cut last year for NBC "Meet the Press" host Tim Russert's testimony may shed light on the emerging White House defense in the Valerie Plame leak case. The agreement between Fitzgerald and NBC avoided a court fight over a subpoena for Russert's testimony about his July 2003 talk with Dick Cheney's top aide, Lewis (Scooter) Libby. The deal was not, as many assumed, for Russert's testimony about what Libby told him: it focused on what Russert told Libby. An NBC statement last year said Russert did not know of Plame, wife of ex-ambassador Joseph Wilson, or that she worked at the CIA, and "he did not provide that information to Libby."

This now appears significant: in pursuing Russert's testimony, Fitzgerald was testing statements by White House aides—reportedly including Libby—that they learned about Wilson's wife from reporters, not classified documents. Libby's lawyer did not respond to requests for comment. A source close to Karl Rove, who requested anonymity because the FBI asked participants not to comment publicly, says the White House aide—who passed info about Wilson's wife to Time's Matt Cooper—only knew about her CIA job from either a reporter or "somebody" who heard it from a reporter; he can't remember which or who. Rove did not initially discuss his talk with Cooper with the FBI, but later volunteered info about it and called agents' attention to a subpoenaed e-mail he had written to national-security aide Stephen Hadley mentioning the conversation, the source said.

more:http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8682500/site/newsweek/

[Starfury]

1. Looks like another nail in Libby's coffin.... n/t

[stocksthatgoup]

2. If it says Libby Libby Libby On the Label Label Label

Don't forget this was all set up by Rove.

[Skittles]

3. may I ask a question? I don't understand this

why would reporters know covert CIA statuses?

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

4. Generally, they wouldn't.

It's just this week's Institutionalized Republican Lie. They have a Cray supercomputer in the basement of the RNC that churns them out.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

5. Sort of like those programs that

write poetry.... they come up with some pretty interesting concoctions.... eh.

[Skittles]

6. yeah - my guess was

they had to blame it on SOMEONE and it was already known they had talked to reporters - JEEZ, they think idiot conservative voters will buy anything and in too many cases they are correct