BREAKING: JASON LEOPOLD: BUSH AT CENTER OF INTELLIGENCE LEAK!!!

[kpete]

Bush at Center of Intelligence Leak
By Jason Leopold
t r u t h o u t | Report

Thursday 06 April 2006

Attorneys and current and former White House officials close to the investigation into the leak of covert CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson said Thursday that President Bush gave Vice President Dick Cheney the authorization in mid-June 2003 to disclose a portion of the highly sensitive National Intelligence Estimate to Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward and former New York Times reporter Judith Miller.

These current and former White House officials are among the 36 witnesses who have testified before a grand jury and have been cooperating with the special counsel's probe since its inception.

The officials, some of whom are attorneys close to the case, added that more than two dozen emails that the vice president's office said it recently discovered and handed over to leak investigators in February show that President Bush was kept up to date about the circumstances surrounding the effort to discredit former Ambassador Joseph Wilson.

The sources indicated that the leak probe is now winding down, and that soon, new information will emerge from the special counsel's office that will prove President Bush had prior knowledge of the White House campaign to discredit Plame Wilson's husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, who accused the administration of "twisting" intelligence on the Iraqi threat in order to win public support for the war.

MUCH MUCH MORE AT:
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/040606Y.shtml

[dubyaD40web]

1. So there's more supporting Libby's case?

[incapsulated]

6. That is important

We really need someone/thing other than just Libby's testimony. "Sources" say...

[sable302]

2. 'Bush at center of leak'

Boy, that's something I'd love to see on the MSM.

on edit: :rofl:

[stop the bleeding]

3. Thank you - Reading now

:toast:

[Mabus]

4. Now, if Bush would go ahead and fire that leaker

we could concentrate on getting Cheney removed....

[electropop]

30. He said he would "take care of" the leaker...

Now in crime family circles, that usually means "rub out," but in this case, I think he meant "give a Medal of Freedom and a big steak dinner to."

[Mabus]

67. rolling eyes - sadly you are right

Bush and Cheney should hold a ceremony and just exchange medals. Speaking of medals maybe Bush should go ahead and give Whittington a Purple Heart for sustaining injuries during this so-called war on terrorism. It makes about as much sense as anything else. :eyes:

[H2O Man]

5. Things are good.

Thanks.

[stop the bleeding]

12. Did you see this????

The officials, some of whom are attorneys close to the case, added that more than two dozen emails that the vice president's office said it recently discovered and handed over to leak investigators in February show that President Bush was kept up to date about the circumstances surrounding the effort to discredit former Ambassador Joseph Wilson.

The sources indicated that the leak probe is now winding down, and that soon, new information will emerge from the special counsel's office that will prove President Bush had prior knowledge of the White House campaign to discredit Plame Wilson's husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, who accused the administration of "twisting" intelligence on the Iraqi threat in order to win public support for the war.


As Scooby Doo would say - Ruh Roh Raggy

[Guaranteed]

16. That's it. He's a goner.

They're ALL goners.

[AbbyR]

31. From your mouth to God's ears...

Pessimist that I am, I'll believe it when I see it - and maybe not even then.

[speedoo]

18. Smells like conspiracy to me.

Yummy.

[kpete]

19. I love it

Off to run errands - keep those gems coming

Life is SO good...

[Garbo 2004]

33. Leopold appears to be walking a tightrope, he's very careful here IMO

(with good reason). He also writes:

"The new information that surfaced late Wednesday places President Bush at the center of the probe for the first time since the investigation into the leak began more than two years ago and raises new questions as to whether Bush knew in advance the lengths to which senior White House officials went to discredit Wilson."

But of course, it's not just a matter of what Bush knew "in advance" but also what he knew, and when, during and after the the disclosing of Plame's identity. The old "What did the President know and when did he know it?" question.

:)

[WhiteTara]

54. more like what did he authorize? and when did he

authorize it? He didn't just know, he was involved up to his neck. Bush hates policy but loves politics...you know sticking it to ole Joe Wilson.

[Garbo 2004]

58. See pg 27 of Fitz's court filing. Says Sept 2003 Bush was unaware Libby's

role in the leaking of Plame's CIA employment.

[WhiteTara]

61. so who's the liar? Libby or Bush?

or both? Oh, I love the dirt they are throwing, good to see them tear each other to shreds. We've been trying for years, one good dog fight and they are falling like leaves. Aspen leaves at that.

[Garbo 2004]

62. I suspect Fitz isn't simply going by what Bush told him. Remember he's

got emails and documents from the White House, the VP's office (some recently "discovered") and testimony from others.

And Libby did not testify that Bush authorized the leaking of Plame's identity. He testified that Cheney told him Bush had authorized the release of selected info from the NIE. Libby denied leaking, denied even knowing Plame's identity. Which is why he's under indictment.

