Rove-gate: Who Leaked This isn't about Karl Rove

[shraby]

What if Karl Rove isn't guilty of knowingly leaking Valerie Plame's name as a covert CIA agent involved in nuclear proliferation issues? What if Rove's lawyer, Robert Luskin, is correct when he says that he's been assured by prosecutors that his client is not a target of the ongoing investigation into Plame-gate? I'm going to swim against the tide, here, and against the expectations of my readers, by suggesting that this investigation isn't about Rove – and, furthermore, that Rove is a victim, in an important sense, someone who was used and abused by the real culprits. And who are these mysterious culprits? We'll get to that in a moment, but first some background…

One thing that has always struck me as odd about this whole affair – and I wasn't the only one – is a seemingly minor detail: why did Novak's original column, which started all this brouhaha, identify Valerie Plame by her maiden name? After all, most married women – even in this era of Women's Liberation – defer to the tradition of taking their husband's name, but I have to admit that, even after wondering about it for a brief moment, I shrugged and moved on. As it turns out, however, this is an important detail, because now we have Rove's lawyer saying that he at no time gave out Valerie Plame's name: but if Rove identified her as Joe Wilson's wife, what the heck is the difference?

The difference is that, as Valerie Plame, Mrs. Wilson was affiliated with a CIA front company, Brewster-Jennings & Associates, engaged in tracking and stopping the proliferation of nuclear weapons. As soon as her name was made public, the implications for U.S. national security amounted to a grave breach – far more of a crime than merely violating the Intelligence Identities Protection Act, which has only had a single prosecution since its passage in 1982. As the Washington Post reported when the Plame scandal broke:

"A former diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity said yesterday that every foreign intelligence service would run Plame's name through its databases within hours of its publication to determine if she had visited their country and to reconstruct her activities. 'That's why the agency is so sensitive about just publishing her name,' the former diplomat said."

(more)
<http://antiwar.com/justin/>

This guy has this fingers on the pulse of the whole story.

[skids]

1. I just cannot see Rove being the "victim" here.

"What if Karl Rove isn't guilty of knowingly leaking Valerie Plame's name as a covert CIA agent involved in nuclear proliferation issues?"

Then he's still guilty of violating his security clearance NDA (the "knowingly" doesn't apply there), and of obstruction of justice or perjury.

"What if Rove's lawyer, Robert Luskin, is correct when he says that he's been assured by prosecutors that his client is not a target of the ongoing investigation into Plame-gate?"

Well, he hasn't said that. What he said is that back in 2003, Rove was not a target, and today he removed the "currently" from that sentence, which probably means exactly what it says -- back in 2003, he wasn't a target, but now...

At the very least, Rove blew it. Maybe there was a larger plot as well that he played into the hands of, though I doubt it, but that's just an *additional* level to this. Rove is culpable either way.

[shraby]

3. Did you read the whole article?

He lays out what he thinks happened here.

[Just Me]

53. It's an EXCELLENT analysis. Rove was the easy Patsy 'cause,...

,...he LOVES to be the character assassinator. I don't feel sorry for him, at all. He sold his soul long ago. I doubt, though, he fully understood that he is just as vulnerable to betrayal as the rest of us.

Anyhoots, pretty amazing how the network of deceit is being pulled together. A solid criminal conspiracy is being exposed. It's awesome.

I just hope that they are shattered before they force additional damage to our country.

[txindy]

62. Plus, KKKarl's work is done, so Dick doesn't need him, anymore.

The 2004 election is over. Dick would see him as expendable - and, possibly, too ambitious to keep around. Those secrets Rove collects (or starts) and all.

[tulsakatz]

5. target

Today I was watching Wolf Blitzer and he was interviewing a couple of attorneys regarding the Rove thing. Wolf asked them if Rove could take comfort in knowing he's not a target, as his lawyer stated. They said that when an attorney tells you that you're not a target, he means 'you're not a target now'. But that doesn't mean you won't be a target tomorrow.

So even if Rove's lawyer said he is not 'currently a target', that's still not much assurance that he won't be a target at a later time.

[skids]

13. Yeah, but read Luskin's words carefully.

He didn't say that the prosecutor assured him he wasn't a target.

He said back in 2003 the prosecutor assured him he wasn't a target.

There's a difference. Do you think they would come right out and say it, instead of mincing words like that, if Rove wasn't currently a target at this time?

[Imagevision]

48. Victims are US. troops dead and Iraqi civilians for the yellow-cake

Bush boasted about making his case to go to war!

Wilson was hip to Bushco lying about uranium claims made by Bush, so Bushco does whatever necessary to discredit Wilson because Bush had already made Niger yellow cake claim in speech to the public, once agian, the only option they have is to once again try to make Wilson appear to be ...? I don't what, Bush isn't half the man though that's for sure!

