GOP Chair of Senate Intel. Cmte doesn't KNOW if Plame was covert?

[Rose Siding]

via Larry Johnson at TPM Cafe...

By Larry Johnson
From: TPMCafe Special Guests
I guess Senator Pat Roberts believes that if he repeats a lie long enough it eventually becomes true. While it is one thing for a political bag carrier like Ken Mehlman to be woefully ignorant about CIA practices and procedures, it is downright alarming that Senator Roberts can be so misinformed. Today, while appearing on CNN's Late Edition, Roberts repeated the specious claim that Valerie Plame could not be undercover because she went to work everyday at CIA Headquarters.


Folks, there is no excuse for this level of incompetence. There are thousands of undercover CIA employees who drive through the three gates at CIA Headquarters in McLean, Virginia everyday. And this Senator from Kansas who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee has the audacity to blame CIA for intelligence failures? How can he recognize failures when he does not even understand the very simple basics about people who work undercover at CIA. He should spend more time reading up on the CIA and less time memorizing Ken Mehlman talking points.

http://www.tpmcafe.com/story/2005/7/24/134330/592

The quote from Blitzer's transcript....

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0507/24/le.01.html

snip>
...And I must say from a common sense standpoint, driving back and forth to work to the CIA headquarters, I don't know if that really qualifies as being, you know, covert.

Roberts goes on to call Wilson an admiral...:eyes:

BLITZER: But have you received a preliminary assessment of damage? Because usually when someone has been exposed like this, they do a damage assessment.

ROBERTS: I'll tell you what we have done in the 511 page document that we've released from the WMD report: We went into considerable detail in regards to the veracity of Admiral Wilson's testimony.

BLITZER: Ambassador Wilson.

ROBERTS: Pardon me. Admiral. All of a sudden, I've got him in a different, you know category. But the ambassador. And I'm just going to be very blunt about it. I don't think the White House had any need to discredit him. He discredited himself. He was all over the lot.

Now, I'm not going to say anymore about that because that's one issue.

In that one portion of the discussion, he weaseled out of DENYING having been briefed on any fallout AND fussily delivers his verdict on Wilson...cutting off any further discussion!

[Toucano]

1. I don't think it matters what they know.

They don't make the determination.

Edited to add:

Also, Valerie Plame didn't go to work everyday at CIA HQ. Valerie Wilson may have, but Valerie Plame did not.

[babylonsister]

2. OMG, Roberts sounds like the blivet! It is truly sad

if he's that ignorant about what's going on, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and claim he's part of the ongoing, ever-expanding cover-up.

[blm]

3. PLEASE demand Roberts testify under oath how he concluded Wilson lied and

decided with just two other Senators (Hatch and Blount) to add a separate section to the Senate Intel report that no other senator would sign onto.

I submit that Rove or someone on Rove's behalf COOKED THAT PART OF THE REPORT to distract the media from Rove's own guilt while further slandering Wilson.

And not ONE GAWDDAM REPORTER has challenged any of these senators HOW they came to their conclusions and HOW it ended up in their Senate Intel report.

[Disturbed]

4. Sen Roberts is a liar and a disgrace.

He and other Rethugs should be indicted for Fraud.

[acmejack]

7. No shit! He still owes us the other half of the 9/11 investigation!

You know the one about accountability, he promised to convene after the election? The sorry sack of crap. I actually thought him a person who cared about the best interests of the US, silly me.

Now that I think about it, he has used the secret hearing time and time again to diss Wilson. The old "I know something you don't know" gambit.

[Al-CIAda]

12. nope, not a single M$M reporter has even asked for justification

in throwing out such liable. Lying sacks of shit who have truly 'divorced themselves of reality'. This bucket of puss should not be in charge of mall security much less having anything to do with national intel..

[ClintonTyree]

33. Why did Leslie Blitzer let him get away with this crap?

Leslie's such a right wing tool, he doesn't even bother to hide it anymore. These lying Republican pieces of feces can say anything they want on these "News Channels" and never have to worry about being rebutted about any of their lies. It's carte blanch for Slug liars all over the air waves.
Their "talking points memos" are full of lies and distortions but the "anchors" (fitting title) of these programs just sit there and let them spew their bullshit unabated. Leslie and his ilk are such whores, gutless, spineless, wretched whores.

[democrank]

5. A prime example of

wacko Republican talking points tactics and media stars too cowardly to seek the truth. If Wolf Blitzer had an ounce of gumption, he would have fired back with some tough questions. Instead, he keeps things in check so he doesn`t appear unpatriotic, or worse yet...liberal.

[MrSlayer]

6. "All over the lot"

This guy must have been a used car salesman. No one uses the term except for those extremely sleazy people.

[democratic veteran]

8. Operation CRA

Cover Rove's Ass.

