Josh Marshall has posted text of NEW White House letter

[diplomats]

The Second Gonzales letter, released late Tuesday ...

The following notice was sent to all White House employees:

IMPORTANT FOLLOW-UP MESSAGE FROM COUNSEL'S OFFICE

Pursuant to a request from the Department of Justice, I am instructing you to preserve and maintain the following:

"or the time period February 1, 2002 to the present, all documents, including without limitation all electronic records, telephone records of any kind (including but not limited to any records that memorialize telephone calls having been made), correspondence, computer records, storage devices, notes, memoranda, and diary and calendar entries, that relate in any way to:

1. Former U.S. Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson, his trip to Niger in February 2002, and/or his wife's purported relationship with the Central Intelligence Agency;

2. Contacts with any member or representative of the news media about Joseph C. Wilson, his trip to Niger in February 2002, and/or his wife's purported relationship with the Central Intelligence Agency; and

3. Contacts with reporters Knut Royce, Timothy M. Phelps, or Robert D. Novak, or any individual(s) acting directly or indirectly, on behalf of these reporters."

You must preserve all documents relating, in any way, directly or indirectly, to these subjects, even if there would be a question whether the document would be a presidential or federal record or even if its destruction might otherwise be permitted.

Knut Royce and Timothy Phelps or Newsday have done some of the best reporting of anyone in town on the whole issue of Iraq, politicized intelligence and the Joe Wilson matter. They've clearly got some awfully good and pretty generous sources. What are their names doing in this memo?

http://talkingpointsmemo.com

[Metatron]

1. Knut Royce and Timothy Phelps . . .

I think this is why they are named in the second memo:

Article from New York Newsday by Timothy M. Phelps and Knut Royce

July 21, 2003

"A senior intelligence official confirmed that Plame was a Directorate of Operations undercover officer who worked "alongside" the operations officers who asked her husband to travel to Niger."

http://foi.missouri.edu/voicesdissent/columnistnames.html

[MasonJar]

2. According to the news tonight,

According to the news tonight, the counsel did not relay the message until this morning, thereby giving the guilty ample time to clear their computers, etc.

[diplomats]

4. I read that somewhere, too

Probably used that window of opportunity to destroy any relevant records. Sigh

[papau]

5. 8:30 pm told WH - but no problem if no stop shredding until morning.

The department notified Gonzales about 8:30 p.m. Monday that it was launching an investigation but said he could wait until the next morning to notify staff and direct them to preserve relevant material.

In other words, not only did the Justice Department advise the White House of its decisions prior to making them public, but it specifically gave the White House time to potentially destroy incriminating evidence.


Remember the GOP position in the 90's? As in when the AG does not appoint a special prosecutor/independent counsel so as to protect the independence of an investigation:

"We need some more aggressive action, some stronger leadership. And I frankly think the attorney general should resign."

- Thad Cochran, Face the Nation, 09/21/97

[hedda_foil]

3. And just why does the period in question begin in February?

When exactly did Cheney say he wanted to know more about the Niger uranium claim?

And could it be inferred that Gonzales is giving tacit approval to destroying records that don't fit into this tight definition but that might be just a tad "embarrassing" to the administration on a whole range of subjects once investigators and potential special prosecutors get in on the action?

[alcuno]

6. It's February 2002

I think it was in January/February 2002.