[Name removed]

2. Deleted message

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[shraby]

4. I repeat...read the whole article.

I've been following Justin for quite a while and he has a lot of insight and inside info.

[dogday]

6. You will see this Administration crumble

one lie will reveal another then another then another. I believe it will be bigger than we imagine as well....

[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

16. Deleted message

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[Kathy in Cambridge]

18. "from what I've been hearing, her source is Wilson himself."

and I'm sure you're hearing that from the Right Wing Noise Machine. :eyes:

[JimmyJazz]

20. *ahem* - it's paragraph 5 of the RW talking points memo.

just so you know :D

[Kathy in Cambridge]

23. Oh, that was on the RNC website earlier today

someone posted about it in GD

[Name removed]

27. Deleted message

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[JimmyJazz]

28. You aren't even making any sense at this point.

[JimmyJazz]

19. JUDITH MILLER IS A DEMOCRAT! WOW!

*looks out window for flying pigs*

[Name removed]

24. Deleted message

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[JimmyJazz]

25. Then explain to me why she was so fucking gung ho about the

war in Iraq because most Democrats - at least the ones I know - hate this FUCKING war.

[Name removed]

29. Deleted message

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[JimmyJazz]

31. pro-war? I don't think so. Many democrats were for the war in Iraq

based on the false information provided by the White House, but once they found out it was a load of shit, they stopped backing it.

BTW - realizing that we can't cut and run isn't anywhere near the same thing as backing the war.

[Name removed]

32. Deleted message

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[JimmyJazz]

33. It ties into you trying to tell me that Hilary Clinton is pro-war

You're the one who went off topic.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

34. Thats HITLERY to you

}(

[Just Me]

40. What are you talking about? Why have you posted GOP BS?

Where did you get your talking points which we have already specifically reviewed from the RW GOP memo and why are you spreading them here?

[Name removed]

41. Deleted message

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[Just Me]

51. *LOL* Yep. You did make up that shit totally on your own, I guess.

:rofl: You didn't provide any proof of that additional lie, "Wilson and Rove are partners". :rofl:

GOP SOP LIE LIE LIE.

You must be feeling quite full of yourself having been able to post more than a dozen posts before being spotted.

[Just Me]

50. Post links showing Judy is "onto Bush like a junkyard dog."

Post those links.

[PurityOfEssence]

44. So is Richard Perle

So?

[JimmyJazz]

45. Did you read ALL of my post?

[Jazzgirl]

49. You are wrong.

Nobody in her neighborhood knew anything about her being in the CIA.

:eyes:

[KerryOn]

8. No way...

... Wilson is working for Rove.
But, you neve know. Ha!

Welcome to the DU!

[stepnw1f]

10. You Will Never See (nt)

[blondeatlast]

14. HOoooh,. you've convinced me, only SEVENT THOUSAND more

to go...

:sarcasm:

[blondeatlast]

26. Sometimes what's good for the nation trumps party politics.

Rove is a threat to national security. It should be intolerable to protest one's own enormous ass vs. an entire nation's safety.

Rove leaked the name to A WELL-KNOWN MEDIA PERSONALITY.

Cut the crap and move on to someplace they will buy your bullshit.

[Tommymac]

35. Here too?

You are saying this in every thread...give us facts why Mr. Wilson should not be trusted. Links. Otherwise this sounds like a RW talking point.

Lots of Dems voted for Reagan and Bush 1 - and lots of Repups voted for Clinton. So what?

Representative Conyers had no issues having Mr. Wilson testify before his DSM hearing as a sworn witness.

Every Dem I have heard speaks highly of Mr. Wilson - indeed even Repugs spoke highly of him until this current campaign to impugn him.

[Name removed]

39. Deleted message

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[podnoi]

43. FREEPER ALERT!!!

Republican talkin points

[TruthIsAll]

54. He can't be a freeper with Liberal as a screen name and 15 posts.

Why would you say such a thing? These are not RW talking points; he's just saying what he knows to be the facts.

He's a welcome addition to DU. We need more of his kind to open our minds to a counter-reality.

This guy is sincere. He's a patriot. He's fighting for us because he's a liberal in every sense of the word.

Now let me go bang my head against the wall.

[bleever]

57. TIA, it always amazes me to find you out and about, given how hard

you work on the nitty-gritty.

Please, if you need to bang your head against a wall, borrow someone else's head. Yours is too valuable.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

58. Bwahahahahahaha!!!!

[Kingofalldems]

52. 'Democrat' Senator?

Now where have I heard that before? All repubs refer to the Democratic party as the Democrat party, just like you. How odd.