[housewolf]

9. Larry Johnson is one brave American hero...

I only hope he is acting as a role model for others who know things but who haven't had the courage to speak up yet.

[kestrel91316]

10. Breaking News : Inmates Running Asylum; details at 5.

[leftchick]

11. Thank God for Larry!

now why the hell was he not on CNN instead of Feinstien the lump to rebutt the traitor Roberts??? Oh, yeah.. I remember. :eyes:

[Al-CIAda]

13. .

[Ksec]

14. Intentional ignorance

He knows the rules and hes lying his balls off.

These people have 0 character. Its unbelievable that someone in this position would suk Bush off like this .Hes a coward. Its almost funny if it didnt have such serious consequences.

[mikelewis]

15. He also doesn't know if he's sitting on his ass or a hole in the ground

He's a fuck-head. I tried to look for a more appropriate description, one that does not have a cuss-word in it but alas, there isn't one. He is a fuck-head.

[Booster]

16. During the hearings the Dems had with the CIA guys, Larry Johnson

mentioned the letter the CIA guys had all signed and sent to the White House. I was amazed that NONE of these Senators knew of the letter - HOW COME I'VE READ THE DAMN LETTER AND THEY HAVEN'T??????
Don't these people EVER get on the internet(s) to find out what the Hell is going on? I was embarrassed by this lack of knowledge on something that is so damn important to all of us as a country. Get your heads out of your collective asses and pay attention.

[Al-CIAda]

22. Astonishing isn't it...Even our OWN 'side' is fucking out to lunch.

These assholes are just fine with lies, so long as their nest gets its cut. Disgusting, pathetic, and sickening.

[Booster]

27. Yes, it is disgusting. I'll bet everyone in Washington knows who

sleeps with whom, and yet they didn't hear FROM ANYONE that these guys from the CIA wrote a letter to the president? I just find this kind of thing hard to believe. They are all scum in my book.

[jaysunb]

17. Roberts continues to lie and distort.

I wish his next opponent will remember and use this against him next time he's up for election.

[H2O Man]

18. "The Rove Problem"

In the Time (7-25-05) cover story, Nancy Gibbs quotes a CIA official, "I'm beyond disgust. I am especially disgusted about the b____ explanations that she is not a covert agent. That is an official status, and there are lots of people in this building who are on that status. It's not up to the Republican Party to determine when that status will end for an agent." (page 34)

[peacetalksforall]

19. By Roberts statements, he is calling the CIA witnesses liars. He is

accusing Fitzgerald of running a bogus investigation.

These Senators have staff - there must be an intern somewhere in his office who reads the internet.

He is an absolute, un-American, stupid, embarassing non-representative of the people of his State and this country.

[napi21]

20. Well, at least we know Pat knows how to read. That statement

is directly off the talking points! Victoria Toensing, Ken Mehlman, and a lot of other Pubs have repeated it verbatum!

Too sad a US Senator would follow that BS!

[progressivebydesign]

21. OMG Roberts is a political ASS!

I mean for him to attack Wilson that way is unbelievable! They are playing total politics with something that is a GRAVE matter of national security. I'm utterly sickened by the GOP, the RNC, the White House, and the REpublican creeps, who are trying to sweep this under the rug. Traitorous, that is what the whole lot of them are. How DARE they dismiss something so utterly important and try to cloak it into some political game. Prison is too good for those crooks and liars.

[G_j]

23. Roberts has been part of the coverup

http://dailykos.com/story/2005/7/5/113751/4591

<snip>
Last July the SIC finally issued its report, which did indeed focus exclusively on alleged failures in intelligence-gathering. It was a peculiar thing to do, as Senator Rockefeller said. The main allegations the Committee had to face were that the intel, once gathered, was subject to intense politicization to produce the results that would "prove" that Saddam Hussein had dangerous WMD programs and was directly tied to al Qaeda, as the Bush administration said was the case. The Republicans insisted on taking a roundabout route to investigating the real issues, arguing that the work needed to be done in two phases: The first phase, completed last year, looked at the gathering of intelligence. It found--no surprise--that the intelligence reports that were generated were defective. A second and separate phase was needed, the GOP insisted, into what many people suppose is the main question, how the intel was treated before the reports were generated.

Republican members of SIC wanted to divide the work into two phases, rather than simply looking into the problem as a whole, so as to postpone investigating what they believe may embarrass the President--the politicization of intel, the very thing that needs to be investigated. Ultimately the Chairman, Sen. Pat Roberts, promised Democrats that after the 2004 election the Committee would investigate whether the intel was manipulated by the Bush administration.

At the time, many people decried the decision of the Democrats on SIC to go along with such transparent politicization of the hearings. If Bush manipulated intel to make a false case for war, voters deserved to know about it in a timely fashion. Many also feared that, once the pressure of elections was gone, the second phase would never occur.

