Libby Traces Approval of Plame Disclosure Back to Bush

[JohnWxy]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-040606libby_lat,0,3687566.story?coll=la-home-headlines



By Richard Schmitt, Times Staff Writer
1:49 PM PDT, April 6, 2006


WASHINGTON -- President Bush personally authorized leaking long-classified information to a reporter in the summer of 2003 to buttress administration claims, now discredited, that Saddam Hussein was attempting to acquire weapons of mass destruction for Iraq, according to a court filing by prosecutors in the case against former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby.

Libby, the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, was indicted in October on charges that he lied to investigators about his role in the unmasking of former CIA operative Valerie Plame.

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Court papers filed by special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald late Wednesday said that before Libby's indictment, he told a federal grand jury investigating the leak that Cheney told him to pass on information about a secret National Intelligence Estimate to the press and that Bush had authorized the disclosure, according to the court papers.



NOW MORE THAN EVER - TIME TO IMPEACH.

[grytpype]

1. Why don't you read your own article.

He says Bush authorized him to disclose part of a classified NIE, not Plame's CIA affiliation. How about changing your title (and the other one you posted too).

[JohnWxy]

4. Leads to oval office. Maybe I'm being optimistic, but give it time.

[brentspeak]

5. It's not so much that you're being "optimistic"

You're deliberately confusing people here. Is that what you're trying to do on these boards?

[JohnWxy]

6. DID BUSH OUT PLAME? Leaked CIA Memo Contained Reference to Plame

That classified NIE contained an annex referencing Valerie Wilson as a CIA analyst in a concluding memo prepared by the State Dept. challenging the assertion put forward by the White House that Iraq had sought uranium yellowcake from Niger as part of its alleged nuclear weapons program.

"Bush started the ball rolling in outing Plame, lied about this to the Special Prosecutor, and committed the felony offense of Obstruction of Justice. He may have also opened himself to charges as a co-conspirator under the IAIPA."


By the way, there is a procedure in place for declassifying documents which even the PResident is expected to follow. It does NOT allow for PRes to decide a document is declassified and then in the same moment distribute said document, by way of a leak, to selected individuals outside the Government.

If Pres wants to declassify a document he directs the office in charge of maintaining the classification of documents and then THAT office officially removes the document from the list of classified documents and notifies all approved to see that document that it is no longer "classified" material, meaning they no longer have to handle it consistent with procedures for handling classified material (locking up or otherwise securing the document when not in immediate possession of individuals authorized to see the document, for example). Once the document security office has informed all paries in the Government that the document is no longer classified then if the Pres wants to make the contents of the document public he may do so in a public release of this information (not a phone-call to leak intel to certain chosen people).

[Igel]

7. Yes, and that post uses that all powerful

"it appears".

So, really, while your title is simply inaccurate wrt the article you post, the conclusion you rely on is a large "it appears * did it."

[JohnWxy]

8. I offered the post and article not as a final word on the issue but

just as a further development/report on the unfolding story.

Look, I don't really care if you want to confront me about my posts on this subject. But you won't be arguing with me, because I am not arguing with YOU. You see, my attention is directed at Washington and the White HOuse on this matter. I will continue to follow this story, even if I must drag you along (teeth sunk into my ankles, growling) all the way.

As I said, post your arguments/confrontational criticisms, if you like, but I am not going to argue with you. I am just going to watch this story unfold. I feel my attention is much better directed at the players in this story than at you. I hope this doesn't offend, but then, I can't help it much if it does.

Try to have a nice day.

[H2O Man]

2. Wrong.

The headline is simply not true.

[HereSince1628]

3. Let's try to get this right. Being so obviously wrong fuels the R's

proxy attack on us. We will be guilty therefore the pResident will be innocent.

Let's not get into that.