I'm confused about the new "leak" story.

[skypilot]

Bear with me because I'm at work and am just checking in now and then. I've been glancing over the latest stories about the leak investigation and I'm not sure I'm getting it. My question is this:

Libby has said that Cheney said that Bush said that it was OK to leak...what exactly?

[MsUnderstood]

1. libby said cheney said bush said

that it was okay to leak "INFORMATION" but so far the news reports don't say if it was specific info or just "leak whatever you need to"

[skypilot]

6. Thanks.

I was afraid that there was some specific information being referred to that I wasn't understanding.

[benddem]

10. libby took that

to mean he could leak Valerie plame's status.

[skypilot]

14. Libby took that to mean...

Or is that how they are going to spin it? You know, Libby was acting on his own based on his OWN interpretation of Bush's instructions? Hmmm.

[monarch]

2. You're falling quickly behind

It's MUCH better than that! Postings go back at least (at least they did when I started posting) to page two of the comments. Fitzmas for sure!

ON EDIT: punctuation

[IsItJustMe]

3. Chimp supposedly gave Chainy a genreal instruction to release clasified

information if would build the case to go to war with Iraq. Chainy and libby discussed this and additionaly talked about Blame. Libby decided to leak the information to Bob Woodward.

[proud2BlibKansan]

7. Wowo Woodward is in on this?

That slime.

[Seen the light]

4. Self-deleted

Delete

[proud2BlibKansan]

5. No specifics yet about what exactly he was authorized

to leak. The big news is that he WAS apparently authorized to leak info.

[wookie294]

9. He was authorized to leak info in the National Intelligence Estimate

From Waas' article....

I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby testified to a federal grand jury that he had received "approval from the President through the Vice President" to divulge portions of a National Intelligence Estimate regarding Saddam Hussein's purported efforts to develop nuclear weapons, according to the court papers. Libby was said to have testified that such presidential authorization to disclose classified information was "unique in his recollection," the court papers further said.

http://news.nationaljournal.com/articles/0406nj1.htm

[rodeodance]

8. Triple leaks--as in 3 per Waas, here

http://news.nationaljournal.com/articles/0406nj1.htm


ADMINISTRATION
Libby Says Bush Authorized Leaks
By Murray Waas, National Journal
© National Journal Group Inc.
Thursday, April 6, 2006

Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff has testified that President Bush authorized him to disclose the contents of a highly classified intelligence assessment to the media to defend the Bush administration's decision to go to war with Iraq, according to papers filed in federal court on Wednesday by Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the special prosecutor in the CIA leak case.

I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby testified to a federal grand jury that he had received "approval from the President through the Vice President" to divulge portions of a National Intelligence Estimate regarding Saddam Hussein's purported efforts to develop nuclear weapons, according to the court papers. Libby was said to have testified that such presidential authorization to disclose classified information was "unique in his recollection," the court papers further said. ...


The White House had no immediate reaction to the court filing.

Although not reflected in the court papers, two senior government officials said in interviews with National Journal in recent days that Libby has also asserted that Cheney authorized him to leak classified information to a number of journalists during the run-up to war with Iraq. In some instances, the information leaked was directly discussed with the Vice President, while in other instances Libby believed he had broad authority to release information that would make the case to go to war.

In yet another instance, Libby had claimed that President Bush authorized Libby to speak to and provide classified information to Washington Post assistant managing editor Bob Woodward for "Plan of Attack," a book written by Woodward about the run-up to the Iraqi war. ......

[rodeodance]

11. see Waas article below

[stop the bleeding]

12. you mean above and Waas is right about 3 kinds of leaks n/t

[leftstreet]

13. The Corporation said: go with the leak story, not the immigration story

UPDATE 1-U.S. Senate strikes deal on immigration bill
Thu Apr 6, 2006 11:54 AM ET

WASHINGTON, April 6 (Reuters) - U.S. Senate leaders on Thursday announced a bipartisan compromise on an overhaul of U.S. immigration laws, giving some illegal immigrants a path to citizenship and creating a temporary worker program.

"I think we're looking like we may be able to dance this afternoon," Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada told reporters.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, a Tennessee Republican, appeared with Reid and said "We have a great opportunity to deliver to the American people what they expect, what they deserve," a comprehensive border security and immigration reform bill.

The deal, which would include a temporary worker program backed by President George W. Bush, would allow illegal immigrants who have been in the United States more than five years a chance to become citizens if they meet a series of requirements and paid a fine. Other rules would apply to people in the country less than five years.

http://tinyurl.com/ojf5d

[proud2BlibKansan]

15. You have to admit

The leak story is a bit more important.

[mattclearing]

17. I'm not sure about that.

The immigration story affects more people, I think.

[proud2BlibKansan]

22. So you think it is more important than

the possiblity that bush may have to resign or he will be impeached for breaking the law?

I don't. Are you old enough to remember Watergate? Life as we know it stopped while those hearings were being held. Nothing else really mattered. And this is a MUCH WORSE offense than what Nixon did.

[mattclearing]

35. Worse than ordering a burglary of the opposition's headquarters?

This is worse in the national security sense, but it isn't nearly as sexy. This could be swept under the rug.

But 26 million people could have the opportunity to become American citizens because of the immigration bill. It's a very big deal.

Whether or not this NIE leak authorization thing will pan out remains to be seen. I'm not convinced.

[leftstreet]

36. Millions of people probably think Scooter Libby is a video game character

And NO ONE is surprised to hear that Bush might be involved in something wrong, bad, illegal, or just plain nasty. What's he polling at lately? 28%? 20%?

Are you surprised by the court filing saying Bush OK'd a leak on Iraq?
No 82%
Yes 18%
Total Votes: 81,110
http://articles.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20060406121209990007

The immigration reform IS the news of the day. Significantly newsworthy given that massive street protests forced politicians to shit themselves.

Hasn't happened since Vietnam.

[rman]

41. The media don't have to cover only one important story

One important story will be covered at the expense of another important story only if it suits the owners of the MSM (General Electric etc).

[H2O Man]

16. The NIE.

This was information from the National Intelligence Estimate that supported the idea that saddam had attempted to acquire the components for nuclear weapons. It is not about Plame's identity. However, it shows that the president was more deeply involved in the controversy than previously admitted by any administration source.

[salin]

18. is whatever he purported to have declassified, been reclassified?

Do we have any idea if anyone outside of the WH knew it was declassified? Whole thing sounds like a long after the fact set of fabricated explanations.

[H2O Man]

19. Go to pages 27-28

of Fitzgerald's document. It should clear up this question.

[salin]

28. It sounds like he (Libby) is being accused of after the fact

trying to find documents that would suggest the info was not classified (from the two pages you suggest)... Am I reading this correctly? So implication is that he then glombs onto the NIE and suggests that bush had declassified it? (I haven't read the whole thing, I admit.) Sounds like a hunting job and then some not necessarily well documented claims made by Libby that don't necessarily indicate whether or not Bush actually had declassified the info. ?

[stop the bleeding]

23. Waterman -

As reported by Truthout - NEI contained annex versions of the INR to refute Uranium claims,

http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:NHDd0tgo-ikJ:www.truthout.org/docs_2005/102005A.shtml+NIE+INR+libby+plame&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=2


according to Roger Morris - Plame's status was contained in the INR

http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:RajaUXFaeDcJ:www.counterpunch.org/morris07272005.html+Rice+on+Air+Force+one+to+Africa&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=13

Both documents were being used/leaked at the same time by the same people, how much of a stretch is it for Plame's status to be part of the altered version of the NIE? Especially after reading the Court Docs today that shows this leaking was in rebuttal of Wilson's attacks.


How much of a stretch is that Plame's status was leaked while discussing the NIE?

[stop the bleeding]

26. and this about NIE vs INR footnotes - very interesting

http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:XwvRFlFgE9gJ:www.tpmcafe.com/story/2005/7/21/101119/905+NIE+INR+libby+plame+Ari&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=7

you have to scroll down a ways

[0007]

32. I found it!

[H2O Man]

27. Sure it was.

I'm not questioning that. I am pointing out that, according to Fitzgerald, the president was okaying the release of specific information. The last paragraph on page 27 addresses this. I am not disagreeing with the idea that Cheney was instructing Libby to go for broke. And it is clearly worth asking, "What did the president know? And when did he know it?" But it is important not to make Fitzgerald's document say more than it does.