[Straight Shooter]

42. Same old post, different thread.

And never a link to a shred of evidence to back up such assertions. :eyes:

[Starfury]

9. Great article - it's long but definitely worth the read!

Recommended!

[ChiDem]

11. OK, I read it.

And I must admit I visit www.antiwar.com everyday.

This paragraph struck me as a bit off...

'It's about a cabal of war hawks inside the administration who passed on this information to others without telling them about Plame-Wilson's deep cover status, perhaps suggesting that she was just an analyst working at a desk rather than a covert operative involved in a vitally important overseas operation, the knowledge of which was highly compartmentalized and only dispensed on a need-to-know basis. When Rove and his shills blabbed to reporters and anyone who would listen, they didn't realize that they were aiding and abetting an elaborate ploy to stick it to the CIA.'

Because...As I understand it, Novak refered to her as a "cia oprative" in his column when he outed her.

Am I correct on this point ? ...If I am then the paragraph above wouldn't make sense.

[shraby]

15. He says "perhaps suggesting

that she was just an analyst working at a desk"
Perhaps they had a different description that they gave out which suggested she was an operative, but didn't spell it out in so many words leaving the interpretation to the receiver of the info.

[cestpaspossible]

12. Cheney always seemed the most likely person to be the mystery source

[Imagevision]

47. Go F___k yourself Cheney always manages to do a disappearing

act when the sh*t hits the fan. Cheney could very well be one of the 2 senior white house pfficials Naovak mentioned.

[kohodog]

17. Rove may well have had a bit part

But he still deserves to be fired. Fitzgerald hasn't kept the Grand Jury open for two years and jailed a reporter because Rove gave a wink and a nod to information about Plame. This, we will see is a much bigger scandal. The spin reaction of this magnitude is unusual.

I agree with Raimondo...they killed two birds with one stone. Wilson for exposing the Niger yellowcake lie, and Plame's network that was "following the money" with regard to WMD proliferation and terrorism as it related to other countries including Bush's Saudi friends, Packistan and more. If Fitzgerald is on to any of this it will be a bumpy ride for the Cabal.

Who knows, Plame may have been leaked from Chalabi to Miller to Novak and confirmed by Rove. Would you be surprised?

[Name removed]

21. Deleted message

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[Tommymac]

36. BOOM!

There is a firecracker planted here...but it ain't Plamegate.

[shraby]

22. Someone had to have leaked it to Chalabi

if that's the path of the lead, koho. I think Raimondo is on the right track from what Sy Hersh and Karen Kwaitkowski have written about the OSP as well as our own investigation. This thing is huge and many are going down if Fitz gets it right.

[kohodog]

37. When the frog march happens (and there will be many frogs imho),

I'm hosting a party in the Lounge!

I'll uncork the champagne and toast some of the heavy lifters on the DU Plame threads, and you will be the first Shraby! Then H20 Man, Robert Paulson, and the list will go on until the bottle is empty!

[Media_Lies_Daily]

59. Rove has had more than a bit part for decades.

[funflower]

30. He gets all of this from the fact that Plame was leaked as Plame not as

Wilson? Where I'm from, most professional women who are strong enough to be CIA under agents don't change there names when they get married, or at least they keep their maiden name for use in the biz world. I hardly think she would have used her maiden name as a way to keep her identity secret.

It's an interesting theory, but I don't see any real support for it in the article. Occam's Razor and all that.

[Just Me]

38. Excellent analysis!!! *LOL* Rove the patsy boy!!!!

:rofl:

Outside that laugh,...this is serious shit with serious repercussions. This cabal was willing to expose the American people to greater danger in order to war-profiteer. They are such sick f*cks!!!

[Imagevision]

46. No of course not - ultimately Rove story has has heavy implications

for Bush falsifying Iraq info for the lead up to war. -- Bush lied for his reasons to go to war and I believe that is the direction where this investigation is going.

Rove falls, Cheney and Bush got serious problems, will Rove take a fall for Bush/Cheney? anyone with the least amount of common sense can't believe Bush & Cheney didn't know what was going on.

I hope Fitzgerald lives up to his reputation.

[Imagevision]

55. Push come to shove? Bush would sell-out Rove in a New York Minute

as he watches his numbers contibue to fall.

[The Doctor.]

60. Good thing he doesn't watch polls... n/t

[bleever]

56. And the wind whispers: Cheney...Cheney...

Read this article if you want to impress your friends when this all comes out later.

:)

[Emit]

61. As I wrote on this thread here

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4114030

I posted this article yesterday (er, early a.m. maybe...)
And it was temporarily locked by the Mods for being an unreliable source. See link:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x1930463

As I wrote in my OP, it reads like a le Carre spy novel! And I feel like I just watched the trailer for the movie.



Anyway, thanks again for posting it, I think it was worth a third look. ;)