Hey, read this! BUSH ISN'T THE LEAKER.

[Atman]

Had to change the subject line twice. I've never seen a post about something everyone is talking about sink so fast!

This is a very interesting premise: Bush really didn't know squat, and Cheney is the actual leaker. Something is serious wrong with the current "official story."

-----

A Couple o' Random Thoughts Regarding Leaky Libby:

Anonymous Liberal over at Glenn Greenwald's place is right: something doesn't add up here. Here's the exact quote from the court document filed by Patrick Fitzgerald: "Defendant's participation in a critical conversation with Judith Miller on July 8...occurred only after the Vice President advised that the President specifically had authorized defendant to disclose certain information in the NIE." So Libby never heard it from Bush, only that Cheney said that Bush said so.

Now here's Cheney back in February, talking about shooting faces and leaked secrets with Fox "News" host Brit Hume: "There is an executive order that specifies who has classification authority, and obviously focuses first and foremost on the President, but also includes the Vice President." This was in response to Hume asking Cheney if he had ever declassified material "unilaterally." So Cheney was asserting that he had the power to classify and declassify material without the President's "okay." By the way, the executive order itself says that the Vice President may do the classification voodoo dance "in the performance of executive duties." In other words, Cheney's own words imply that he could have given Libby the go-ahead without Bush's approval and remained in the realm of "legal" (especially considering that the White House is asserting that the President can't really "leak" anything, an absurdist defense discussed below). Perhaps someone can connect these magical dots.

The Rude Pundit believes this at the bottom: Cheney's a lying piece of shit and the President is a rube and an idiot of titanic proportions (fuck all those people who say, "No, he's really not that dumb"). Either Cheney outright lied to Libby about Bush giving the thumbs-up or the conversation went something like this: Dick Cheney slithered into the Oval Office and said, "George, listen, there's some shit I'm gonna get Scooter to do. You don't give a happy ratfuck, right?" And the President said it was fine, whatever, lemme play more Madden. So Bush "knew" in the sense that he was told, but "knowing" and "Bush-knowing" is a little like the difference between telling your husband you love him while lying in bed awake together or while he's in a coma.

http://rudepundit.blogspot.com/2006/04/couple-o-random-thoughts-regarding.html

[Atman]

1. One desperate kick

Maybe it's just too late on a Sunday for weighty stuff.

:kick:

[CatWoman]

2. kicking to help you out here

:kick:

[JeffR]

3. Kick

for a very intriguing notion.

[hlthe2b]

4. I think that is quite possible... just as Cheney clearly didn't

involve the little shrub in decisions on 911, necessitating them appearing together before the inquiry in order to keep their stories straight. I have little doubt that Cheney does lots of this kind of crap, but that does not absolve Bush* since I'm equally sure he approved the concept, if not the details...

[WiseButAngrySara]

5. K & R, and I've no idea, but suppose it's pissable! ....n/t

[cushla_machree]

6. The other argument

That they had no idea about PLame, is just as frigtening.

Let me think here. Classified inteligence sits on chimpy's desk. He picks it up. stamps it declassified. Did he bother to read it? We all know he doesn't like long things, in texas Mr Gonzales would have to keep things under a page to get him to read it.

So they are all talking about this wilson problem. Hey, cheney or rove decide lets release these snippets to counter him. Oh look, a Ms. Plame is all over this. Who is she? Fuck if i know! This whole niger thing, scooter, is a "a junket set up by Mr. Wilson's wife," ok run with that.

You are telling me that NO ONE bothered to check her status? Hmm works for cia. She must be the bathrooom cleaner or something. If they have senstive information and can't be bothered to check out names....maybe we need to revoke Bush's priveleges right away before he does more damage.

[Justice Is Comin]

7. But nowhere in the executive

order does it say the Vice President can unilaterally declassify anything. The only exception would be if he was the original classifier of a document or documents. He cannot declassify other agencies documents.

I defy anybody to show it to me in that document where it says he can arbitrarily declassify. I read every word.

[Terre]

8. Except that now there's this...

NYT's story:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/10/washington/10leak.html?_r=1&hp&ex=1144641600&en=9590b772b9193881&ei=5094&partner=homepage&oref=slogin

WASHINGTON, April 9 — A senior administration official confirmed for the first time on Sunday that President Bush had ordered the declassification of parts of a prewar intelligence report on Iraq in an effort to rebut critics who said the administration had exaggerated the nuclear threat posed by Saddam Hussein.

But the official said that Mr. Bush did not designate Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, I. Lewis Libby Jr., or anyone else, to release the information to reporters.

Here we go again. They did, but they really didn't do what we know they did.

Man-o-man, is this ever getting OLD!

[slestak]

30. Hysterical

Jerry Springer was talking about this this morning.

That makes no sense whatsoever. Bush is saying:

A) "In order to rebut my critics, I will declassify this information."

B) "You may not share this declassified information with anyone."

WTF?!!?!? How can you rebut your critics with information you can't tell anyone? It's fucking ridiculous! When is someone in the media gonna jump all over this? IT MAKES NO SENSE!!!

[Atman]

31. Bush is unable to think on his feet

He's so used to spending his time face-down on the floor.

[mirandapriestly]

9. What kind of a fool would ask Cheney to be their Vice President?

oh...never mind..

[jmowreader]

28. No one did.

Bush's dad told Junior that Cheney would be a good man to head up the search for a vice presidential candidate. Bush hired him to conduct the search.

Cheney returns with the finding that Richard Cheney is the ideal man to be Bush's running mate.

Answer: no one asked Cheney, Cheney literally took the job.