PS: look for an e-mail.

[stop the bleeding]

30. Yep - Fitz did not state that in the filing but one could infer based

on what was said, who said it, and why they said it, also begs the question of where did they get their information from. I am trying to establish a direct link to the NIE and Plame's covert status via the INR

more here from Waas's earlier March article on NIE vs INR

http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:EebArASO0swJ:news.nationaljournal.com/articles/0330nj1.htm+NIE+INR+libby+plame+Ari&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=5

[salin]

33. call me dense - I have read that twice and I don't see it?

I see the plea by Libby to have a statement exonerating him, and I then see a looser exoneration than was requested given.

[stop the bleeding]

37. Waterman - last paragraph of page 27 - 1st sentence

does this language sound like Fitz is saying that Hadley or Rice outed Plame?????

"During this time, while the President was unaware of the role that the VP's Chief of Staff(Libby) and Nat. Sec. Advisor (Rice or Hadley?) had in fact played in disclosing Ms. Wilson's CIA employment,...."

What is your take on this??

[Garbo 2004]

34. Plame info was leaked to Miller when Libby met her to discuss NIE.

This was July 8, when Libby said he was authorized to tell her about the NIE. Libby denied telling her about Plame, but Judy was tired of being in the slammer and talked.

Libby couldn't very well testify that he was authorized to leak Plame's identity when he was claiming to Fitz/grand jury that he didn't know Plame's identity at the time (or didn't remember that he knew) and didn't leak it. It was all about the NIE, he said, at that July 8 meeting with Miller.

But Libby also neglected to mention to them a June 23 meeting where he discussed Wilson's wife with Plame. Judy also didn't intially mention that meeting but had a case of "recovered memory" after Fitz encouraged her to go back and refresh her memory about her dealings with Libby. (Fitz knew they had met in June. If my memory serves, her name was on a sign in sheet in the Old Executive Office building where Libby's office was.)

No doubt Libby indeed was authorized for the whole boatload, Plame's identity and intel info on Iraq, but that's not what Libby testified to, based on current court filings.

[stop the bleeding]

38. Yep

Thanks for the notes Garbo 2004

[Freddie Stubbs]

39. So he didn't say that is was OK to leak Plame's identity?

:shrug:

[zbdent]

20. Nobody's challenging Libby's truthfulness

they're all defending Bush's "right" to leak whatever he wants . . . so it has to be true!

[H2O Man]

21. Mr. Fitzgerald is. n/t

[zbdent]

24. Fitzy's questioning Libby's testimony

that the info came from Bush/Cheney himself?

[Catherine Vincent]

25. You're right. Libby still lied.

[bush_is_wacko]

29. I'm in the same boat. To me it looks as if Chimpy can just blame it

all on Cheney who looks like he's ready to go anyway. His interest in this presidency is Halliburton anyway. Unless Cheney gets jail time he hasn't lost much of anything.

This reminds me of the Iran-contra crap. This guy blames this guy and this guy says this guy said it was okay. In the end one guy ends up as the scapegoat and the rest of their names are a footnote in the minds of the American public.

While there is certainly an impeachable offense that has been committed here, there were several during the Iran-contra era as well. I still have a heard time believing Reagan was so out of it at that time he knew about none of it. And look what happened next, Bush (the father) who was implicated in the whole deal was elected to office!

American History is starting to disgust me :puke:

[ChiciB1]

31. Absolutely NOTHING Is Going To Happen On This One

EITHER! Decks have been cleared, The Idiot sez he has the right and if the past is ANY indication... well screwed AGAIN!!

[Justice Is Comin]

40. No it's

significant. Witness all the news stations headlining with it.

It is impossible to explain why only the favorable portion of the NIE was authorized for declassifying and not the two agencies who said they disagreed.

It doesn't matter if he has the right, it's what was leaked. This is just another dot that has been connected and he's starting to lose every shred of credibility.

His approval rating is down further again today. Lowest ever. Things are looking fine my friend.

[ChiciB1]

42. I HOPE You're Prediction Is An Actuality! n/t