[stop the bleeding]

25. Waterman - good call when you said the Libby defense was gonna

unravel this whole lead up to War Intel time line on what really happened - we are now seeing the truth of the debacle - you hit the nail on the head

[WiseButAngrySara]

38. Things are VERY good! Drip, drip, drip...Leak, leak, leak...Love that

water, waterman!

[robertpaulsen]

43. In my best Tony the Tiger voice:

"Things are good? They're GRRRREAT!"

[TexasChick]

49. OMG, H2O Man!

Can you believe it? Is this good news for us? I know its a silly question, but Chimpy McFlightsuit has gotten away with a lot of things, but is his goose finally cooked?

I wonder if Fitz has enough to bring Smirky Smirk down or make him resign in shame?


:hi:

[lumpy]

57. Cheney should go down with Bush;

they were in it together.

[debbierlus]

7. Looks like Santa Fitz is giving us the best Fitzmas present of them all

Ho Ho Ho!

[TomInTib]

8. There is Trouble on the Potomac..

Great article.

Damn the details, this is gonna hurt. Big time.

[Guaranteed]

9. Uh oh......THERE'S the beef!! nt

[ClayZ]

10. ITMFA

http://www.impeachthemotherfuckeralready.com/

[Catherine Vincent]

11. What I was waiting for....

Thanks! :hi:

[AndyTiedye]

13. It's Time To Do the FROG MARCH!

[Guaranteed]

14. ROFL!! I'm sorry, my second post, I can't help but laugh at this.

He is DONE!!!!! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!

[Stand and Fight]

15. As cynical as I have become...

I have to say that my hope is rising with these newest developments. I don't often pray for ill will toward others, but I know I will be praying tonight in regards to the Bush administration. Shall we see justice done? Pray God.

[Beetwasher]

17. BUSTED FOR OBSTRUCTION

"According to four attorneys who over the past two days have read a transcript of the President Bush's interview with investigators, Bush did not disclose to either investigators or the special counsel that he had authorized Cheney or any other administration official to leak portions of the NIE to Woodward and Miller or any other reporter. Rather, these people said the president said he frowned upon "selective leaks."

Bush also said during the interview two years ago that he had no prior knowledge that anyone on his staff had been involved in a campaign to discredit Wilson or that individuals retaliated against the former ambassador by leaking his wife's undercover identity to reporters."

If in fact this is true, Chimpy is guilty of obstruction. A felony. End of story.

[sable302]

20. get the beer and pretzels ready

it could all happen really quick now

[Disturbed]

21. "Chimpy is guilty of obstruction."

Lying to Feds is also a crime whether under oath or not. Bush and Cheney are subject of Obstruction of Justice and many counts of false testimony.

Exposing Brester Jennings, a Covert CIA Operation is treason, is it not?

[Blaze Diem]

24. and once he's impeached for this felony...

Bush will be investigated for everything from cronyism, racketeering, crimes against humanity, and treason.

Karmic days ahead for the Presichimp.

I think of all the suffering of innocents at the hands of Bush and Cheney et.al. the karmic return on their actions sends chills through my bones.
Hang on to your Fundi base George..you're gonna need all the wailing and praying you can get.
Let the Lightening Bolts begin!

[montana500]

27. wow.

I really hope this article is correct. If those emails do show that Bush was aware of the selective leaking and the discredit operation, it will conflict directly with his interview with FBI agents.

Then it's resignation time.

[kcass1954]

44. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't there a VA jury determining if

Moussaoui should be put to death for not disclosing information about 9/11 to federal agents?

[robertpaulsen]

55. Obstruction, lying to feds, and probably Conspiracy.

To quote the OP link:

The sources indicated that the leak probe is now winding down, and that soon, new information will emerge from the special counsel's office that will prove President Bush had prior knowledge of the White House campaign to discredit Plame Wilson's husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, who accused the administration of "twisting" intelligence on the Iraqi threat in order to win public support for the war.

Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but wouldn't this "campaign" be part of the conspiracy? Not sure if it's enough to constitute a criminal charge, but it's definitely enough to file a civil charge. Hopefully Wilson will do that once the criminal trial(s) have concluded.

[Raksha]

22. I've been waiting for this day for a long, long time.

And I know I'm not alone!

[Stand and Fight]

23. Good grief...

Looks like the whole dammed house of cards is about to fall down around Bush and company, and it is about fricking time.

[Blaze Diem]

29. Makes me want to weep. To think this may be the begining of the

end of it all..its been a long time comming..Our America the Beautiful may just pull through...

[durrrty libby]

36. I’d like to be hopeful

but these guys slither out of every crack in the wall.