[IChing]

10. The bushenfurher is a cheerleader, spokesman and snakeoil handler

for the neo-cons he doesn't make the goods he just pushes them for his masters.

But in the end he is not just following orders like an sergeant in the SS at Treblinka.
He is as guilty as any of these guys

[caledesi]

11. Well at one of the judiciary hearings, John Dean said that

Nixon didn't know about the break-in until afterwards. Go figure.

[alfredo]

12. bush isn't a "detail man."

I can see where cheney could have lobbied bush to do it, then bush gave cheney the go ahead.

[ms liberty]

13. I've been wondering about this...

from the first time I saw this story. So Cheney "tells" Libby that * ok'd the leaking. That is NOT evidence that * approved the leaking, it's just evidence that Crashcart SAID * approved it.

BTW, you should have referenced the RudePundit in the title - that would have guaranteed that it got looked at!!

Thanks for posting this - interesting angle to keep an eye on.

[Atman]

20. LOL! I did! Rudepundit was in the title for half an hour, not one response

That's why I was a little frustrated (and it was late!)

In fact, my first subject line was "Rudepundit on W: "A Rube and an idiot of titanic proportions."


:rofl:

I love that line!

[ms liberty]

32. THAT subject line would have pulled me in in a heartbeat!!! n/t

[Tom Joad]

14. There is treatment for tourettes syndrome.

[Mr_Spock]

19. Tell us what it is

Inquiring minds want to know :P

[Canuckistanian]

15. Hmmm...

If that's right, then what's Shrub's next move? Ditch Cheney? Go into circle-the-wagon mode?

And who's side is Rove on? What's Rove's role?

[unblock]

16. i don't buy this story for one minute

madden is WAY too complicated for shrub.

:evilgrin:

[B Calm]

17. I quit watching Sopranos, it reminded me too much of the Republican

Party!

[Mr_Spock]

18. I'd rather see Cheney go first anyway!

I just can't fathom a President Cheney :puke:

Get Cheney and Bushmoron will rot on the vine...

[mwb970]

21. Vice President Dick is in charge.

Bush is a chump. Here's a picture of him suddenly realizing just how far Cheney will go.

[LizW]

22. kick

:kick:

[No Exit]

23. Respondiat superior

Look it up!

I don't give a flying f*ck if Junior was specifically in on this one, or not. JUNIOR IS RESPONSIBLE FOR EVERY ACTION HIS EMPLOYEES TAKE!!! RESPONSIBLE!

Suppose some chemical company gives its employees the go-ahead to dump toxic chemicals in a river, and suppose that poisons the drinking water of people downstream, and suppose those people die. Are you gonna only go around asking for the names of the peon-employees who actually dumped the stuff, or are you gonna lay the responsibility on the BOSS??

Similarly, JUNIOR IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL THAT CHENEY DOES. Cheney, Libby, and the rest of the scumbags on down the line are AGENTS of George W. Bush. I am using the word "agents" in its legal sense.

[No Exit]

24. Hey Atman, I just realized that Brit Hume interview was planned before

the shooting!

Clearly, they had (previous to Cheney's shooting old Harry in the face) already planned that Brit Hume interview. They had planned to put Cheney out there to explain how it's "perfectly normal" and "perfectly legal" for HIM or for Junior to just snap their fingers on classified stuff and poof! it's declassified.

They had planned to put that info out there because they KNEW that Fitz's pleading was about to be disseminated to the public, and they needed to blunt the impact.

But, alas, it doesn't look like even their carefully-timed Hume interview didn't blunt the impact very much. (Hey, Dick, shooting a guy in the face didn't HELP, ya know? Watch that, okay?)

[rodeodance]

26. It was odd that the classified/declass question popped in at the very end.

[rodeodance]

25. Specter, on msnbc today called for the WH to come clean:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=892491&mesg_id=892596

[EVDebs]

37. The Oct 2002 NIE ...

Just because the administration SAYS there were WMDs doesn't make it true. BTW, the reason why they went into Iraq, thirty years later:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A46321-2003Dec31?language=printer

[H2O Man]

27. The timing of the

president's order, that in theory allows the vice president the ability to declassify, should be noted. Compare it to the date that Wilson first commented publicly on the Niger documents, which had just been called "crude forgeries."

[EVDebs]

36. Compare the Oct 2002 NIE vs. the Duelfer Report and you see who's lying

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=2563065&mesg_id=2563065

[leveymg]

29. Cheney can't legally declassify, but Bush really can (even though

he didn't follow written procedures). Thinking he's saving Cheney, Bush gets snared into an Obstruction of Justice count. Cheney also lied about it to Fitz, so he's nailed with an OOJ charge. Two-fer. I think that's a VERY good thing.

[cantstandbush]

33. i said this a long time ago. i posed it as a question about what if

Cheney lied about Bush declassifying the info to Libby? The Republicans don't know wheter to "shit or go blind" Either they have to admit that Bush has never been in charge and that Cheney has always been running the country or they have to admit that Bush is an incompetent, arrogant, vindictative twit who should never have been governor of Texas much less President of the US.

[ourbluenation]

34. I totally remember that quote from the dickster and thinking exactly

this...Bush better get himself a good lawyer. He may be the first president patsy!

[DearAbby]

35. kick

[Karenca]

38. Does anyone think that the moron B*SH realizes the trouble he's in?

He is in alot of trouble, isn't he?

OMG.....I so hope so!!!!!!!

[susanna]

39. Kick again...n/t

[kentuck]

40. Do you think Bush is covering for Cheney ??

Protecting Slick Dick ??

[catzies]

41. Is it misinformation? Or disinformation?

Or both? Or neither? :shrug: