Who Was the "Senior Administration Official?" Cited in the Post?

[riskpeace]

from the Post article:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11208-2003Sep27.html

"Yesterday, a senior administration official said that before Novak's column ran, two top White House officials called at least six Washington journalists and disclosed the identity and occupation of Wilson's wife. Wilson had just revealed that the CIA had sent him to Niger last year to look into the uranium claim and that he had found no evidence to back up the charge. Wilson's account touched off a political fracas over Bush's use of intelligence as he made the case for attacking Iraq.

"Clearly, it was meant purely and simply for revenge," the senior official said of the alleged leak.<snip>

So who was it?

Washington Post said "senior administration official" as opposed to "White House" official.

Powell is certainly a possible candidate. Although he is still out there with the administration line. After his speech at the UN, he seeemed to cast his lot with the war crowd. So his motivation is unclear to me.

But Tenet at the CIA would have motivation, the information, the means and it fits his apparent methodology in a similar situation.

He would have this information as a result of the CIA look at the situation before referring it to DOJ. He also would have the motivation to presumably leak it. He would be angered at the two "senior White House" officials who compromised the safety of the agent under his command.

Also, it sort of fits the pattern of the yellowcake stuff when the White House pinned it on him. Friday afternoon statements by the CIA followed by leaks damning to the White House for the Sunday Post. This history of course just adds to his motivation.

[Classical_Liberal]

1. Good question

How strange of the post to make a bigger issue out of Novaks stupidity than the leaker?

[riskpeace]

6. They did say this:

"It is rare for one Bush administration official to turn on another. Asked about the motive for describing the leaks, the senior official said the leaks were "wrong and a huge miscalculation, because they were irrelevant and did nothing to diminish Wilson's credibility."

But you are right the article did focus on Novak's role in this a bit too hard. Makes you think this new leaker is a big cheese.

[calimary]

15. Hate to be a nag, but has anybody called their congress rep about this?

Here, again, are some good referral numbers: TOLL FREE Capitol Hill Switchboard numbers:

1 (800) 648 - 3516

1 (800) 839 - 5276

Also check www.congress.org and go to the directory - where you can find the local AND Washington numbers for anybody you want.

Please, guys, first thing tomorrow (Monday) morning - call one of your reps! Or two! Or BOTH Senators and your congressman/woman. DEMAND that they look into this! DEMAND that they not let this story die or be covered up!!!

If they think we don't give a damn, they won't either.

[riskpeace]

18. I e-mailed yesterday; will call tomorrow

E-mailed my two Senators and my Representative (all Dems). I told them they should demand that Ashcroft recuse himself and that a special prosecutor be appointed. I pointed out that we needed to find out who in the White House has damaged the War on Terror and made me and my family far less safe.

I agree contacting your elected people is crucial.

[newyawker99]

29. Hi riskpeace!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[wryter2000]

2. Wow

Tenet seems like a really good guess. But for *any* senior administration official, that's an incredible statement.

Look like I'll be writing letters to the Congress intelligence committee members this week.

[fjc]

3. Huh?

What possible motivation would Tenet have? Why would he expose his own? The Whitehouse made him the scapegoat for the yellowcake thing. You'd think he'd want revenge.

[riskpeace]

8. No not his own

The post article said that a "senior administration official" leaked that two White House officials talked to 6 reporters and outed his agent. I was saying he is this senior administration official that is naming the two White House guys.

There are lots of leaks going around though.

[realFedUp]

4. Instead of starting a new thread on this...

there is another here in GD and one in LBN.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=422485&mesg_id=422485

[Classical_Liberal]

10. I disagree

The emphasis of this thread on the leaker is more appropriate and better for the dems than the focus on small fry Nofacts.

[riskpeace]

11. Thanks,

I did think that this was a different and interesting topic, though. As far as I know, this is the first time that a senior administration official has come out and pointed the finger at White House officials.

The Post says as much:

"It is rare for one Bush administration official to turn on another. Asked about the motive for describing the leaks, the senior official said the leaks were "wrong and a huge miscalculation, because they were irrelevant and did nothing to diminish Wilson's credibility."

I did not think it belonged in a topic on Novak and agree with others that he is not main focus of this whole mess. It also did not fit in Latest Breaking News.

I am new but it seemed to be an interesting line of discussion. It certainly would not be the first time I was wrong, however.

[calimary]

17. Welcome to DU, riskpeace!

Looks like you're doing just fine!

[riskpeace]

20. Thanks

That is mighty friendly of you.

[MattNC]

5. maybe

they just said Administration instead of White House. do they always make such a distinction in their articles??

[grasswire]

14. there is a very distinct language

...regarding sources.

Very senior administration official means Secretary of State (Kissinger established that terminology)

Senior administration official means a cabinet member or top deputy. (Could be Tenet in this case, although some insiders think it is someone from State and perhaps Richard Armitage.)

Top WH official means someone in the president's inner circle. Rove, Condi, Libby, etc.

There's no slop-over in the terminology.

[alfredo]

7. Wilson pointed at Karl Rove.

he didn't explicitly finger him, but he did a "Bush 9-11/Saddam word game" on Rove. It left little doubt about who was behind the crime.

[AP]

9. Rove is a suspect for the crime--unless he knew this was a felony. If...

...he did know, then they set someone up. It might be Scott McLelland. He has "fall guy" written all over him.

However, I have long had the sense that Bush was going to try to consolidate his appeal among the lunatic RW fringe one day by making a woman or a black person (or both) take the fall for him on something.

