Someone PLEASE help..I'm very confused

[burythehatchet]

You see, the President of the United States, or his spokesman, made the following statements regarding the outing of Valerie Plame:

"I don't know of anybody in my administration who leaked classified information. If somebody did leak classified information, I'd like to know it, and we'll take the appropriate action."

Asked in June 2004 if he’d stand by his pledge to fire anyone found to have leaked, Bush replied “yes.”

When the White House was asked specifically whether Karl Rove, Elliot Abrams or Lewis Libby told any reporter that Valerie Plame worked for the CIA, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said: “Those individuals -- I talked -- I spoke with those individuals, as I pointed out, and those individuals assured me they were not involved in this. And that's where it stands.”

"The President has set high standards, the highest of standards for people in his administration. He's made it very clear to people in his administration that he expects them to adhere to the highest standards of conduct. If anyone in this administration was involved in it, they would no longer be in this administration."

[RufusEarl]

1. Just between you and me, Bu$h lies! allot!!

[lonestarnot]

2. Hey bury the hat chet .... did you bury it yet chet? and do

you believe this?

[TheBaldyMan]

3. returning integrity to the WH

is anyone in any doubt now that the President has committed various illegal acts whilst in office ? Some that count as high crimes or misdemeanors that definately warrant impeachment.

Republicans in the House can't deny it any longer. The list will keep growing and if they want any chance of not being swept away in a tsunami of electoral disgust they had best start acting in the interests of the American people and stop serving their conglomerate paymasters.

[Inland]

4. I'm confused too.

Did Bush really think he would get away with this, or was it just easier to punt the matter until after the elections with a bald faced lie?

[Igel]

5. It boils down to an empirical question:

Was the NIE classified under the terms of the law and the presidential executive order when its contents were discussed by Libby with Miller?

If the authority for classification and declassification of information and documents derives from the EO, I doubt it (but that's just a layman's opinion). What the prez delegates, he presumably still has ultimate authority over (again, just a lay opinion). I suspect the NIE was formally announced as declassified, and released, 10 days later at presidential directive.

One DUer (another thread) made the counterclaim: the president was not authorized to declassify a document under procedures required by law for declassification, only the classifying authority has. It's unclear to me if the poster in using "by law" was asserting the existence of signed act of Congress that stipulated the process, making the executive order redundant, or if he was confusing the executive order with such an act. It's an important distinction.