And that is indeed what happened. Sen. Roberts has been hemming and hawing for half a year about when if ever the second phase will begin, as Pontificator's diary showed. He has declared that other issues are now more important than finishing the investigation. He has even had the gall to say that it "would be a colossal waste of time to replow this ground," as if the Senator's tractor has ever gone anywhere near this field. When pressed about his promise, he has retreated to vague assurances that it will be done eventually. Last Tuesday he was quoted by Chris Cooper in the Wall Street Journal as saying that he has no intention of re-opening the hearings. In other words, he is playing his fellow Senators and the nation for fools.

..more..

as we know the second phase never happened

[Al-CIAda]

24. And 'our side' are a bunch of panzy asses, who even now, are

reluctant to fully come at the blatent lies this junta is trying to get away with...after agreeing to such retardation.

[G_j]

25. it is hard to comprehend how

they agreed to let the second phase of the investigation be put off until after the election. It makes them appear to be part of the coverup for Bush.

[savemefromdumbya]

26. PATHETIC

does he know the meaning of SECRET/TOP SECRET? Obviously he doesn't understand how the CIA works or anything else for that matter!!!

[Supersedeas]

37. Yep

[housewolf]

28. Sen Roberts doesn't think Valerie was covert ENOUGH!

Some more from Josh Marshall's Talking Points, posted here

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4183831

[WillyT]

29. They're Lying, Because They Are Scared Shit-less !!!

Safire was talking the very same talking points (on MTP today), as Roberts, as Melman, etc. etc. etc...

They know something big is about to erupt, and until they begin to worry about their own worthless asses, they will continue to fiddle madly on the deck of this Titanic.

Curious though... if they wait too long, they're goin down with the ship no matter what. And for whatever honor they may have once had (if they EVER had ANY)...

To go down with the biggest pustule on the butt of American history will be their well deserved swan song.

Assholes!

:mad:

[Lecky]

30. Wow...this asshole never fails to amaze me

Apparently Roberts will be holding congressional hearings into whether the CIA does a good enough job at protecting the 'cover' of its agents.

Unfuckingbelievable

[fearnobush]

31. Roberts needs to pay for his Treason.

I say we demand that Asshole spew his Treason GOP talking Points under oath. Dam, I'd love to see that scum bag puke under oath, then burn for treason.

[Zorbuddha]

32. Oh, God, Roberts sounds like a real dufus.

There's no more dufus room in govt.

[B Calm]

34. How in hell did Wilson discredited himself??

[coda]

35. "I'm just going to be very blunt about it. ..."

"I don't think the White House had any need to discredit him."

LOL, here's a hint when discussing the litany of things this Admin has done in their context of, or relevance to "need". You don't look deep (i.e. National interest) but stay shallow, as in (political)self-interest. Revenge.

Too bad you weren't there to tell them they "had no need", Senator. Not that they wouldn't have done it anyway.

That's a hell of a dodge to a question about damage assessment BTW, but if "blunt" is what you crave, well.... here's a refresher quote from a senior Bush administration official, in case you're not clear on the "need" of it, Senator.



A senior Bush administration official told The Washington Post that, shortly after the publication of Wilson's piece in the New York Times -- which undercut the administration's case for launching a pre-emptive war against Iraq -- two top White House officials had called six journalists to disclose the identity and the position of Valerie Plame, Wilson's wife.

That same senior administration official said: "Clearly it (the leak 'outing' Plame) was meant purely and simply for revenge."

http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/07/18/how.dumb /



"discredited himself" and "..was all over the lot.", sounds suspiciously like the benchmark set by Colin Powell when addressing the UN in Feb 2005.

[mwb970]

36. I hadn't realized just how sleazy this guy is.

What is the matter with Kansas?

[ekelly]

38. What difference does it make

if she was covert or not?
From everything that I have seen and heard, that documentation was labeled in such a way that it should never have been discussed with anyone.
So who the hell cares WHAT she did every day?
She could have slept at her desk for all I care.
The point is, the info was secret and it was shared by people who had no right to do so.
The point is, wrong is wrong, no matter what level it's on or who is involved.
It makes no difference what Mr. Wilson said or did, no difference who sent him to what country, etc...etc....etc....
All distractions to divert from the fact that secret info was shared when it should not have been. PERIOD! The person(s) responsible for leaking secret info MUST be held accountable! PERIOD!

I am so sick and tired of all the distractions this administration is throwing around to take the heat off of their disgusting selves.

When is this administration going to be held accountable for ANYTHING?!

At this point, I think B* could take a dump on the tomb of the unknown soldier....in broad daylight....on camera, and get away with it!
Things are going from bad to worse every single day and our media and other supposed "leadership" are just sleeping through it all.

Sick...sick...sick!

(Now back to your regularly scheduled distractions)