[lpbk2713]

26. I'm sorry, but I see humor in the title of this thread.

Just to think Shit-for-Brains has anything in common with intelligence .....

[Beetwasher]

28. Well, You Can Look At As All Intelligence Has Leaked OUT OF HIM

Then maybe it would make more sense.

[intheflow]

34. That would imply he ever had intelligence in him to begin with.

Very doubtful, indeed.

[Blaze Diem]

35. LOL..So he's left with ...nothing more than he started with!

It is easier when you put it like that..thanks.
ha

[unblock]

32. to think those jokes were around ever since poppy was dci!

[autorank]

37. kpete, "You bring good things to life." Thanks again.

Do NOT mess with Fitzgerald, bad idea *co and the rest of you Neocons;)

The guy is tres smart, honest, and relentless...what else do you expect from an attorney
who was a MATH major in college. Rules you know,logic, show your work, meticulous, and
creativity in a way only the "math people" understand.

[myrna minx]

39. Wow-- can't walk away from my computer for 1/2 hour without

another bombshell coming out. :bounce: Wow.

[young_at_heart]

40. Will McCain still want to hug him?

McCain and all the others (including media people) who have made excuses and stood behind this person may think twice abut future endorsements....of course, that would make them hypocrites!

[sinkingfeeling]

41. Watergate II...the sequel to Presidential Obstruction of Justice!! It'll

be a box office smash!

[robertpaulsen]

42. The other shoe has officially dropped.

Or was that just the sound of my jaw hitting the floor like a ton of bricks?!

:wow::wow::wow::wow::wow::wow::wow::wow::wow::wow::wow::wow::wow::wow::wow::wow::wow::wow::wow::wow:

[New Government]

45. Before we get too excited

Hasn't Jason Leopold been in some trouble before on reporting on White House emails? When I hear this from somebody other than Jason, I'll be ecstatic. Until then, I remember being burned once by re-reporting something he had written as an "exclusive."

[stop the bleeding]

71. Welcome to DU! and

to answer your question, yes Jason did have some "reporting problems" years ago, but when it comes to this story his articles have been ahead of all other reporting and spot on. In general the last few years all of his work has been really good, either way it will not change what Fitz is doing.


Welcome to DU :applause:

[Generator]

46. If only we had press like this:

Bush 'ordered leak', ex-aide says

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4885100.stm

BEST FREAKING headline in awhile.

But I realize this truothout has more details but my level of hope is still been mashed to zero. When he resigns, then we'll talk. Who will pressure him to? The press? HAH. His party? Ha ha ha. They will spin and deny until 2008. The only good news is the lame duck really is cooked. Just trap him in the White House where he can do no damage.

First Bush, then Cheney? Well, fun times. Fitzgerald is going to indict who next? Bush? Is that the point? I guess I don't see that happening.

[understandinglife]

47. It had to be. It really would not have happened otherwise. "It's just too

... serious a matter to be violating the National Security Act of 1947, IIPA and 18 USC 793 and I don't think Hadley, Libby, Rove, any of the other WHIGers, or even wildman Bolton, would do it (out ValerieP in a concerted effort to discredit Joe Wilson) without Bush or Cheney giving the go."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=828043#829968

Folk like Libby, Rove, Rice, Bolton, Feith, ... are gutless, at their core. They never would have broken all the laws that the coordinated attack on Joe Wilson entailed without Bush's approval. It took Bush, not just Cheney, to authorize the attack. And the closer all these folk get to jail time the more they are going to sing because they also know that the types of crimes they committed in leaking classified information and outing a CIA NOC are not crimes that are going to be pardoned.

Today "the tapes" have been disclosed. All Plame-trails lead to Bush.

And, what none of them anticipated (because of their vast arrogance) in July of 2003, is that they would ever encounter a Mr. Patrick Fitzgerald.

6 April 2006 is "tapes day" for Bush (and Cheney).


If You're pro-Bu$h, You're Anti-America

[JStuart]

48. I just read 4 or 5 reports

on this story and NOWHERE does it say BUSH or CHENEY mentioned PLAME???? Why's everyone so excited? Leopold has bad history and rep...

They said that bushcheney gave libby permission to share iraq intelligence and admittedly NONE mentioned Plame. Wilson or anything related to it...lol why's everyone so excited? Sheesh, just when you guys got me all happy and shit!

[Gabi Hayes]

51. so long, pal...this is the wrong place to peddle such nonsense

the reason for his "bad rep" is that he's one of the few actual journalist working

why don't you support your allegation, and see how quickly it's disproven

funny post, though

[Name removed]

52. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Gabi Hayes]

56. you tell me, bud, AFTER you answer my question!

but, then, I knew you wouldn't

what's YOUR poison?

you're the one who seems to be imbibing.

don't let the evidence get clog your windpipe

[stevietheman]

59. Nope... the skepticism is understandable at this stage.

We do indeed need more sources for this.