Rice (who kills two birds with one stone) said it wasn't her already. That leaves Karen Hughes, who's working from home these days. Maybe Matalin. That would put Carville in a terrible position -- would he fight hard for the Dems in 2004 if he knew that the mother of his child was going to jail unless the statute of limitiation sruns out under a Republican president, or that she needed a pardon. (If I were one of the candidates running for the Dem nomination, I'd call Carville right now if I hadn't already and tell him to keep working and that Matalin will be considered for a pardon.)

In any event, I don't for one minute think they wouldn't stab friends in the back if it meant that Bush was going to retain power, so nobody is off limits if there was a set up.

As for the source, who knows. It's always someone low down who might need immunity for something else (or for some possible complicity). It'll probably be someone we don't know.

[asjr]

12. official

And if it goes to the DOJ (sorry Dep. of Injustice) we will never know. This will continue to be covered up. Asscroft has too much power now to ever let go.

[riskpeace]

13. They called the leaker a senior administration official

I am talking about the person who leaked to the Post and said that 2 White House officials talked to 6 reporters.

I agree that Rove may be a candidate for one of the 2. But I doubt he is the source of the info to the Post. McLelland's mama is connected in TX so I am not sure if he will be one of the two to be fingered.

But the Post did refer to the new leaker as a "senior administration official" which makes me think that it is someone we know. Also, it must be someone with enough power to attempt it in the first place.

[grasswire]

16. see post #14 (eom)

[riskpeace]

19. Helpful to know the terminology

And your inside scoop is very helpful. I think this is a big change in that the internal fights in the administration now seem to be spilling over into public view.

[AP]

24. If it's an "administration" official, does that mean it's someone Bush...

appointed?

It wouldn't be anyone in an agency who is appointed by the head of the agency,

I think it was someone in the WH who is afraid of a felony charge. It bet it was someone in the press office, but in the second tier, not a top-tier administrator or a direct WH appointment of Bush's (like, an Assistant Press Secretary).

[jfxgillis]

21. Here's my analysis. Educated inference

1. The original bureaucratic in-fighting was between the more prudent (hate to say "dovish") STATE and CIA versus the more confident (okay, "hawish" works here) DEFENSE and NSC.

2. I regard it as unlikely that the Washington Post would single-source a story (ONE "senior administration official") about the CIA using only a CIA source. It's possible, but unlikely. Therefore, I infer that today's story was sourced at STATE.

3. Kissinger began the tradition of the Secretary being referred to as a "very" "senior administration official." Therefore, I presume the actual source was not Colin Powell, but one of his top deputies. Armitage, maybe. However, the charge is so serious Powell must have authorized the leak.

4. Factor in that the WashPost is nothing but a stenographer for Powell whenever he has a dagger he needs to stick somewhere, and Powell's office is your best bet for today's story.

5. As for the "two top WH officials," DEFENSE is a Cabinet Department, not in the Executive office of the President, and "WH official" clearly indicates EOP. The National Security Council, however is EOP.

6. The political office, Karl Rove, probably had nothing to do with it. The potential risk/reward of a political operator leaking a national security item is so imbalanced toward risk that no canny operator would consider it. Rove may be evil, but he's canny. Can't rule him out, but with better suspects at hand, I would draw another inference.

7. And look, there IS another suspect: Steven Hadley, Condi Rice's top aide, was intimately involved in the earlier contremps, had access to the info, and had a good reason to change the dynamic of the story earlier this year.

8. Cheney's office was also involved in the story from the get-go, and his top guy, Scooter Libby, is a long-time Middle East hand and would have made a dynamite "confirmation" or second source on the original story.

THEREFORE:

Today's story: Dick Armitage leaking to the Post about Hadley and Libby leaking to Novak.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it!!

[riskpeace]

22. Great educated inference

Missed two of your agngles when I was thinking it over (#2 and #6). I had not thought of those. Your story seems pretty plausible to me. Thanks for the information and perspective.

[jfxgillis]

23. Ooops. I forgot #9

9. Novak and Cheney go way, way WAY back.

Regarding inference 6, that's why all this crap about Clinton knowingly accepting "ChiCom money" is ridiculous. Like Clinton would risk the huge scandal they invented anyway for THIRTY GRAND in a campaign of about a quarter of a billion dollars?

Thanks for the kind words.

[grasswire]

25. jack, is that you? (eom)

[jfxgillis]

32. Yeah.

Jack Gillis

Who is this?

[eleny]

26. kick

[Tatiana]

27. Well...

We've got 2 White House officials and we've got 1 senior administration official.

My money's on Karl Rove as one of the WH officials.

As for the senior administration official... I'm going with Tenet. Don't forget Bush tried to pin the intelligence misrepresentations on the CIA and Tenet. Payback is a bitch.

[Jackpine Radical]

28. There's certainly no love lost between Rove & Powell.

My bet is that Rove & maybe Fleischer leaked to Novak, & somebody at State, following Powell's direction, partially outed Rove & Fleischer, but declined to identify them "on the record."

[frank frankly]

31. FLEISCHER!!!

Sorry to interrupt your lucrative retirement, Ari, but it's time for you to go to jail.

No, you cannot bunk with KKKarl!

[coda]

30. Didn't Tenet call for the investigation?

I would be very surprized if was Powell.


Rove is much more likely and in fact, regardless of who gets the blame, I'll always believe Rove had a hand in it.

It's treason, at the highest levels (you listening out there Ann Coulter?) and is responsible for incredible damgage to the department, devastating any sense of trust. Politics over country.

This isn't merely a straw that broke the camels back. It's huge in and of itself. Republican "honor and integrity" has been fully reinstalled in the White House.