FRIDAY: NYT - "Cheney's Aide Says President Approved Leak"

[kpete]

Cheney's Aide Says President Approved Leak
By DAVID JOHNSTON and DAVID E. SANGER
Published: April 7, 2006
WASHINGTON, April 6 — Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff testified that he was authorized by President Bush, through Mr. Cheney, in July 2003 to disclose key parts of what until then was a classified prewar intelligence estimate on Iraq, according to a new court filing.

The testimony by the former official, I. Lewis Libby Jr., cited in a court filing by the government made late Wednesday, provides an indication that Mr. Bush, who has long criticized leaks of secret information as a threat to national security, may have played a direct role in authorizing disclosure of the intelligence report on Iraq.

The disclosure occurred at a moment when the White House was trying to defend itself against accusations that it had inflated the case against Saddam Hussein.

The president has the authority to declassify information, and Mr. Libby indicated in his testimony that he believed Mr. Bush's instructions — which prosecutors said Mr. Libby regarded as "unique in his recollection" — gave him legal cover to talk with a reporter about the intelligence.

Among the key judgments in the report, called a National Intelligence Estimate, was that Saddam Hussein was probably seeking fuel for nuclear weapons.

more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/07/washington/07leak.html?hp&ex=1144382400&en=0202d94113819d6b&ei=5094&partner=homepage

[amitten]

1. Oh, la-la....

:bounce:

[Flabbergasted]

2. Yeah!

[DURHAM D]

3. The NY TImes and Washington Post both have stories

tonight stating the Pres can de-classify info at will.

I thought I read several places today that only the agency that classified info can de-classify same.

Can anyone help me with this? Anyone?

[janx]

4. The NYT story states that Bush's LAWYER asserts

such a thing:

Mr. Libby testified that he was unsure of his authority to reveal the information before he met Ms. Miller, so he spoke with David Addington, then a lawyer for Mr. Cheney whom Mr. Libby regarded as an expert on national security law.

"Mr. Addington opined that presidential authorization to publicly disclose a document amounted to declassification of the document," the filing by Mr. Fitzgerald said.


We'll have to wait and see.

[kentuck]

5. Something's not adding up....

Cheney already said that he had authority to de-classify information. If he told Libby that Bush told him to put out the info on Plame, Libby would not have the information from the horse's mouth. Maybe Bush told Cheney and maybe he didn't? Would Cheney have the authority if Bush didn't tell him? This all may fall back on Cheney to prove one way or the other what was said. Did Bush tell him to tell Scooter or did he not? Somebody is hiding the truth.

[lovuian]

6. It doesn't matter declassifying or what They Lied to Fitzgerald

They lied to the public the lied to the press

They call that Obstruction of Justice...

Why LIE if they had the right???

[DURHAM D]

7. It seems like a very important point - tonight my local NBC

station reported the story and made the blanket statement that Bush can de-classify anything/anytime he wants to. In other words - this is not a big story - move on.