[cynatnite]

60. Agreed

While it's all nice and juicy, I do think we need more. The right's gonna spin this whole thing as 'the pres can declassify whatever he wants'. They've got their thinking caps on right now on how to get him out of the 'we're gonna find the leaker' comments he's made.

While I want to scream 'Impeach, Indict, Imprison' at the top of my lungs, I'm gonna wait until November, cross my fingers, and hope the opportunity to do so comes up.

[Gabi Hayes]

50. anybody surprised that NOBODY on M$M is discussing this aspect

of the case?

[JStuart]

63. gabi

I'm EXTREMELY bummed by all this. I'm simply counting the hours til we're back in power. I'm just of the opinion that we shouldn't jump scream and yell with every gust of slightly good news.
If the kitchen smells of grits all day, by dinnertime you're not hungry, you know?

We simply need to concentrate on IRAQ which there is NO excuse for and 90% of the public acknowledge such... and more importantly present a better future. We need to go back to our roots, environment, peace, economy (it's OUR issue), ANTI_CORPORATE corruption and COMPASSION for the poor and disaffected...

Put General Clark up in 08 and the repugs are DONE. He speaks the "language" of the southern RED states and he has support from the base, he's the freekin' TERMINATOR candidate.

Feingold is a terrible option, Hillary is worse and Dean can't pull in any "red" states.

Warner from the (extremely) great state of Virginia is a nobody too, btw...

[SeveneightyWhoa]

69. Why are you "EXTREMELY bummed" by this?

Considering you just wrote, "Why's everyone so excited? Leopold has bad history and rep..."

So whats there's to be bummed about if you don't see the significance of the news (and indeed doubt the reporter behind the story)?

[Binka]

72. So Bummed That You Are Cutting & Pasting This "Bummage" In Multiple Thread

Enjoy DU.

[LizW]

53. Teaser for NBC News just said:

"More trouble for President Bush?"

Could this be what they are talking about??????? Will they really mention this story on Nightly News?????

:bounce:

[ignatius 2]

64. Bush and Cheney, continuing their campaign to bring honor and dignity

back to the W/H. Mass murderers,greedy bastards who are raping our treasury at will,destroying our country and 2 middle eastern countries and traitors to boot.

Surely Congress,republicans as well as the democratic members, have to say..ENOUGH IS ENOUGH..no more you traitorous sons of bitches..not just impeachment but an indictment for treason and a freakin' trial.

These guys need to be put where they can NEVER hurt people again.

[opihimoimoi]

65. I don't get it,..... the Veep squealed on the Prez??

OMG, who woulda thought this would happen....?

They eat their own..I guess.

[robertpaulsen]

66. Straight from the horse's fucking mouth everyone:

Thanks to WilliamPitt for this:



Evidence Suggests White House Conspiracy
By Jason Leopold
t r u t h o u t | Report

Thursday 06 April 2006

Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald stated in a court filing late Wednesday in the CIA leak case that his investigators have obtained evidence during the course of the two-year-old probe that proves several White House officials conspired to discredit former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, a critic of the administration's pre-war Iraq intelligence.

This is the first time the special counsel has acknowledged that White House officials are alleged to have engaged in a coordinated effort to undercut the former ambassador's credibility by disseminating classified intelligence information that would have contradicted Wilson's public statements.

snip

"There exist documents, some of which have been provided to defendant and there were conversations in which defendant participated, that reveal a strong desire by many, including multiple people in the White House, to repudiate Mr. Wilson before and after July 14, 2003.

Although Fitzgerald makes it abundantly clear that Libby is not charged with conspiracy, he argues that Libby's suggestion that no there was no White House plot to discredit Wilson is ludicrous given the amount of evidence Fitzgerald has in his possession that suggests otherwise.

much more...

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/040606R.shtml

[stop the bleeding]

73. NPR touched upon this in their morning coverage - about

there being other documents showing a concentrated effort by the Admin to rebut Patriot Wilson's article.

this is the first I have heard an "MSM" source bring this up in the last 24 hrs.


Kudos!

[GeorgeGist]

68. Cheney's burning FUBAR...

"The officials, some of whom are attorneys close to the case, added that more than two dozen emails that the vice president's office said it recently discovered and handed over to leak investigators in February show that President Bush was kept up to date about the circumstances surrounding the effort to discredit former Ambassador Joseph Wilson."

:tinfoilhat:?

[kohodog]

70. The wheels of justice may grind slowly

But they grind finely. Libby is desperately trying to save his hide. Hannah flipped early and I suspect much more will come out before this is over. I'd much rather see Fitz take his time if he can get to the bottom (top?) of this affair. George will need a few beers to sleep tonight.