David Corn: Might know identity of NSC staffer involved in "leak"

[janekat]

http://www.thenation.com/capitalgames/index.mhtml?bid=3&pid=1007

......After I learned from reliable sources the identity of a current National Security Council staffer who once worked with Valerie Wilson at the CIA in weapons counterproliferation, I wondered whether I should make the name of this person public, and I contacted the CIA.

This NSC staffer might--I emphasize, might--play a role in the Wilson leak scandal.

.....I know of no reason to suspect he or she is one of the leakers. (A recent Newsweek story referred to this NSCer, but it did not name the staffer.) But perhaps this individual--whom I was told is a CIA officer assigned to the NSC--mentioned Valerie Wilson's CIA connection to one or more White House colleagues during the period in which Joseph Wilson was causing the White House discomfort.

....Consequently, investigators probing the Wilson leak ought to ask this NSC officer--if they have not already done so--whether he or she talked about Valerie Wilson with anyone in the White House? If the Justice Department investigators can figure out how individuals in the White House came to know about Wilson's wife (if they did), then the gumshoes might be able to find a trail leading to the leakers.

I tried reaching this individual and could not get past the NSC receptionist, who referred me to NSC press spokesman Sean McCormack. He returned my call once, missed me, and then did not return subsequent calls.

I thought it would certainly be newsworthy to point out a White House officer who particularly deserved to be questioned by the Justice Department investigators.

-snip-

So should I ID this CIA person working at the White House?

It was, though, not a tough call. I have decried the Wilson leak and lambasted the White House for engineering it, doing nothing about it, or trying to exploit it (or all of the above). So I'm not going to drop a dime on this NSC staffer--not yet. Let's see how the investigation goes--to the extent the public can discern what is happening. I am assuming that the feds are aware of this person. If not, they should contact me. I'm dying to tell somebody.

[kentuck]

1. My first thought....

Did someone plant a name of a lower level staffer to cover their butts in this story? And David Corn was to be used as a conduit?

[ShimokitaJer]

2. This seems like an ego trip to me

"I know something that the CIA doesn't and they should think it's very important but I'm not going to tell them unless they ask me nicely."

[robbedvoter]

3. But will Asscrack find the time to get around to ask Corn?

Them houses of ill repute in New Orleans are a tough nut to crack dunno...

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

4. A pretty Canny...

Maneuver on Corn's part. If the DoJ comes to him with questions, they will then have to deal with it. If they do not, he has proof positive that the investigation is a sham.

A variation on the Tarbaby theme.

[msmcghee]

5. That's right.

A very chess-like move.

[janekat]

6. Yeppers

n/t

[blm]

7. That was my reaction, too.

"Here's the rope, now do what you're supposed to do."

[TacticalPeek]

8. Seems obvious he's talking about Alan Foley and Robert Joseph.

"...this individual--whom I was told is a CIA officer assigned to the NSC--mentioned Valerie Wilson's CIA connection to one or more White House colleagues..."

Corn's 'Nation' column sorta hinting at Joseph leaking seems to have slipped into the 'premium' access section, but consider the following:

snip

Meanwhile, a senior CIA official, Alan Foley, told the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence that he, too, was skeptical of the uranium claim, and said he had urged the NSC's chief weapons proliferation expert, Robert Joseph, to leave it out of the president's speech.

Wilson's wife works with Foley in the CIA's Nonproliferation Center.

On the other side of the dispute, the NSC's Joseph is said to be an ally of Cheney's chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby.

"Foley fought with Joseph about keeping the Niger claim out of the State of the Union," Cannistraro explained. "Cheney and Libby made sure it got in. Then you get a report from the CIA casting doubt on the authenticity" -- Ambassador Wilson's report.

"The leak was to punish Wilson, to disparage him with the suggestion of nepotism," he said. In other words, he suggested, the leaker was arguing that Wilson's report should not be taken seriously because he only got the job through his wife's intercession. (Wilson says his wife was not the person responsible for sending him to Africa.)

snip

http://www.sunspot.net/news/nationworld/bal-leak1001,0,653016.story?coll=bal-home-headlines


However, Corn makes the assumption that Joseph (NSC) needed Foley (CIA) to learn or confirm that Plame was CIA. Maybe so, but possibly Joseph could have 'come across' this on his own, since Joseph and Plame both worked proliferation at high levels in the executive branch.

However, I am convinced that Dr. Robert Joseph is the smoking pipe into the White House. Foley, though, is just one of a range of possible sources to Joseph.